What stretch relieves lower back pain?
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Dr. Mehmet Oz answered:To help manage your low back pain, try the following stretching routine:
Stretching
To stretch your lower back, start by lying down, facing up. Exhale and bring one knee up to your chest, and bring your chin to your chest until you feel a slight stretch in your neck and mid- and lower back. Hold for five seconds, breathing normally. Exhale to return to starting position. Repeat for each leg 10 to 15 times.
Lower back stretch
Lie on your back with your feet shoulder-width apart and your back straight. Bend your knees to about 90 degrees. Exhale and slowly lower both knees to the right until you feel a slight stretch in your lower back. Hold for a count of 1-2, breathing normally. Inhale and slowly bring your knees back to the starting position. Be careful to use the strength of your legs instead of your back to return to the starting position. Repeat on the left side. Begin with a moderate schedule of one set of 8-10 repetitions for each side.
Upper back stretch
Start by sitting upright in a chair. As you exhale, use your arms to slowly pull your upper body toward your thighs. You should feel a deep but not painful stretch in your spine. If you prefer a deeper stretch, move your hands and arms further behind your ankles. Hold for 10-15 seconds, breathing normally. Inhale and use your arms to slowly bring yourself back to the sitting position. Begin with a moderate schedule of one set of 8-10 repetitions for each side.To help manage your low back pain, try the following stretching routine: Stretching To stretch your lower back, start by lying down, facing up. Exhale and bring one knee up to your chest, and bring your chin to your chest until you feel a... More -
Dr. Gerald M. Silverman answered:Straight leg raising is particularly effective for lower back pain accompanied by referred or radiating pain in the buttock and down your leg. This is a difficult stretch to do by yourself, and it is best if someone is there to assist. Getting help with this stretch allows you to relax the surrounding muscles and let your assistant do the work. This stretch is designed to loosen muscles in the lower back, buttock, and hamstring (back of your thigh). It can have the added benefit of decompressing the large sciatic nerve that may be entrapped or irritated by surrounding tissues and is often associated with referred or radiating leg pain.
Start by lying flat on your back on the floor, couch, or bed. Use a thin pillow to support your neck. Have your assistant reach down and grab underneath the ankle of the affected leg. Keeping your unaffected leg straight or slightly bent at the knee, have your assistant slowly start to raise the affected leg a few inches off the floor. Try to stay as relaxed as possible and let your helper do the work. This is usually a painful and difficult stretch that requires great patience and a little courage. Initially, your assistant should only raise the leg four to five inches, or to a point where you feel significant pulling and stretching in your back and hamstring muscles. Have your helper hold your leg in that position for ten seconds and then gently lower it again. If necessary, take a few deep breaths, and then keep repeating this procedure, each time trying to get your straight leg raised a few inches higher. For the first two or three days, you may only get your leg to a 30- or 45-degree elevation. Within a week to ten days, you may be able to get to a 60- to 75-degree elevation without much pain.
Although straight leg raising is most effective when you can stretch passively with a helper, there are two variations you can try if you are by yourself. First, sitting up and holding one end of a long belt, rope, or stretch band in each hand, lean forward and place the middle of the rope on the bottom of your foot. Now lie back, and keeping your leg straight, pull on the rope to slowly elevate your straight leg off the floor. When you feel moderate pulling and stretching in your back and hamstring muscles, hold your leg in that position for ten seconds and then gently place it back on the floor. Repeat the procedure, each time trying to raise your leg a few inches farther off the floor.
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Straight leg raising is particularly effective for lower back pain accompanied by referred or radiating pain in the buttock and down your leg. This is a difficult stretch to do by yourself, and it is best if someone is there to assist.... More -
Dr. Ronald Tolchin of Baptist Health South Florida answered:Do you feel tension in the back when you wake up in the morning or after sitting for long periods at your desk? Stretching exercises can help relieve tension and reduce tightness in the back muscles.
Stretching exercises can also help increase mobility, often decreasing back pain and discomfort.
A common back-flexing exercise involves lying on your back, then carefully pulling both knees to the chest while simultaneously flexing the head forward. You should feel a comfortable stretch in a balled-up position. Hold that stretch for about 20 seconds, and repeat until you feel some tension relief.
A variation of this stretch: bring one knee up to your chest until you feel a slight stretch in your mid- and lower back. Hold for five seconds, breathing normally. Then repeat with the other knee.
Although there are many more stretching exercises available, do not continue with any stretching exercise that increases pain, and make sure to move slowly into any stretch to avoid aggravating or straining muscles.Do you feel tension in the back when you wake up in the morning or after sitting for long periods at your desk? Stretching exercises can help relieve tension and reduce tightness in the back muscles. Stretching exercises can also help increase... More
