15 Gentle Lower Back Stretches to Help Relieve Your Pain

The lower back is an all-too-common pain point. If you’re feeling tight or achy there, adding some gentle stretches to your routine is usually a low-effort solution to help ease the stress.

There are a bunch of explanation why your lower back may very well be barking in the primary place, including injuries like muscle strains; problems together with your discs (the spongy pads that act as shock absorbers to your vertebrae); or chronic conditions like osteoarthritis (a breakdown in joint tissue over time), ankylosing spondylitis (an inflammatory disease that could cause your vertebrae to fuse), or axial spondyloarthritis (inflammatory arthritis in your spine).

But one of the common causes is just sitting an entire lot. Being sedentary all day can weaken your core, mess together with your posture, and cause your hip muscles to shorten and pull in your lower back. All of this may increase the stress on the encompassing joints and interfere together with your regular movement patterns, resulting in general lower back aches and discomfort, Sasha Cyrelson, DPT, OCS, the clinical director at Professional Physical Therapy in Sicklerville, New Jersey, tells SELF.

That’s where stretching is available in. While it isn’t a magical cure-all, it help provide you with some relief. Here’s what it’s good to know to take advantage of it.

Why certain stretches might help ease lower back pain

“In general, motion is lotion,” Dr. Cyrelson says. Gentle stretches keep your body loose and mobile and encourage your joints to maneuver comfortably through their full range of motion. That’s vital because a scarcity of mobility in your spine particularly could cause more strain on the encompassing muscles and contribute to lower back pain, Dr. Cyrelson says.

And it’s not nearly doing a ton of lower-back stretches either. Releasing tightness in your hips, glutes, legs, and mid-back also plays a giant role in staying pain-free too. When those muscles aren’t in a position to move as freely as they need to, your posture takes a success. This creates an imbalance that puts extra demands in your lower back while you’re exercising or just going about your every day life, Dr. Cyrelson explains. But by keeping those areas loose, they’ll fan the flames of properly to finish certain movements, thus taking the strain off the muscles in your lower back.

There are a number of things to take into accout to stretch safely.

In general, stretching is secure to do every day, though it’s best to tune into how your body’s feeling as you progress, Dr. Cyrelson says. “Never stretch right into a position of pain; pain is how our bodies tell us something is mistaken,” she says. You feel a mix of muscle tension and release; if there’s any pinching, sharp pain, or temporary numbness, ease off the stretch.

If your back pain is expounded to a chronic health condition or you’ve gotten a history of back injuries or disc problems, it’s best to take some extra precautions, Dr. Cyrelson says. First, chat together with your doctor or physical therapist to be sure you’re not doing anything that would potentially make things worse. If they provide you with the green light to present certain stretches a try, be sure you’re moving in a slow and controlled manner so you can easily stop should you suddenly feel pain or irritation, and avoid hyperextending (overarching) your lower back or lumbar spine.

How so as to add lower-back stretches to your routine

Choose three to 5 stretches from the list below and do them a pair times per week to begin. If the moves you choose don’t seem to present your lower back any relief, try a number of others until you discover those that feel good. Ditch any which can be particularly uncomfortable or irritate your back further. Eventually, as you get more comfortable, you’ll be able to stretch every day (should you’d like), and work as much as holding each pose for longer.

Finally, while we’re specializing in stretching exercises here, don’t ignore strength work. Strengthening your core—including your deep abdominal muscles, pelvic floor, and glutes—will even help support your spine, Dr. Cyrelson says. So bookmark a number of abs workouts for later, but for now, let’s get to stretching!