Low back pain is the most common problem experienced by people of all age groups around the world. There are various reasons of developing a back pain like bad posture, aging process, type of injury, weight gain, stress, smoking, sleeping position, abnormalities in spine etc. The most popular method of treating back pain is lower back pain stretches.
Lower back pain stretches consist of exercises that can be easily done at home. The main purpose of these exercises is to stretch the muscles in and around the lower back area. Some of the lower back pain stretches include exercises like squatting lower back stretch, early morning, kick, simple cat stretch and full body mobilizer.
Squatting lower back stretch requires a standing position and facing a fixed bar having height up to hip. The distance between the body and the bar should be one arm’s length. Feet should be kept flat on the floor while making an effort to grasp the fixed bar. Squatting is done by bending as low as possible keeping both the arms straight. Then the body is leaned back and shoulders are allowed to stretch forward. In early morning stretches, arms are brought above the head while lying on the ground. Body is stretched by making movement in toes and arms in opposite directions. The purpose of this movement is to elongate the body. This exercise is repeated several times.
In kick exercise, knees are slightly bent while lying down. One knee is moved up and then back. Legs are straightened until some tension is felt. The body should be held in this position for some time. The simple cat stretch exercise helps in the activation of spine and paraspinal muscles and can be done on the floor or the bed. In this exercise, the body is positioned on hands and knees. Head is raised and belly is opened downward towards the floor. The back should fall into an arch and the spine is stretched in the opposite direction by dropping the head. Chin is moved towards the chest and the back is raised in the upward direction. This movement is repeated few times with coordinated breathing.
Full body mobilizer consists of two movements – the basic movement and the arm movement. In the basic movement, the body is in the standing position with feet hip width distance apart and knees are slightly bent. The chin is dropped to the chest. Head is moved towards the floor and then bent forward at the waist. Hands or elbows should reach the knees and support them. After that, right knee is straightened and left knee is further bent. The same straightening movement is repeated with left knee also. This stretching movement of both the legs is done 5-10 times. In the arm movement, the right arm is positioned towards the ceiling with the help of upper body parts. The position of left elbow on the knees helps in supporting the weight of the body. The right arm is brought back and the right knee is again bent. The elbow is rested on the right knee again. The left knee is slowly straightened while the right knee is bent further. The same procedure is repeated with the left arm. This movement is done 5-10 times.
Lower back pain stretches should be performed under the guidance of a doctor. If instead of relaxing the muscles, the stretches are straining them then these exercises should be stopped immediately.