A Good Stretch Can Go a Long Way!
No matter what our daily activities are, standing or sitting, we can easily tax our backs. So it is essential to incorporate movement throughout the day along with regular stretching to loosen tight muscles and enhance circulation to help nourish the spine. When we do this every day (making sure the form is correct for each movement/exercise of course), this can help strengthen the back, making it more resilient with a spine that is strong and flexible.
What follows are five stretches that can help strengthen the back.
Child’s Pose
This helps with mobility of the spine and relaxation of the lower back muscles.
- Begin on all fours. Sit your hips back on your heels if possible (if not, you can put a pillow on your heels and sit back on the pillow instead). Your knees are wide open and your big toes are touching.
- Reach out your arms forward while your forehead is resting on the floor.
- Hold the stretch for 15 to 30 seconds at a time. Repeat 3 times while breathing in and out deeply for maximum relaxation.
Cat Back
This exercise helps with spine flexion and extension. It promotes proper movement and function of the spine as a unit. The directions are from an Egoscue Method zoom session I attended this year.
- Start on your hands and knees, where your wrists are placed directly under your shoulders and your knees directly underneath your hips.
- Starting with your hips, tuck your pelvis to round your lower back and spine up towards the ceiling while dropping your head and pulling your shoulder blades away from each other. [Breathe out as you are doing this].
- Starting with your hips, roll your pelvis forward to put the arch in your back while collapsing your shoulder blades together and look up toward the ceiling. Be sure not to shrug your shoulders towards your ears. [Breathe in as you are doing this].
Hip Crossover Stretch
This exercise helps with hip and spinal rotation. The directions are from an Egoscue Method zoom session I attended this year.
- Lie on your back with both knees bent and your feet flat on the floor pointed straight ahead.
- Place your arms out to the side at shoulder level, with your palms flat on the floor.
- Cross your left ankle over your right knee and rotate the ankle/knee junction down toward the floor. Your left foot should now be flat on the floor, along with the outside of your right leg.
- Look in the opposite direction and relax your shoulders.
- Press the left knee away from your body using the left hip muscles.
- Hold [for up to 1 minute], then switch sides and repeat.
Hamstring Stretch
When we have to bend and lift things (making sure we practice the hip hinge), having flexible hamstrings lessens the stress put on the back.
- Lie flat on your back. Place a yoga strap over and around the toes of the left foot and grab both ends of the strap firmly with your hands. Slightly activate the core muscles.
- Slowly raise the left leg (pulling on the strap) until you feel a stretch in the back of the left thigh.
- Hold the stretch for 20 seconds or 3 deep breaths.
- Repeat on the other side.
Psoas (Hip Flexor) Stretch
If we sit a lot, the front of the hips (where the psoas muscle is) gets really tight and this puts stress in the lower back when we do things upright by pulling the lower back forward. Stretching that muscle can help with that issue.
- Step forward with the right leg and bend the knee at about a 90-degree angle. Keep the right knee positioned above the right ankle. (If you have any knee issues you can instead put the right foot on a stable chair or couch, for instance, and bend the right knee. In that case, the left leg will not lie on the floor, of course). Hold on to something if needed.
- Extend the left leg behind the torso and touch the floor with the left knee. The lower leg lies on the floor.
- Move the hips forward (doing a slight pelvic tilt and activating the glutes), pushing the right knee in front of the right ankle. Make sure to keep the right knee pointing forward. You should feel the stretch in the hip area on the left side.
- Hold the stretch for 20 seconds or 3 deep breaths.
- Repeat on the other side.
Hope this helps whatever you have to do this holiday season! (And always consult your personal physician before starting anything new).
Happy Holidays!!
References
“5 Best Back Pain Stretches for Immediate Back Pain Relief.” Dave Asprey, 20 Aug. 2018, daveasprey.com/best-back-pain-stretches-pain-relief/. Accessed 29 Nov. 2020.
Nelson, Arnold G, and Jouko Kokkonen. Stretching Anatomy. Champaign, Il, Human Kinetics, 2007, pp. 98–9, 104–7.
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