L4-L5 Herniated Disc: Effective Exercise Treatments
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Exercise Treatments for L4 and L5 Herniated Disc

Exercise Treatments for L4 and L5 Herniated Disc
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Updated on August 6, 2025
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A low-back disc herniation can be a harrowing experience. One minute you're going about your day and the next you're laid up with pain, numbness, or tingling into your back and legs. Luckily, in many cases, this issue is treatable and doesn't require surgery. With a little knowledge and some specific L4-L5 spine exercises, it's possible to get back to feeling like your normal self.

Core-strengthening exercises targeting the abdominal, back, and hip muscles can help alleviate the pain associated with an L4-L5 disc herniation.

What Is a Disc Herniation?

The bones in your back, called the ‌vertebrae‌, are stacked one on top of another and are separated by discs. These discs contain a tough outer layer, known as the ‌annulus‌, and a jelly-like inner layer, known as the ‌nucleus‌.

Disc Herniation

A herniated disc can make contact with the nerves along your spine and cause symptoms down the legs.

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In the case of a herniation, the nucleus of the disc begins to push through the annulus and, in some cases, goes into the spinal canal. When this occurs, it can contact the nerves along your spine and cause numbness, tingling, pain, and weakness down the legs.

What Does L4-L5 Control?

In an L4-5-level herniation, the L5 spinal nerve is usually involved. This nerve supplies the sensation to the outside of your lower leg and to the top of your foot and may cause pain in these areas. In addition, the muscles that move your foot and big toe in an upward direction may be affected since the L5 nerve controls their movement.

Can Exercise Help?

If you're unlucky enough to experience a herniated disc, it's probably a relief to know that surgery is not your only option. Nine out of 10 people experience symptoms relief, with the majority of cases not requiring surgery.

 Conservative treatments like rest, ice or heat, spinal exercises, physical therapy, pain relievers, and steroid injections are normally helpful in facilitating the pain relief.

Try the following exercises for a bulging disc in the lower back.

Activate Your Transversus Abdominis

The transversus abdominis is a core muscle that lies deep within your abdomen. Improving the activation of this muscle is associated with lower pain and better day-to-day function in patients with chronic low back pain.

How to Do It Lie on your back with your knees bent to a 90-degree angle. Without allowing your back or pelvis to move, draw in your abdominal muscles, and hold the contraction for 10 seconds before relaxing again. Be sure not to hold your breath. Complete 3 sets of 10 repetitions.

Transversus Abdominis

To activate the gluteus maximus, which supports the lumbar spine, try the bridge exercise.

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Perform the Pelvic Bridge

The pelvic bridge targets the gluteus maximus, a large muscle that provides support and stability to the core and lower back.

How to Do It Lie on your back and bend your knees. Begin by tensing your abdominal muscles and then lift your butt in the air. Hold it there for five seconds before lowering back down to the floor. Again, try 3 sets of 10 reps.

Do Some Bird Dogs

The multimuscle technique known as bird dogs strengthens the muscles in the hips and abdomen while keeping the low back in a relatively neutral position.

How to Do It Get on your hands and knees and squeeze your stomach muscles. Without allowing your pelvis to drop, lift your right arm out in front of you and extend your left leg behind you.

Hold this position for 10 seconds before lowering your arm and leg and repeating the exercise with the opposite arm and leg. Complete this movement 10 times on each side.

Add a Side Bridge

The ‌side bridge‌, also known as a ‌side plank‌, activates the core and hip muscles.

How to Do It Lie on your side and prop yourself up on your forearm with your elbow underneath your shoulder. Keeping your knees straight, lift your hips off the floor as you rise onto your forearm and feet. Try to keep your spine from rolling forward or backward.

Hold this position for 5 to 10 seconds before lowering to the starting position. Complete 10 repetitions per side.

Side Bridge

Planks are another easy-to-perform abdominal exercise that can improve your herniated disc symptoms.

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Give Planks a Try

Planks focus on a variety of spine-stabilizing abdominal muscles, including the rectus abdominis and the internal and external obliques.

How to Do It Lie on your stomach with your elbows on the floor beneath your shoulders and your arms shoulder-width apart. Keeping your abs squeezed, lift your body off the floor as you go onto your toes and forearms. Don't allow your low back to sag as you maintain the plank for 10 seconds. Repeat the exercise 10 times.

Is Walking Good?

Following an acute episode of low-back pain from a disc herniation, it's important to ‌remain active and to avoid bed rest‌. In addition to the L5 lower-back pain exercises, try to continue with your daily activities and adding in walking to your routine.

Start off with a shorter walk and increase the distance as your pain allows. As the symptoms subside over the next few weeks, more strenuous cardio exercises, like biking or swimming, may also be added as pain allows.

Warnings and Precautions

While exercises for a bulging disc in the lower back may help relieve your pain, it's important to speak to your doctor if certain severe symptoms are present. These include intense or constant low-back pain, weakness in one or both legs, bowel or bladder problems, fever, abdominal pain, or unexplained weight loss.

Be sure to call your physician immediately if you have any of these symptoms as they could signify a more serious issue.

The Takeaway

  • In most cases, a low-back disc herniation is treatable and doesn't require surgery.
  • Core-strengthening exercises targeting the abdominal, back and hip muscles can help alleviate the pain associated with an L4-L5 disc herniation.
  • If you’re experiencing intense or constant low-back pain, weakness in one or both legs, bowel or bladder problems, fever, abdominal pain, or unexplained weight loss, be sure to contact your doctor immediately.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. Herniated Disc. American Association of Neurological Surgeons. March 20, 2024.
  2. Lumbar Spine. Cleveland Clinic. February 17, 2022.
  3. Changming X et al. Effect of Transversus Abdominis Muscle Training on Pressure-Pain Threshold in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain. BMC Sports Science, Medicine & Rehabilitation. April 1, 2021.
  4. Got Glutes? Part 1 — The Role of the Gluteus Maximus and Healthy Activation Patterns in Core Stabilization. Mayo Clinic. October 10, 2023.
  5. Bird-dog. American Council on Exercise.
  6. Seung-Min B et al. Effect of Side-Sling Plank Exercise on Trunk and Hip Muscle Activation in Subjects with Gluteus Medius Weakness. Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation. 2022.
  7. Why You Should Start Doing Planks. Cleveland Clinic. November 18, 2021.
  8. Back Pain. Mayo Clinic. September 26, 2024.
Meet Our Experts
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Scott Haak, PT, DPT, MTC, CSCS

Medical Reviewer

Scott Haak, PT, DPT, has been a member of the Mayo Clinic staff since 2000. Dr. Haak serves as faculty for the Sports Medicine Fellowship program at Mayo Clinic Florida. He is certified by the NSCA (National Strength and Conditioning Association) as a CSCS (Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist), is a Certified USA Weightlifting Coach and Certified USA Football Coach, and possesses a MTC (Manual Therapy Certification) from the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences.

Haak is an exercise enthusiast and enjoys running, weightlifting, and sports performance training. He is the president and director of coaching of a youth tackle football organization, JDL Providence Football, and currently coaches high school football and weight lifting.

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Tim Petrie, PT, OCS

Author

Tim Petrie is a sports medicine physical therapist and a certified orthopedic specialist practicing in Milwaukee, WI. In addition to treating patients of all ages, he is passionate about writing about health and wellness topics. In his free time, Tim loves to run and travel with his wife and three kids.

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