Ok, Here's Your Final 3 Stretches to Get and Keep You Out of Back Pain

As promised, you’ll find below the final 3 stretches to get and keep you out of back pain.

Obviously the 9 hip stretches I’ve provided are by no means an exhaustive list of hip stretches to get you out of back pain.  But they are in fact a great beginning set of stretches to start you on the road to recovery.  I’ve had great results with my clients utilizing these 9 stretches. For some, that may be all the assistance you need to help keep your body in balance, while others may need a bit more individualized routine.

Equally, if not more important than the exact stretches you do, is how consistent are you executing the stretches. Are you regularly performing the stretches – daily or every other day for example? Or are you like many people and only do the stretches when you’re in discomfort or pain.  Like any other part of your body, your hips and lower back need regular maintenance to keep them functioning optimally.

I often give the example of brushing and flossing as a habit we all perform consistently to make sure that we have long lasting, functioning teeth into our later years.  No one seems to have a problem understanding the importance of regular brushing and flossing to stave off cavities and other teeth and gum issues.  But for some reason when you ask someone to take 7-10 minutes out of their day for regular rolling and stretching, they feel like you’re making a huge request.

Trust me, if you’ve had lower back pain you understand how insignificant 7-10 minutes per day is to not have to experience pain.  To be quite honest, too many people spend 7-10 minutes on their phone and get no health benefits. 

Ultimately the choice is yours. . . .

This is Stretch #1

I call this Windshield Wipers. Lay flat on your back, arms out wide, knees bent 45-90 degrees, feet flat on the ground. Take your left ankle and place it on your right knee. Drop both legs to the left side to feel a stretch in the right hip. The goal is for the stretch to come from the hip and NOT the lower back. Hold for 5-7 breaths. Repeat on other side.

This is Stretch #2

This is a slightly less aggressive form of pigeon from the lying position. Lay flat on your back.  Bring your right leg towards your chest. Grasping your knee and ankle gently, pulling the leg towards the left side of your chest (so you are moving the leg across the body) until you feel a stretch in your glutes. You will create a very gentle stretch in the hip. You should feel no pain in the knee. Repeat this process 3-7 times on both sides.

This is Stretch #3

Laying flat on your back, place your feet just outside of shoulder width with knee bent and feet flat. Allow your knees to drop inward and relax against one another. Hold this position for 7-10 breaths.

There you go. Hope this group of hip stretches starts you on a path of taking good care of you. Stay consistent and be sure to check back for other help and practical ways to keep you out of pain and feeling good.

3 More Stretches to Get and Keep You Out of Back Pain

As we discussed in the previous blog on back pain, back pain is the most common complaint when it comes to physical pain.  The challenging part is figuring out what’s causing it.   Assuming that you haven’t taken a hard fall, or other impact like a collision in football, hockey, or rugby, then chances are it’s coming from 2 possible sources.

One important consideration is whether or not your core strength is up to par.  Meaning, is your core strong enough to get you through the day without your lower back jumping in to assist in movements that it’s not meant to do.  It’s easy for the lower back and hips to become “irritated” when performing movements that say, the glutes, and/or core musculature should be doing.  As in other areas of life, using the wrong tool for the job, can in fact make things worse.

Remember, getting out of pain is often a two-step process.  One of the issues is that you’re going to need to strength some muscles. Two, you’re going to need to stretch the muscles that are either overworking or becoming overwhelmed.  In either case of overworked or overwhelmed, the result is often the same, tight muscles that are restricting movement and most likely causing pain or discomfort.

Let me share 3 more hip and back stretches that will get and keep you out of pain

This is Stretch #1.
With your calves against the supporting surface take a medium to large step forward. Place one foot, shoe strings down, on the stable support surface behind you. Kneeling down bring the back leg knee to the floor. Now if you're just beginning you may need to place a pillow under your knee for cushion and to decrease the intensity of the stretch. Be sure that the front leg knee is bent at a 90 degree angle and the shin is perpendicular to the floor.

This is Stretch #2

Position your body with your right leg bent at a 45 degree angle. Straighten your back leg with the toe facing the floor. Position your upper body so that your knee is in line with your sternum (chest bone). Hips should be parallel to the floor.  You should feel no pain in the knee. If you do stop immediately. This pose is also know as Pigeon.  Hold position for 7 breaths.

This is Stretch #3

Resting on knees and forearms, spread your knees as far apart as you can, comfortably. You should feel a stretch, but it should not be painful, about a 5 or 6 on a scale of 10. Next, you will slowly rock your body back towards your shoes, and then forwards towards your hands. Using your waistband as a guide, you should rock your waistband as far behind your knees as you do ahead of your knees. Rock back and forth 7-10 times. If the rocking is too much, just hold the position for 7 breaths.

Now you have 3 more stretches to add your collection to help keep you pain free and feeling good. Check back next week and I’ll be sure to share 3 more stretches to get and keep you out of back pain.

3 Stretches to Get Rid of Back Pain

Like it or not, whether you’ve had to deal with it or not, back pain is the most common complaint when it comes to physical pain.  Whether it’s from taking a bad fall, spending most of your day in a seated position stuck at a desk, sleeping in awkward positions or sitting in awkward positions, lower back pain and often associated hip pain, is just no fun!

If you’ve been following my blogs for any length of time, you already know that if you have pain, getting rid of it is often a two-step process.  The main goal is to calm the tight over active muscle(s), and the second is to strengthen the muscles that are not working properly.  Explaining it this way helps to remind you about the importance of keeping your body in balance.  Excesses in any area don’t typically serve you for very long.

I’ll spare you all the $10 words and complicated muscle explanations and start off by saying let’s first get those tight muscles loosened up with some solid self-myofascial release techniques.  Then I’ll ask you to do your first 3 stretches, illustrated below, to get you on the road to eliminating lower back pain.

This is Stretch#1 (1/3).
This stretch is often called Child's Pose. From a kneeling position, toes pointed straight back, sit backwards so that you are sitting on the heels of your shoes. Reach forward with both arms, far enough to feel a stretch in the lower back and shoulders.  Hold for 7-10 seconds

This is Stretch #1 (2/3)

Keeping your legs where they are at, engage your abs and move both arms to the right until a stretch is felt on the left side of the body. Think of making your body into a half circle. Be sure to remain seated on your heels.  Hold for 7-10 seconds.

This is Stretch #1 (3/3).
Now do the same process you did for the above picture for the left side.  Hold for 7-10 seconds

This is Stretch #2
Begin on your knees, with your knees out wide, resting on forearms. Then straighten one leg out to the side. Be sure that the toe of the straight leg is in line with the knee of the kneeling leg. If possible, reach out to touch toe of straight leg with same side hand.  Repeat movement 3 times on both sides.

Stretch #3

From a standing or kneeling position, step back with one leg so that the back knee is resting on the floor. The front leg should be bent at 90 degrees with the knee directly over the ankle (see image above). Slowly push your hips/zipper down and forward so that you feel a stretch in the thigh on the back leg. You may also feel a stretch in the groin of the front leg. Hold this position for 5-7 breaths. Then switch to the other side. Repeat this stretch 2-3 times to relax the hips.

These stretches will start you on your journey to getting rid of back pain.

Please be sure to check back in to get more stretches to keep you feeling good and out of pain.

The Skinny On Carbs

I hope you had a great weekend and enjoyed my newsletter.

One of my clients had a great question that I’d like to answer here. She expressed concern that the carbohydrates (carbs) in the last recipe, on the newsletter, seemed a bit “high”.

The first thing I would ask you to remember is that one meal, slightly “high” in carbs, is not an issue.  What’s of bigger importance is the total calorie intake of protein, carbs and fat over a 24hr period.

We’ve all watched the media bounce back and forth between low carb, high protein, fat-free, and an assortment of other inaccurate and short sited responses to losing weight and keeping it off. 

I personally don’t believe in the “one size fits all” type of philosophy when it comes to nutrition. I genuinely believe that each person is unique in their metabolism, fitness level, time they have to spend exercising, as well as how many calories they burn just doing their daily activities. That is why I take a body composition analysis on each of my clients, as well as find out what a “typical” week of exercise looks like for them, before I create a customized nutrition program.  That way I am sure that the nutrition program meets their individual needs and lifestyle.  And to be quite honest, if the “one size fits all” philosophy worked, we’d be seeing a better improvement in the overall health of our population.

With all of the said I can give you a general rule of thumb when it comes to creating your meals.  My reading is leading me to believe that perhaps portion control is really the key to losing weight and keeping it off (for those that do not want to measure their food).  What I mean by that is this: picture your plate, now divide it down the middle so that you now have two halves. Half of your plate should be full of fresh vegetables (preferably leafy green). Divide the second half into to two equal parts.  In one of those halves you would have a lean protein source (eggs, fish, lean meat, poultry), and the remaining space would be filled with carbs (starchy – brown rice, whole-grain breads, etc.).  Does that make sense?

Divided Plate Chart

The second general rule of thumb is this: if you tend to start your day “high” in carbs, be sure to taper your intake of starchy carbs throughout the day.  The thinking behind this is that you give your body the rest of the day to burn off the starches you’ve taken in during the early hours of the day.

Remember, one size fits all does not work.  Find out how your body works by getting a body composition analysis and that information along with your “typical” week of activity, should help put you right on target and ready for summer swimsuit season!

 As always, please let me know if this information was helpful.

Fix Your Shoulder Pain