10 Stretch Exercises That Will Help You Relieve Lower Back Pain

A “pain in the back” can sometimes become a real pain in the posterior! Wouldn’t it be great to decrease your chances of dealing with these aggravating aches in the first place?

Stretching and other light exercises can reduce the agony in your lower back. Decide to create a regular routine of exercise to strengthen your core and keep your body flexible.

As you develop a strong core, you are providing protection for your lower back. This is one of the best ways to keep aches and pains from developing and to slowly help the tenderness to disappear.

In this article, we are going to look at 10 amazing stretches that can help with lower back pain.

1. Back Flexion

Back flexion is all about bending your spine from the waist. If you have ever had to take part in a back rehabilitation program, you’ll be familiar with this type of stabilization exercise.

It hardly strains your back, and you can do this stretch lying down on the ground, making it ideal for plenty of people.

People with certain back problems, including spinal stenosis, lumbar spondylolisthesis, and degenerative disc disease, can benefit from this stretch.

However, people with a herniated or bulging disc should be cautious with this exercise and would do well to double-check with their doctor before they perform it.

How to do it:

• Start by lying on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the ground.
• Slowly, lift your feet off the ground, and begin to bring your knees to your chest.
• Afterward, grab your knees or your thighs, whichever is more comfortable for you, and start pulling your legs towards your chest.
• Once you start feeling the stretch in your lower back, hold for three to five seconds before gently releasing your feet.
• Repeat this exercise 10 times.

2. Single Knee To Chest Stretch

This stretch is back flexion’s sibling and is ideal if your back muscles are so tight that getting both your knees towards your chest is a difficult process.

It’s a way to get you started and help your lower back get limber enough so that you can transition into back flexion.

Additionally, knee to chest stretch can increase your range of motion.

This stretch helps your joints become more flexible while reducing the stiffness that comes with spinal arthritis or spinal stenosis.

How to do it:

• Just like back flexion, lie down on the ground, bend your knees, and place your feet flat on the ground.
• Instead of raising both legs, raise only one leg and bring it towards your chest.
• Grab the leg and interlace your fingers under the knee
• Pull your leg gently till you feel a stretch in your lower back.
• All the while you are doing this, make sure to keep your legs, pelvis, and lower back as relaxed as possible.
• Hold for three to five seconds before releasing the leg and placing it down on the floor.
• Repeat this same stretch with the other leg
• Perform this stretch 10 times.

3. Kneeling Lunge Stretch

Your hip flexors can have a large influence on how your lower back feels. Moreover, tight hip flexors can lead to a weakened and painful lower back.

The kneeling lunge stretch is perfect for loosening those muscles and keeping your hips nice and limber.

How to do it:

• While your back is straight, kneel on a single knee and place your other foot in front of you. Keep the knee of the forward foot at 90 degrees.
• Once you feel stable enough, start sliding forward till you feel a stretch in the front of the kneeling leg.
• Stop there and hold the position for around 30 seconds.
• Slowly get up and switch legs
• Repeat this stretch 4-6 times

4. Piriformis Stretch

Your piriformis muscle is situated beneath your gluteal muscles and plays a pivotal role in both the flexibility and stability of your hip.

Consequently, if your piriformis muscles are weak or tight, you can suffer from lower back pain, sciatica pain, and general hip rigidity.

How to do it:

• The simplest way to stretch your piriformis muscle is to sit cross-legged on the floor for a few minutes on a daily basis.
• If you spend a lot of time sitting on a chair, you can stretch your piriformis muscle by crossing one of your legs over the other and placing the ankle over the opposite knee. Afterward, lean forward.
• You can achieve a stronger stretch by lying on your back, placing one foot on the ground with a bent knee, placing the ankle of the other foot on top of the knee, and gently pulling the leg that was on the ground towards your chest.

5. Trunk Rotation

If you’ve ever been to a chiropractor, you are probably familiar with this stretch that is just perfect for helping you regain flexibility in your lower back.

Do this by realigning your vertebrae and releasing any tension in your lumbar spine.

How to do it:

• Start off by lying flat on your back, bending your knees, and placing your feet flat on the floor.
• Gently, begin rotating your legs towards the left as you keep your right shoulder blade glued to the floor.
• You should begin to feel a stretch in both your spine and right hip, and you might even hear back pop- this is completely normal.
• Stay in that position for three to five minutes.
• Once you feel that you’ve adequately stretched that side, return your legs back to neutral before doing the stretch again on the other side.

6. Child’s Pose

Child’s pose also known as Balasana. It is well-known amongst the yogis out there. It is a calming pose that stretches the lower back.

The only people who might have problems with this pose are those suffering from an injury to their knees.

How to do it:

• Begin by kneeling on the floor with both your knees. Try to have both your big toes touching, and place your buttocks on your heels.
• Separate your knees a bit and start bending forward, bringing your torso between your thighs. Maintain a long tailbone and try to go down as much as you can.
• You can better the stretch by laying your hands on the floor in front of you and relax your shoulders.
• Stay in this pose for a few minutes, three to five, before gently coming up

7. Cat-Camel Stretch

Another pose popularized by yoga, the cat-camel stretch is a spine-friendly way to increase your back’s mobility.

By removing your body weight from the equation, this stretch lets you move your back without having to worry about overloading it, and it helps tone your back’s muscles.

How to do it:

• Get on your hands and knees, and begin to round your back slowly.
• Upon going as far as you can, start reversing the movement and arching your back.
• Go slowly, and each round of rounding and arching should take you around three to four seconds.
• Repeat this exercise five to six times.

Remember, this stretch is not twerk. You don’t want to just shake your back up and down vigorously as if you were trying to get something off of it.

Instead, you should aim for increasing movement control throughout your entire spine through arching and rounding your back slowly and deliberately.

This will help increase the mobility throughout your entire spine rather than focusing on a few key joints and will ensure that your cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spines all extend and flex together.

8. Hamstring Stretch

Located in the back of your thigh, your hamstrings allow you to flex and bend your knee. Also, they connect to your hip, helping your gluts function.

Because of all this, tight hamstring can affect your lower back by decreasing your hip’s mobility and keeping your entire body rigid.

The good news is that there is more than one way to stretch your hamstrings, and here are two of them:

How to do it:

• The simplest way to stretch your hammies is to sit on the floor with one leg straight in front of you and the other one bent.
• After that, just try to touch the toes of the outstretched leg, and hold for 10 seconds before switching feet.
• For the flexible among you, you can aim to hold on to the sole of the foot and pull your body towards your knee.

Another way to stretch your hamstrings is to do so while standing. Stand straight, make sure your knees aren’t bent, and try to go down with the rest of your body to touch your toes.

Once you’ve gone as far as you can, stay there for 15 to 30 seconds. You can even make this stretch more effective by crossing one leg in front of the other before going down.

9. Raised Pelvic Tilt

The Raised Pelvic Tilt can help to build up the muscles in your stomach. Having a stronger abdomen will begin to decrease the tightness and distress in your lower back.

How you do it:

• With your back on the floor and both knees bent, plant your feet flat on the floor.
• Press your abdomen into the floor while tightening your stomach muscles.
• Raise your pelvis off the floor and hold for 5-10 seconds.
• Gently lower your pelvis back onto the floor and breathe deeply. Relax.
• Repeat this stretch 3-5 times.

10. Prone Press

This stretch may not be ideal for you if you suffer from spinal arthritis or facet joint problems.

On the other hand, those of you who might be having problems with a herniated disc might find the prone press beneficial.

Unlike all the other stretches in this list, the prone press is done while you are lying face down.

How to do it:

• Lie on your stomach, put your forehead on the floor, and place your hand in line with your shoulder with your elbow bent and your forearms on the floor.
• Slowly, press up, and push your front torso off the ground, causing your lower back to arch backward.
• Keep your lower back arched for 30 seconds before bringing your forehead back to the ground again.
• Focus on your technique throughout the stretch and repeat it three to five times.

Conclusion

Taking the time to incorporate a few of these stretches into your daily routine should make a big difference in the way you feel.

As you strengthen your core, your muscles will become a lot more flexible. You will find that the tension and pain in your lower back have begun to decrease or disappeared completely.

Throughout this article, we have reviewed 10 different stretches that can help your back and allow you to maintain a healthy spine.

Not every stretch is suitable for everybody. If you are in doubt, you can ask your doctor about which stretches are best for your particular circumstances.