The Bird Dog exercise is one of the most effective core stability movements for managing and preventing low back pain. In this video, you’ll learn how to perform Bird Dog correctly with step-by-step guidance from a physiotherapy perspective.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Begin on all fours, with your hands placed directly under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. Keep your fingers spread and your arms straight but not locked. Your spine should be in a neutral position — neither arched nor rounded — and your head in line with your spine, looking down at the floor.
Focus on abdominal breathing. As you inhale, your abdominal wall should gently expand in all directions. It’s important to maintain this abdominal pressure throughout the entire exercise — even as you exhale.
Once you feel stable, slowly raise and extend your left arm and right leg and hold that position for 10 seconds.
Do not raise your limbs too much, because that will cause overextension and arching of the spine!
After 10 seconds, return to the starting position, take a brief pause and repeat the movement with the opposite side.
Keep the abdominal muscles engaged and breathe continuously!
You can perform this exercise in 3 sets on each side.
When finished, return to the starting position and relax your abdominal muscles.
REPETITIONS:
3 sets, 10 seconds each set.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Focus on maintaining a neutral pelvis and engaging your deep core with 360° abdominal breathing This creates proper intra-abdominal pressure, protecting your spine during the movement! Exercise must be completely pain-free!
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