Below are 3 stretches that you can do in the comfort of your own home that can quickly and effectively assist you in removing low back pain.
Please keep in mind that stretching is something that should be done consistently, as doing these exercises once will not cure you forever. The good news is, stretching feels very good and doesn’t take very long to do, so be sure to find some time daily to perform these exercises.
Aside from injury and disease, low back pain may also be a result of tension in the hips, glutes, and hamstrings. Therefore, these exercises will also help loosen up those tight leg muscles.
Exercise 1: Baddha Konasana
Steps to perform:
- Sit down on the floor and place the soles of your feet together, knees outstretched to your sides.
- You should immediately begin to feel a nice stretch in the inside of your hips and the outside as well.
- Sit up straight by trying to make yourself as tall as possible while in this seated position. Do not be in a hunched over position with your back.
- With your hands, grab your feet as you slowly begin to lean your torso forward, stretching your hips and low back. Try to keep your back as straight as possible – remember that a rounded, arched back is bad.
- Once you have bent forward as far as you could possibly go without breaking form (i.e. lower back is still straight, soles of feet are still touching) simply hold that position for 5-10 seconds. Take some slow but deep breaths, and feel the nice stretch.
- Do this stretch 3-5 times, or until you feel sufficiently stretched.
Exercise 2: Knee to Chest Stretch
Steps to perform:
- Begin by lying with your back flat on the floor, knees bent towards the ceiling and both feet completely flat on the floor.
- Cross one ankle over your knee (doesn’t matter which one as you’ll be doing the other one shortly). Make sure that the knee of the crossed leg is pressed outwards, away from the body so that you feel a stretch in your hips.
- Use your hands to reach across your legs and grab hold of the knee still facing towards the ceiling. Slowly pull on it backwards, as if you are trying to yank that knee towards your chest.
- You should feel a nice stretch on your glutes, lower back, and your hips.
- Again, hold this position for 5-10 seconds, taking slow and deep breaths as you hold the stretch. But wait, you’re not done yet! Now do this with the other leg to complete a set.
- Do this stretch 3-5 times (both legs count as 1 time), or until you feel sufficiently stretched.
Exercise 3: Half Pigeon
Steps to perform:
- Begin in a kneeling position, with one leg in front of you and one leg behind.
- With the leg that is in front of you, place it on the floor on its side so that you have an L shape on the floor.
- With the leg that is behind you, stretch it out as much as you can until it is straight.
- Now, you can begin to fold forward with your torso, while keeping your back straight. This is very similar to the Baddha Konasana exercise taught above, the only exception is that one leg is now straight behind you.
- Just like the knee to chest stretch, make sure you stretch the other leg as well to count it as one set. At the bottom of each movement, hold for 5-10 seconds while breathing slowly but deeply.
- Do this stretch 3-5 times (both legs count as 1 time), or until you feel sufficiently stretched.
Your glutes, hamstrings, hips, and of course, lower back should be feeling a lot looser and more flexible. Keep in mind that this is only a temporary fix, however. Stretching is something that must be done on a regular basis to maintain or improve your flexibility and alleviate pains.
Practice these exercises when you have some spare time, as it shouldn’t take very long to complete (15-20 minutes) and the results are astounding.
If you feel like you aren’t able to perform any of the above exercises as perfectly as they are done in the pictures, don’t worry. You can still get good results as long as you try your best, and keep in mind that practice will make perfect.