Lower back pain? You may want to start with addressing your multifidus muscles. These long, narrow muscles run along the spine on either side and help stabilize the lower back. When the multifidus muscles are strong, they bulletproof your back against injury and equip you to stay active. When weak, they atrophy, leading to stiff, painful backs. So today, we’re here to talk about how to strengthen your multifidus muscles using multifidus exercises.
When people think about working out, multifidus exercises may not be the first to come to mind. But adding multifidus exercises to your workout routine could be the difference between a sore and creaky spine and a strong, flexible spine. AKA living in constant back pain vs. being freed up to stay active and enjoy life.
At Back Muscle Solutions, we don’t accept living with back pain as a way of life. Our founder, Ben, suffered from 4 years of back pain before creating the product that healed his back and helped him get out of pain. Now, we provide resources to help empower people to take ownership of their back pain journeys. Our motto: Fix the muscles, fix the pain.
In this article, I’ll teach you 9 of the best multifidus muscle exercises to help you strengthen your lower back against repeated injury. Along the way, I’ll help fill in any knowledge gaps about the multifidus.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
- 9 Best Multifidus Exercises
- Multifidus Muscle Anatomy
- Multifidus Muscle Function
- Multifidus & Back Pain
- Multifidus Exercises FAQs
Now, let’s bulletproof your spine.
9 Best Multifidus Exercises
You may be thinking…but the multifidus is such a random group of muscles. What exercises even work the multifidus?
And actually, there are many. And they’re all pretty simple to perform. With minimal equipment.
Multifidus Exercises: Tips
But first: Some tips. If you’re working out your lower back in an effort to recover from back pain, here are a few things to note:
How to perform these multifidus exercises:
→ Go slow: Whenever you’re working on lower back strength, maintaining slow movement is pivotal. Moving too quickly could potentially worsen the pain.
→ Go light: All of the exercises here involve just using body weight. However, if you do add any weight to these multifidus exercises, do so progressively and keep it light. Loading up your back with heavy weight won’t be a smart move if you’re in any sort of back pain.
→ Go higher reps: Higher reps = more endurance. We’re not trying to bulk up that lower back–just make it more resilient.
How do I activate my multifidus muscles while I perform these multifidus exercises?
The best way to keep your multifidus muscles active and engaged during these multifidus exercises is to focus on the muscle itself. Brace your core, and you’ll most likely also feel some muscles in your lower back contracting. Maintain that tension throughout the multifidus exercises, only relaxing when you’re done with the exercise. It’s all about the mind-muscle connection.
Multifidus Strengthening Exercises #1: Walking
Does walking help your multifidus muscles?
Absolutely.
Walking at a fast pace is one of the simplest, easiest standing multifidus exercises you can do to strengthen your multifidus muscles. [1]
Here’s how to do it:
1) Walk.
That was easy. Let’s move on.
Multifidus Strengthening Exercises #2: Flying Squirrel
Similar in form to the cobra pose, the flying squirrel isolates those multifidus muscles as you lift your chest and shoulders up.
1) Lie down on your stomach on a yoga mat.
2) Place your toes on the mat, allowing your heels to point up toward the ceiling.
3) Bring your hands behind your head, and flare out your elbows.
4) Lift your chest and shoulders up off of the floor.
5) Hold this for 5-15 seconds.
6) Repeat for the desired amount of reps. [2]
Multifidus Strengthening Exercises #3: Bird Dog
A bird dog is one of the most popular multifidus exercises, and it’s simple to perform.
Here’s how to do it:
1) Get on your hands and knees on a yoga mat.
2) Make sure your shoulders are directly above your hands and your hips are directly above your knees.
3) Brace your core as you raise your right arm and your left leg out from your body simultaneously.
4) Hold for 5-10 seconds.
5) Bring your hand and knee back to the mat.
6) Repeat for the desired amount of reps.
7) Then, switch sides.
Multifidus Strengthening Exercises #4: Bird Dog on an Exercise Ball
Ready to take your multifidus exercises to the next level? Add an exercise ball to your bird dog, and you’ll increase the activation of both your core and your lower back muscles.
Rather than going for reps with this one, focus on timing.
1) Find an exercise ball at your local gym.
2) Balance on the exercise ball on your stomach.
3) Raise up your right arm and left leg simultaneously, and repeat this motion.
4) Start at 60 seconds per side. Then, work gradually up to 3 minutes per side.
5) Maintain engagement in your lower back muscles the entire time while keeping the range of motion in your arms and legs fairly minimal.
In the video below, our founder, Ben, demonstrates this multifidus exercise. Check it out!
Bird Dog on an Exercise Ball
Multifidus Strengthening Exercises #5: Bridge
The bridge is an effective exercise that’ll target both your glutes and your multifidus muscles.
If you want more of a challenge, you can hold a weight plate on your stomach.
1) Lie down on your back on a yoga mat with your feet flat on the floor and knees pointed up.
2) Squeeze your glutes and push your hips up off the floor.
3) Hold for 5-30 seconds.
4) Repeat for the desired amount of reps.
By the way, in our article below, we compare the bridge to a hip thrust, so you know the difference:
“Glute Bridge vs Hip Thrust - Which One Is Better?”
Multifidus Strengthening Exercises #6: Bridge With Leg Extension
There are always ways to level up your multifidus muscle exercises for an even stronger back. When it comes to the bridge, make it one-legged, and you’ll find your multifidus muscles engaging even more to help stabilize your spine as you balance.
1) Lie down on your back on a yoga mat with your feet flat on the floor and knees pointed up.
2) Squeeze your glutes and push your hips up off the floor.
3) Raise up one leg, so it forms a straight line with your torso.
4) Hold for 5-30 seconds.
5) Repeat for the desired amount of reps.
6) Then, switch sides. [2]
Multifidus Strengthening Exercises #7: Side Planks
Do planks strengthen your multifidus muscles?
Take a regular plank. Flip it on its side. And the answer is yes.
1) On a yoga mat, position your body sideways, supporting yourself with your left elbow.
2) Keep your legs straight and extended–with your right foot stacked on top of the left.
3) Hold this position for 5-30 seconds.
4) Repeat on the other side.
5) Repeat for the desired amount of reps.
Multifidus Strengthening Exercises #8: Side Planks With Leg Raise
Just like with the bridge exercise, you can also increase the difficulty by raising one leg up, so it’s not stacked on top of the bottom leg.
1) On a yoga mat, position your body sideways, supporting yourself with your left elbow and left leg.
2) Raise your right leg, so it’s not supported by the bottom leg.
3) Hold this position for 5-30 seconds.
4) Repeat on the other side.
5) Repeat for the desired amount of reps.
Multifidus Strengthening Exercises #9: Superman
What is the Superman exercise for the multifidus? Easy. It’s the one that looks like Superman.
Of all the multifidus exercises in this article, this might be the most fun to perform.
Here’s how to do it:
1) Lie down on your stomach on a yoga mat.
2) Bracing your core, extend both arms and both legs out and up–holding your body up with your core.
3) Hold for 5-30 seconds.
4) Repeat for the desired amount of reps.
Multifidus Muscle Anatomy
By now, you’re a pro at multifidus exercises.
But if you’re scratching your head, saying, “Wait. But what even is a multifidus muscle?”...this section is for you.
The multifidus muscle is a deep back muscle that runs along your spine from your neck all the way down to your lower back.
It consists of short, deep fibers that connect one vertebra to another (or skip one or two vertebrae).
Many people wonder: Is the multifidus one muscle or many? And what’s crazy is that it’s actually one continuous muscle that’s divided into multiple sections or fibers. On either side of your spine.
The best analogy for the multifidus is a chain. It’s a single muscle, but it combines multiple smaller sections to form one whole.
If you could peer beneath more exterior back muscles–like the erector spinae and latissimus dorsi muscles–you’d find the multifidus muscles underneath.
The multifidus muscles located in the lower back (lumbar spine) are the thickest and most developed–hence the lower back pain you can feel when they atrophy or become tense.
Multifidus Muscle Function
If you’re standing or sitting…the multifidus muscle is active all of the time, helping you stay upright. So, you may not have heard of this muscle–but you definitely use it regularly.
Spinal Stabilization: The multifidus works to stabilize the spine as the smaller fibers literally work the keep the spine aligned.
So this means whether you’re stretching, twisting, jumping, or bending…you can count on the multifidus to keep your spine intact.
Multifidus & Back Pain
As you know, the multifidus muscle is a heavy contributor to back pain–especially in your lower back.
It’s not always this way, but typically, if you’re under 40, you might have tension-related multifidus pain. When you’re 40+, most multifidus pain tends to link to actual weakness of the muscle.
This is why I recommend multifidus exercises. When performed regularly, these exercises can bulletproof your multifidus muscles against atrophy and chronic back pain from weakness.
So, what are the symptoms of a weak multifidus? People who are experiencing multifidus tension or weakness typically complain of the following ailments:
→ Lower back pain and weakness
→ Pain when standing up
→ Pain when lifting heavy objects.
→ Decreased ability to bend forward.
Sound like you? Here’s what to do next.
At Back Muscle Solutions, we teach a 4-step approach to healing from lower back pain.
Step 1: Massage
Step 2: Stretch
Step 3: Strengthen
Step 4: Habit Correction
You’ll use the multifidus exercises in this article to strengthen your back and bulletproof against future pain.
But before that, you’ll want to start with massage.
Multifidus Massage
So, how do you release a tight multifidus?
With the multifidus being so close to the spine, massaging it can be difficult. You can try a lacrosse ball, but you'll be better off with a more stable massage device that doesn't roll. I like to use the QL Claw.
1) Use your fingers to feel for tender spots AKA trigger points right around your spine.
2) Lie down on your back on a yoga mat.
3) Place both feet up on a wall, so your knees both form 90-degree angles.
4) Place the QL Claw on the tender spot, getting it as close to the spine as you can on the medial side (closer to spine-side) of the erectors. Then, relax, allowing your muscles to sink in to the massage.
5) Gently rock your body north to south/head-to-toe with the grain of the multifidus. Keep the rocking motion slow while breathing through the massage to remain relaxed.
By the way, the QL Claw’s unique trigger point design allows it to target so many lower back muscles, including:
→ Iliacus
→ Psoas
→ TFL
Learn more about the QL Claw by clicking the button below:
Multifidus Exercises FAQs
What exercises work the multifidus?
Some of the best multifidus exercises include the bird dog, side plank, and bridge. We’ve got loads more variations earlier in this article.
What are the symptoms of a weak multifidus?
If you have a weak multifidus, you may experience lower back pain, difficulty leaning forward, pain when standing, and pain when lifting heavy objects.
How do I activate multifidus?
To activate your multifidus, keep your core and lower back muscles contracted while performing multifidus exercises.
How to isolate multifidus?
To isolate the multifidus, check out the multifidus exercises in this article The best exercise to isolate the multifidus is the bird dog on an exercise ball.
Does walking help multifidus?
Yes, walking helps strengthen your multifidus muscle, especially when walking at a fast space.
How do you release a tight multifidus?
To release a tight multifidus, feel for tender sports along the lumbar spine, and use a massage device, such as the QL Claw, to massage.
What is the Superman exercise for the multifidus?
The Superman exercise for the multifidus involves lying on your stomach and raising your arms and legs up and out in a Superman pose!
Do planks strengthen multifidus?
Yes, side planks strengthen the multifidus.
Sources:
[1] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC416359
[3] https://content.iospress.com/articles/journal-of-back-and-musculoskeletal-rehabilitation/bmr596
[4] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0268003386901464