In this video, I'm going to show you how to get rid of
lower back pain at night for good. Stay tuned.
Hey, everyone. Dr. Rowe coming to you from SpineCare in
Saint Joseph, Michigan. In this video, we're going to go over
easy exercises that can give both quick and long-lasting
relief for lower back pain at night. When it comes to lower
back pain while you sleep, a major cause is because we build
tension and tightness in the muscles that support the back
that isn't released before going to bed. So, this tension
just builds throughout the night and doesn't allow the
back to relax leading to pains and aches. So, these exercise
are perfect to do before going to bed to quickly reduce that
tension but also hopefully get rid of it for good. A note
about these exercises, each one works just a little bit
differently. They're going to target different muscles
associated with lower back pain at night. To get the best
results, go through them all, use what gives you the most
relief. With that being said, let's get started. So, let's
start by targeting a muscle group that I personally think
is the biggest instigator of lower back pain and discomfort.
These would be the glutes or the buttocks. The glutes are a
main stabilizer for the hips, pelvis, and the lower back. So,
we really want to make sure that these muscles are nice and
relaxed while we sleep. So, here's a really easy three-way
stretch to target the glutes. Just lie flat on your back like
this. What I'm going to do first is straighten one leg
like this and then the other side, the knee is going to be
bent and the foot is just going to be placed flat right outside
of the other side's knee. So, it looks just like this. What
I'm going to do from there is take the hand on the other
side, hook the outside of my leg around the knee, and then
pull my knee across my body just straight over like this.
As you do this, you're going to feel a really deep stretch form
in your thigh working towards the hip towards the lower back
but really focus on feeling it around the outside of the hip
into the glutes and try to keep your back as flat as possible.
In this position, it's usually a very deep stretch if you have
glute tightness and I usually feel pretty good. Try to hold
this one for 30 seconds longer if you're able to. These are
pretty big muscles. From there, you're going to relax and then
you're going to repeat this a couple more times and with each
repetition, try to build into it just a little bit more. So,
a lot of people, this will not be a deep enough stretch. So,
if that's the case, this is how you can take it to the next
level. Instead of keeping your foot flat on the outside of
that other side's knee, you're going to have your knee bend at
ninety degrees, knee up towards the ceiling and then the movement
is very similar. Just hook your knee right here and then pull
that knee across the body. What you're focusing on this time
around though is feeling that stretch into the thigh, into
the glutes right here in towards the hip but pull it
just a little bit more until you start to feel it in the
lower back. Once you feel that deep, a comfortable stretch
then you're going to hold this one for 30 seconds and then
you're just going to relax and then repeat this a couple more
times but again, just make sure that whatever you do on one
side that you do on the other just to keep everything in
balance. So, the next movement of the three-way stretch is
going to be knee to the opposite shoulder. So, what
you're going to do, straighten one leg, the other knee is
going to go bend. Take your hands, cup around the knee, or
behind it, whatever is more comfortable for you. You're
just going to take this knee towards the other side
shoulder. So, I'm taking my right knee straight across
towards my left shoulder. You're going to notice that a
deep stretch will form around the hip but it's going to feel a
little bit differently. It just targets the muscles again just
a little bit differently. 32nd hold, you're going to relax, do
this a couple more times, and then just switch to the other
side and repeat. So, the last movement of the three-way
stretch. We're going to tie everything together. This is a
modified version of what is known as the happy baby. So,
we're going to bend our knees like this, bring them towards
our chest. We're going to take our arms and we're just going
to cradle and cup our knees. Passively pull your knees
toward your chest until you feel a really deep stretch form
in the glutes right here but working its way into the lower
back. Once you feel that, what you're going to do then is just
rock your whole body from side to side. What you're focusing
on doing is really moving through your back and through
your hips. Just kind of just wiggle back and forth. I like
to do this roughly for about 20 seconds. I just relax and then
I repeat this a couple more times. Again, with each
repetition, just build into it but focus on really trying to
move through the hips, the pelvis, and the back to loosen
everything up but go through all of these movements. If you
find that one just helps you out a little bit more, at that
point, just throw some more repetitions in until everything
is nice and loose. Here's a really good exercise that you
can do before going to bed that can quickly reduce tightness
and tension throughout the whole lower back and the hips.
This is known as the frog rocker. You're going to start
on all fours just like this and I would recommend doing this
right at the edge of a bed that way we can get a really good grip
into it with your fingers. From there, we're going to slightly
take our chin towards our chest. You're going to take
your feet, you're going to press them together and then
you're going to slide your knees outward as much as you
can until you feel a really good stretch form on the inner
part of the thighs that works towards the groin to the
outside of the hip. Really focus on feeling a very good
stretch on the outside of the hips. That way we know that
we're targeting the glutes. From there, we're just going to
rock our whole body backward like this. The more that you go
back, the more that you're going to feel a deep stretch
form in the lower back. Once you feel that deep stretch,
you're going to hold this comfortably for 20 to 30
seconds and do nice, slow, controlled breathing. Just let
out as much tension as you can. When you need a breather, just
rock forward like this. On the next repetition, build into it
a little bit more. Try to take your knees out to get a deeper
stretch and then take your butt towards your heels as much as
you can. If you will, like to deepen the stretch in the upper
back just allow your chest also to sag towards the bed it
really opens up in between the shoulder blades but I like to
do this roughly about three to five times to take this one to
the next level instead of going straight with it angle your
upper body slightly towards one side so I'm just kind of taking
my shoulders a little bit towards my left side and then
I'm going to rock back what you're going to notice is it
opens up the other side just a little bit more so I really
feel it on the right side of my lower back. This is great for
one-sided lower back pain but give that a try towards the
left and then also towards the right. If you notice that one
certain position just offers you more relief at that point,
throw more repetitions in. So, when it comes to having lower
back pain at night, a big overlooked cause actually comes
from the front especially with tight core muscles and also
tight hip flexors right on the front of our thighs. Here's a
really easy exercise to help with that. What we're going to do is start
just lying on our stomach like this. We want to prop our upper
body weight onto our forearms. Mine are roughly in a V shape
and we're going to try to keep the hips and pelvis flats.
Don't lift up on them like this during this exercise. If you do
have a tight core or tight hip flexors, you're probably
going to feel a pretty good stretch in this position and
you just want to hold it comfortably for about 30
seconds doing nice, slow controlled breathing. Again,
let out as much tension as possible. You can increase the
stretch by lifting your chest upward like this or decrease
the stretch by lowering it down. So, try to find that
sweet spot but I would try to do this for at least 30 seconds
to start off with to help loosen up the muscles but for
many, this is going to be a pretty light stretch. So, to
take this one to the next level, what you do is you pull
your arms off your side or I should say your hands off your
side, roughly shoulder level and then tuck your elbows in
towards your side and then you're going to use your arms
to press up like this. Lifting your chest and shoulders
upward. In this position, you should feel a deep stretch over
the core muscles going into the hip flexors. Again, don't lift
up on your hips. Keep them flat. This is known as a cobra
pose, a very popular yoga pose. I like to hold this one
comfortably for 20 to 30 seconds. Relax and then repeat
this a couple more times and with each repetition, just
trying to build into it just a little bit more. So, if you
would like to take the cobra pose to the next level and add
in a little bit of a twist, literally, you can do what is
called the scorpion. So, let's get back into our original
stretch of just going right on our elbows and forearms just
like this. We're going to bend our knees roughly at 90
degrees, put our legs together. What you want to do is now
rotate towards one side moving through your pelvis and hips
only. So, what I'm going to do is just rotate over lowering my
legs down towards the floor. In this position, you're going to
feel a deep stretch form in the lower back. Only go to the
point where it is a comfortable stretch. Hold this one for 5
seconds. You're going to relax and then you're going to repeat
this on the other side. Try to do this about five to 10 times
on both sides but each repetition, try to build into
it just a little bit more. If it feels like there's still
some tightness left, throw some more repetitions in until
everything is nice and loose. If you want long-lasting relief
for lower back pain at night, your main faux needs to be on
strengthening the muscles that support the back and the hips.
Here's a really easy combination exercise that you
can do pretty much every single night before going to bed that
will cover all bases. So, what we're going to do first is
known as the bridge. You're going to lie flat on your back.
Have your legs roughly hip width apart, knees bent, feet
flat. Take your hands, put them off your side for support. We
want to do is brace the core muscles first. It's kind of
like if somebody was to poke you in your stomach how you
tense up mimic that and hold that to help support the spine.
We're also going to clench or squeeze the glutes. From there,
the movement very straight forward. Just lift your hips
upward towards the ceiling until your body is in a nice
straight line from your knees to your hips to your shoulders.
In this position, you should feel a ton of muscles fire. The
core, the lower back, the glutes, and the legs.
Everything that helps support this area. You want to hold
this comfortably for 5 seconds. You're going to relax and then
you're going to repeat this 10 times. With each repetition,
just try to build into it a little bit more. If it feels
like you have a little bit more energy, try to throw in another
set or two. To target the glutes a little bit more with
the bridge, you can do what is called the clamshell bridge.
So, take your feet, put them together, and then kind of wing
your knees outward. It's very similar to that frog rocker
that we did earlier. You should feel a really good stretch on
the inner part of the thighs going into the groin into the
outside of the hips. From there, we're going to do same
thing. Brace the core, squeeze the glutes, and then lift our
hips upward but this time around, you're really going to
feel it around the hips into the glutes. Five-second hold,
relax, try that one for about 10 times or as many repetitions
as you like. So, next, let's focus on the front. Again, how
we mentioned earlier in the video, it's really important to
also focus on the front not only the back. So, really easy
exercise to help strengthen the core muscles and the hip flexor
muscles is what is known as the dead bug. So, we're already
pretty much into position. We're going to lie flat on our
back. Our knees are going to be bent at 90 degrees and our
knees up towards the ceiling. Our arms also go straight up
towards the ceiling like this. I guess in this position, it
looks like a dead bug. The movement to start off with if
you would like to do the half dead bug, the easier version is
to take one knee straighten it, lowering your leg down towards
the floor. Try to have your leg as straight as possible but the
key with this exercise is not to let your leg touch the bed.
Let it hover an inch or two above. In this position, you're
going to feel the thigh muscles and the core muscles really
start to activate to maintain this. Try to hold this one for
5 seconds, relax, and then repeat this one on the other
side. Try to do this about 10 times on both sides or as many
repetitions as you like. To take this one to the next
level, you can progress into the full dead bug which is a
little bit more challenging. So, let's lower one leg down and
the opposite side's arm at the same time. So, my left leg and
right arm. You're going to notice that it takes a little
bit more coordination to do this and those core muscles are
really going to start to fire. So, give that one a try but
again, this is just a really good exercise that you can do
every day that will help strengthen the back and the
core muscles and hopefully give long-lasting back pain relief
while you're sleeping. If the exercises help, please support
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