People with back pain commonly suffer from stiffness. Here is some advice on stretching to relieve back stiffness.
- If stretching in the morning, take a warm shower first. This warms up muscles, tendons and ligaments and facilitates stretching.
- For each stretch there is a hold before releasing the stretch. If you are very tight start with 10 seconds for each hold, but gradually increase the hold as you progress.
- It’s important to stretch the buttocks, thighs, and hamstrings, along with the back. This is because tightness in these areas will affect your back posture, worsening pain and spasm.
- Stretching should provide relief, it should not hurt. If one of these stretches worsens your pain, don’t do it.
- Try stretching in front of a mirror, so you can monitor your form.
- Cat stretch: Get on your hands and knees. Place hands directly beneath shoulders and knees directly beneath hips. Round your back while inhaling and drop your chin to your chest/flex your neck. Then reverse by exhaling and arching your back and extending your neck/lifting your head.
- On your back hamstring stretch: Lay flat on you back. Grab a belt and hold it from each end. Loop the belt over the bottom of your foot as you raise your leg straight up. Pull on the belt to straighten your leg and stretch. Hold. Do the other side.
- On your back glut stretch: Lay flat on your back. Bring your leg over your body. Hook your thigh with the opposite arm and pull your leg across your body, as you hold your back flat on the floor. You should feel the stretch in your buttocks and upper thigh.
- Wide stance hamstring stretch: Stand up. Place your feet shoulder width apart, or wider if you need to. Bend at the waist as you keep your legs straight. Come down as far as you comfortably can, preferably until you touch the floor or your toes. Hold. Repeat 9 times.
- Standing side stretch: Standing with feet together place arm along body (arm 1) and lift opposite arm (arm 2) overhead with palm facing floor. Bend towards arm 1. Other side. Repeat 4 times.
