The World Health Organisation states 70% of people suffer from lower back pain at some point in their lifetime! We appreciate how frustrating and demoralising it can be. So We have come up with 3 exercises to help you relieve your back pain. The exercises below can all be done at home, with no equipment, in less than 5 minutes!
1. Cat/Camel
Begin on your hands and knees on the floor. Slowly arch your back until you reach the end of your range of motion. Then reverse and exaggerate the movement the other way as if you were a stretching cat. Work between the two end ranges of movement until you can feel a stretch at each end. The range at which you can move will increase, the more you perform the exercise.
2. Knee Hugs
Lie on your back with your legs straight. Bring one knee up and hug it with your hands, towards your chest for 5 seconds. Release it and lower your leg back down to the floor. Swap legs and repeat with the other legs. If you struggle to get your knee right up to your chest, don’t force it, just pull it to a position that feels like it is working. If you have suffered any hip injury in the past or hip replacement, be careful with this exercise.
3. Back Extensions
Begin lying on the floor, face down as if you were about to do a press up. Place your hands next to your chest and push the top half of your body up, keeping your legs on the ground. Your back should be arched up between your hips and your neck. You can either perform this as a stretch and hold it for 60-90s or as a standard concentric/eccentric exercise by completing one back extension, holding for 2 seconds and lowering back down again; then performing 3 sets of 10-15 repetitions. You should feel it stretching your abs but also loosening off your lower back.
Enjoy!
Over to you. Complete them daily for lower back pain relief. You might notice best results in the morning after you get out of bed and feel stiff, after a long car journey or being sat at a desk for a while, and/or in the evening when your lower back is painful after a busy day. Let us know in the comments below what you think.
Have you purchased your lower back pain rehabilitation programme yet? If not, check out our digital rehabilitation guide below. It's full of information on how to relieve your pain, top tips to get the most out of your recovery, and a daily exercise programme; along with pain and progress trackers to keep you motivated!
