How to Relieve Back Pain with Simple Stretching Exercises

If you wake up with lower back pain, or end up with lower back pain after participating in activity, doing simple lower back stretches can greatly provide back pain relief.

Submitting to lying with back muscle pain only allows your back muscles to remain in those knot-like positions. So, unless your lower back pain is related to a serious injury and you've been medically instructed to otherwise, it's better to move and stretch those knots out which will provide back pain relief and allow more muscle flexibility.

I take five-ten minutes in the morning to do some simple lower back stretches before I even get out of bed. I will also do them as necessary when I feel lower back pain building after activities. Doing back stretches in the morning is like stretching before exercising, it makes the back muscles more flexible and helps to prevent injuries throughout your daily routine.

Be sure to always check with your doctor or chiropractor before starting an exercise routine.

Instructions

• 1

  While you are still laying flat on your back, do these back stretches by bringing one leg out to the side of the body by bending the leg at the knee and bringing the upper part of the leg up to your side.

  Then take that leg and raise it up and bring it across to the other side of your body. I feel this is difficult to explain, so I hope the images are helpful. Repeat this exercise with each leg. This is an exercise that helps to stretch out the lower back and the hips in order to reduce back muscle pain.

• 2

  Another part of these simple back stretches is to sit up and bring your chin down toward your chest. It may seem insignificant to help lower back pain, but it actually stretches down your entire spine. If you have tight muscles in your back, you will feel this stretch out your muscles from the back of your neck all the way down to your lower back.

  Hold your chin down to your chest for about 15-30 seconds. If you have muscle soreness in your back, you will definitely feel this stretch pull through your back. If back muscle pain still feels strong, you may need to repeat this stretch a few times until you feel more back pain relief. This stretch can easily also be done while sitting at your desk.

• 3

  The next stretch is to bring your arms out to your sides and rotate your arms in circles. Do 10-20 circles in a forward rotation, and then 10-20 circles in a backward rotation.

  When you have completed the circle rotations, lift your arms straight up over your head and grasp your hands together. Now bring your hands down towards your head and hold them there in a relaxed position for a few seconds, then bring your arms back out to your sides and bring them down. These back stretches work the muscles in the upper back, upper chest and upper arm area.

• 4

  This stretch pretty much works the entire upper and lower back as well as the hips to provide thorough back pain relief. Sit with your legs in a diamond shape in front of you, with your feet pulled towards your body. Not enough to be uncomfortable, but enough to be effective. Bend forward, bringing your face towards your feet. This stretch takes the most patience, because it is important to not force yourself to extend your stretch; but rather to relax and let gravity take its course. You should feel your back muscles stretch out all the way through your lower back and hips.

  I tend spend about 30-60 seconds on this stretch, by bending forward then taking a deep breath; which relaxes the body and the muscles enabling you to stretch further. Repeat this breathing and relaxing process to stretch further about 3-4 times. By about the fourth deep breath, your face should almost be touching your feet and your entire back has received a good stretching.

• 5

  There is one last exercise to do for lower back pain before getting out of bed and starting the day. Turn and set on the edge of the bed. With your feet hanging over the side of the bed, bring your knees up towards your chest to do a set of crunches. Doing about 20 of these crunches will strengthen and work out hip and back muscle pain.

• 6

  These back stretches should start your day with good back pain relieve. There are times, however, when you may stand up and still feel some lower back pain or hip pain. When this happens, stand with your back near a wall and while bending at the waist, gently reach down towards your toes.

  Again, it is so important to not force yourself to extend your back stretches, but rather to relax and let gravity take its course by taking deep breaths, relaxing, and allowing your body to stretch naturally. I stand near a wall in case my back freezes up during this stretch so that I can use the wall to help pull myself back up. This has happened once or twice when I first began these lower back stretches, which is why I felt the need to suggest it.

• 7

  There is one last exercise to do for lower back pain before getting out of bed and starting the day. Turn and set on the edge of the bed. With your feet hanging over the side of the bed, bring your knees up towards your chest to do a set of crunches. Doing about 20 of these crunches will strengthen and work out hip and back muscle pain.

• 8

  If you start to feel lower back pain during or after activities, do some of the above simple back stretches. By doing so, you'll reduce the risk of more severe back muscle pain later.

  Of course the stretches I have suggested here are just a few possible back stretches that are available for upper and lower back pain. So, I will list some sites in the resources section below.

• 9

  Keep up with regular exercises and back stretches, as they are a great way to keep upper and lower back pain at bay. I have found that since I spend most of my days sitting behind a computer that I may tend to neglect my routine walks or exercises now and then. When I neglect my body from regular exercise, I notice that I suffer from back muscle pain. If I get out and go for a walk, do my exercises and keep up on my upper and lower back stretches, I gain back pain relief. Therefore, it really is beneficial to keep up on those exercise routines.