Are you finding you’ve had increased back pain with sitting long hours at your desk? These 5 stretches for lower back pain are perfect if you’ve been stuck at home working for the past few months!
Don’t worry, lower back pain is a very common issue, not just in Australia, but all over the world. Almost 4 million people in Australia alone had back problems in 2017-18.
The good news is, there are solutions to help address this! One of the easiest ones to implement is exercise.
Try these 5 simple exercises that will take just 5-10 minutes of your day to complete!
Child’s Pose
This exercise helps lengthen your lower back and stretch a lot of the surrounding muscles.
- Start on your hands and knees. Push your bottom back towards your heels
- Slide your hands forward and tuck your head under
- Hold for 30 seconds, then return to starting position
- To stretch the sides of your back, you can slide your hands to either side, keeping your bottom and feet in the same position
Supine Trunk rotations
This helps increase spinal mobility and is a great stretch for pain relief.
- Lie on your back, knees bent and heels on the floor
- Twist both knees from one side to the other, ensure upper body stays on the ground.
- Hold both knees at the bottom for 3-5 seconds before rotating slowly to the other side.
- Complete these 10 times in total.
Cat/Camel Stretch
- Start on all fours with a flat spine.
- Arch your back down into a “cat” position
- Round your back up into a “camel” position
- Continue transitioning between the positions, holding each for 5 seconds.
- Complete these 10 times in total
Prone Press-ups
- Lie face down on the floor. Place arms flat on the ground
- Press upper body into the air as shown. Keep hips on the floor throughout.
- Hold for 5 seconds, then return to starting position.
- Complete 10 press-ups in total
Knee to Chest
- Lie on your back, knees bent, feet planted on the mat.
- Keep core tight and lower back on the floor as you bring your knees to your chest.
- Return to starting position slowly.
- Complete 10 repetitions.
If you continue to struggle with back pain and home setups, you can always get in touch with one of our highly experienced Physiotherapists at XRHealth – we can design a comprehensive program for you to help alleviate your pain and achieve your goals.
