Stretches for Low Back Pain Relief in Portland, ME

Hi, I'm Dr. Rob Liguori with Chiropractic & Sports Health. And this is Dr. Chelsea Schultes. We're here today to show you some basic stretches that we like to have people do when they're having a low back issue. You know, there's often a lot of areas of tightness in the muscles and we want to help loosen those up is kind of part of your rehab plan, get you feeling better quicker.

Kneeling Psoas Stretch For Low Back Pain

So we're gonna get down to the mat here. So Chelsea is going to be my assistant here, showing the the actual stretch. So we're going to start with what's called a kneeling psoas stretch really slipped the hip flexors. So the area that she's trying to stretch right now, is actually be right here on this side. On the right, so those muscles, those hip flexors are often tight and people, especially those populations, where people are spending a lot of time sitting down in a chair.

So think about your computer desk workers, those areas get really tight. And believe it or not, they actually pull on your low back, creating a lot of tension. So the more we can loosen those up, the better you're going to be. So what she's going to do now she's going to kick this foot a little further forward, and start to lean her hips forward into it, while at the same time tilting her shoulders back just a bit. As she does that she should really feel an increase in stretch along that right side. You feel out there. Yes. All right, she's got it. I mean, she's doing it right, if you're not feeling it there, and then one of these areas needs to be adjusted. When you're doing on your own, I often have patients kick the foot forward a little further, or a big mistake is they often lean forward too far. And then they start to lose that stretch. So we'll have them bring those shoulders back just a bit to help out.

So that's the Kneeling Psoas Stretch generally holding that for about 30 seconds or so is about where you want to be.

Piriformis Muscle Stretch

Now I'm gonna have Chelsea flip over on her back for our second stretch here. And so another area that gets really tight, often the areas in the glutes, they can really get restricted, losing a lot of hip motion mobility, and so we want to help get some motion back there, too.

So this is a piriformis stretch. The easiest way to do this stretch would be on your back because you can really stay relaxed. What you're gonna do is you're gonna take your leg, you're gonna bring up over the opposite knee. In this case, we're trying to stretch that left side, actually, why don't we flip it over sir in the sun, just like that. Okay, so we're gonna be stretching out that right glute area, okay. And so what you're gonna do now is you're gonna, first you might actually already feel the stretch at this point, if so you can just start with this, maybe get a little pressure on your knee like so, if you don't have any stretch there yet, you can start to scoot this, this foot a little closer, then you might start to feel more stretching that hip. If you still don't have any there. You're then going to take your hands, you're going to reach behind the opposite knee and start to pull it forward toward you. Just like that.

So now at this point, should you really be feeling that stretch out. Just like the other stretch, holding about 30 seconds or so you know, stay relaxed, breathe, don't hold your breath until it starts to let go.

So again, that's called the piriformis stretch. These are two great exercises to do for low back pain.

Learn more about Chiropractic Care and Low Back Pain.