Back pain is one of the most common complaints in the United States. We spend a lot of time at work, sitting in cars, and simply living life. That leads to tight muscles, poor posture, and being hunched over too much. Often it can lead to muscle spasms from overworking certain muscle groups. Sometimes this pain can be so intense that we can’t function normally without medication or other treatments. Here’s a simple way to alleviate back pain without any expensive treatments. Let these two low back pain stretches ease your body into better health and let you move around freely again!
In today’s video, I wanted to go through two easy low back pain stretches.
CLICK HERE to watch the YouTube video.
What Causes Back Pain?
Back pain can result from injury, activity, and some medical conditions. Back pain is not specific to age, or anything else for that matter. People of any age are susceptible to back pains due to the many factors involved. As people get older, lower back pain becomes a reality as previous occupations and degenerative disk disease come into play.
Back pain may be linked to the bony lumbar spine, discs between vertebrae, ligaments around the spine and discs, spinal cord, and nerves in the lower back area and upper back areas. We can determine whether a particular type of pain is due to inflammation or from injury with a thorough physical examination. Pain in both areas could include disorders of arteries like chest tumors as well as inflammation caused by spondylitis or disc problems. Lowering stress levels might help relieve some types of chronic back pain but would not likely help reduce acute symptoms based on these examples since they are all related physically rather than psychologically/emotionally such as depression which worsens lower back strains when patients are experiencing severe frustration while trying to heal their issue.
Other causes:
- Strain
- Structural problems
- Movement and posture
- Cauda equina syndrome (a dull pain in the lower back and upper buttocks)
- Infection of the spine
- Cancer in the spine
Risk Factors
Anyone can develop low back pain, risk factors include the following:
- Age. Older adults have a high risk of developing and experiencing back pain, which can be debilitating. The most common cause for the onset of back pain is degenerative or structural problems in the spine that lead to bone spurs, arthritis, disc herniations from vertebral fractures, and spinal stenosis.
- Smoking. Smokers are more likely to experience back pain, which is because they have increased rates of coughing and decreased blood flow. This can lead to herniated disks as well as osteoporosis.
- Psychological conditions. Back pain is more likely to affect people who suffer from depression and anxiety disorders.
- Lack of exercise. Weak muscles in your back can lead to pain.
- Excess weight. Your back is the most important body part. Excess weight and extra stress can put a lot of strain on it, which leads to other health problems like low bone density, diabetes, heart disease, and many more.
- Diseases. Arthritis and cancer can contribute to back pain.
- Improper lifting. If you use your back instead of your legs for strenuous activity, it can lead to back pain.
Here are the 2 low back pain stretches that you should try:
1. Knees Side to Side
Knees Side to Side
Lie down on your back, relaxing your upper body with your hands to your sides and your eyes looking straight up. Bend at the knees and rock your knees from side to side, to roughly 45 degrees. We are loosening up the hips and low back area which are often tight, leading to back pain.
To increase the difficulty of this exercise, separate your feet and rock to one side and then the other, which stretches out your hips and low back area more. Do one set of exercises with 3 repetitions on each side. Hold the end position for about a second. Progress up to 5 repetitions on each side, and then up to 10 repetitions on each side. This exercise is great for loosening up your hips, which will help with your back pain.
2. Pelvis Arches
Pelvis Arches
Lie flat on your back with your knees bent. Bring your pelvis forward, arch, and then flatten. We are rocking the pelvis back which flattens the back, and then we are rocking the pelvis forward which increases the arch in the back. We are doing a low back pain area to help improve the movement in the back. When the movement in the back improves, it decreases back pain.
Do one set of the exercise, starting off with three repetitions each way. Progress up to 5 repetitions each way, and then progress to 10 repetitions each way. Go through the exercise in a smooth controlled movement, holding the end position for about a second.
So, give those two easy low back pain stretches a go.
If you are suffering from any kind of back discomfort and want to permanently end the pain, then click here to check out the Low Back Pain Solved program.
