Sit a lot for work? History of low back pain? Low back feels tight at the end of your day? If you answered, “yes” or even, “maybe” then P3 has four simple exercises/modifications to help you out. Don’t worry, you are not alone when it comes to low back pain, as it is one of the most common conditions we treat. Give these 4 lower back pain relief tips a try to help keep you moving and grooving all year round.
Lower Back Pain Relief Tips
1. Use a Towel Roll When Sitting
As the name suggests, you will need some sort of towel for this modification. Take a beach towel or thicker towel and roll it pretty tight; some people even tape theirs! You are going to place this towel in the small of your back when you are sitting. Most of the time people who have back pain with sitting are more achy the longer they sit and lean forward. Placing the towel roll and sitting back over top of it provides you a cue and support to reverse that end of the day slump! You can keep it there for as long as you can tolerate it.
2. Move Often
Yep, even sitting with the towel too long can cause some discomfort. Our bodies are meant to move, even that spine of yours! Too much of a good thing can even cause some low back pain. So, we recommend changing positions and/or going for a short walk in your home/office every 30 minutes or so. While keeping your spine loose it will also allow you to get that step count up as well!
3. Cat-Cow Stretch
This exercise for low back pain requires a floor or bed/couch because we will be on our hands and knees. There are probably other names for this pose/stretch, but you have probably seen this somewhere online or from a friend. Starting on your hands and knees, you are going to round your back as much as you can slowly. Once at the top, you will then begin to arch your back as much as possible, think about bringing your belly button as close to the floor as possible. You will notice as you do more repetitions, that it may be easier or you can move farther – that is what you want! Try completing three sets of fifteen repetitions daily.
4. Pretzel Stretch
Last but not least, and it does not come with mustard, is the pretzel stretch. Again, you may know it as something different and that is okay too. Laying on your side, you will bring your top leg forward/towards your chest and rest it on a foam roller, yoga block, a rolled up towel, or the floor. Next step is to reach back with the hand closest to the ceiling and grab your bottom foot (definitely allow that knee to bend too). As you reach down and back for that foot, you will try to get that same shoulder blade to the floor. If you can’t, that’s okay! This stretches out your hip flexors on the bottom leg and your low back. Make sure to do this on both sides. Try holding this pose for about fifteen to twenty seconds.
Looking For More Than Just Lower Back Pain Tips?
As with an exercise, stretch, or modification, they should not be painful. If your low back pain gets worse or lingers after trying these exercises daily, it would be best to reach out to one of our physical therapists for some help to get rid of your low back pain. You can also check out our free ebook 5 Easy Tips To Reduce Back Pain.