In this video, I'm going to show three easy exercises for
instant full back pain relief. Stay tuned!
Hey, everyone. Dr. Rowe coming to you from SpineCare in
Saint Joseph, Michigan. In this video, I'm going to go over
three exercises that may give instant full back pain relief,
even within seconds. Each exercise focuses on a different
thing. The first one on mobility. The second one on
strengthening, and the last one on decompression (or pulling
traction) to help open up the back. That way you have some
variety. To get the best results, go through all three
and use what works best for you. As a bonus, all of the
exercises can be done at home and they require no equipment.
They're very easy to do. So, let's get started and fix that
full back pain right now! Here's one of my favorite
mobility exercises that's pretty much going to target
everything from the upper back all the way down to the lower.
It can give quick back pain relief but also may help
prevent it. So, it's a great daily mobility exercise. It's a
combination of two yoga poses, the child's pose and the cobra.
They're very easy do can be done in bed or on a floor. So,
I'm going to start off on all fours just like this. Let's
begin with what is known as the child's pose. I'm going to take
my arms, straighten em, grip into the bed or the floor with
my fingers and crawl forward until I feel a gentle stretch
in my upper back. From there, I'm going to tuck my chin
towards my chest and then slowly rock my body backward.
Kind of like taking my butt down towards my heels. This will
intensify that stretch. I pretty much feel it from my shoulder blades
going all the way down to my tailbone. Go down as far as
you're able to go. From there, you're going to take your
fingers, crawl forward just a little bit more to intensify
that stretch and allow your chest to sag forward towards
the bed or the floor. Hold this one comfortably for 20 to 30
seconds and do nice, slow, controlled breathing also. Just
let that tension out. From there, we're going to build
into the cobra pose. So, I'm going to just go forward like this,
putting my pelvis and hips and legs flat on the back or the
floor and then propping myself up, my upper back I should say,
on my elbows just like this. This is known as a half cobra
or a press up stretch. I feel a gentle stretch in my back going
to my hips and also into the front of my legs. This one helps
target the hip flexors which are a big instigator of back
pain. Again, I try to hold this one comfortably for about 20 to
30 seconds. Do nice slow controlled breathing also. If this is pretty light
for you and you need a more intense stretch, you can
progress into the full cobra which is pretty much the same
thing but what you're doing is putting your hands off to your
side and then pressing up with your arms as much as you can.
The key with this one though is not to lift the hips or the
pelvis off the floor or the bed. Keep them flat. All of the
movement should go through your back. This one feels really
really good! I feel a deep stretch pretty much throughout
my whole back going into those hip flexors. 20 to 30 second hold
and then you're just going to build back into the child's
pose. You want to do this whole cycle for about three to five
complete repetitions, and with each repetition, try to stretch
into it just a little bit more. Really challenge those muscles.
You can take this one to the next level by incorporating
dynamic movement into these exercises to hit the muscles
just a little bit differently. So, instead of going straight
with it, go off the side just a little bit. What you'll notice
is it hits the muscles again just a little bit differently.
This one is really good for targeting one sided back pain.
So, whatever side that you're leaning towards, let's say it's
my left right here, you're going to notice a deep and
intense stretch off to the opposite side. So, if you're
going towards the left, you're going to feel it off to the
right but give that a try. Go all the way towards the left
and then go all the way towards the right. If you notice that
one certain angle, one certain spot, hits it just a little bit
better, make note of that, throw more repetitions in and
you can do the same also with the cobra pose going off to one
side, but experiment with those and target the spots that offer
you the most amount of relief. Without a doubt, if you not only
want to get rid of back pain but also get rid of it for
good. You have to strengthen everything in the back. One of
the easiest and safest ways to do this is with the bridge
exercise. I really like the bridge because there's many
variations to it that will help identify weak spots that you
can target and strengthen. This one can be done in bed or on a
floor. Just lie flat on your back like this. I'm going to
start with the basic glute bridge. So, my knees are going
to be bent my feet flat. I'm going to have my legs roughly
hip width apart. My hands go right on my hips. The movement
from here is pretty straight forward. I'm taking my hips and
driving them upward towards the ceiling until I have a nice
straight line from my knees, to my hips, to my shoulders. If
you're unable to get into this position, go up as far as you
feel comfortable. Over time, you'll gain strength and
flexibility and, hopefully, get into this position but try to
engage the core once you finally get into that nice
straight line for a little bit more support. You should feel
the abs firing. You should feel the lower back, the glutes, the
legs... everything that helps support the back. It's a
wonderful exercise. I try to hold this one for about five
seconds from there I just relax and then take a breather and
then I repeat this 10 to 15 times. If you feel like you have
a little bit more energy you can throw in another set or two.
Always challenge those muscles as much as you can. To target a
little bit more into the upper back with this you can add a
little bit more motion in there. So I straight my arms like this
and then just slowly lower them down like this overhead and I
really feel my shoulder blades firing. Again, just try hold this
one for five seconds and then slowly come back up just like
this but give that one a try. You can also do what is known
as a floor angel. So get back into that position, take your
arms kind of make like a field goal position, your elbows will
be at 90°, rotate the back of the hands right here down like
this and then slowly just raise your arms overhead to the point
where your hands are going to be able to clap. Hold that for a
second or two and then just slowly come down. It just
engages the upper back a little bit more, but you can take this
one to next level also by experimenting with different
placements of the bridge. So, instead of having your feet
kind of close to you, slide them a little bit further away
and then, dig your heels into the floor or the bed with your
toes point straight upwards and then, redo this exercise.
You'll notice that it hits the muscles again just a little bit
differently. This one targets the back, the legs, the
hamstrings going into the glutes just a little bit more.
So, you can experiment with sliding it pretty in doing this
and then all the way away from you. If any of those spots feel
like you're really addressing weakness, throw some more
repetitions in. Always target the positions in the spots that
need it the most. You can also do what is known as a clam
shell. So that is putting your feet together and then taking
your knees and then taking them out as much as you can until
you feel a deep stretch in the front part of the leg, the
inner part of the leg into the groin and also the hips. From
there, slide your heels back towards you as much as you can
and then redo this exercise. You'll notice that it hits the
hips and the glute buttocks a ton. It's a really good way to
really focus a little bit more on the glutes and you can
incorporate that upper back motion at the same time with
this to target more of the full back but go through all of
those motions and use what works best for you. One of my
favorite ways to get quick back pain relief is through
decompression or pulling traction motions in the back.
This one is pretty much going to target the full back and as
especially good for back pain being caused from a bulging
disc including pinched nerves. We can do this one at the edge
of a bed. Start off lying on your stomach. Make sure to put
a towel or pillow underneath your waist and stomach for a
little bit more support. So, what I'm going to do is just
use my legs and my arms to slide forward and then go off
the edge of the bed until I get to the point where my whole
back is off but my hips and my pelvis are supported right here
at the edge. I'm just going to come down on my elbows just
like this. In this position, I already start to feel a good
stretch throughout my whole back. Gravity is just taking my
body weight downward and opening up those spinal discs.
Try to tuck your chin towards your chest a little bit too for
better posture but in this position, you can hold it for
an extended period of time if it feels good. I try to hold
this one for about 30 seconds but again, if it feels good,
you can hold it for longer a minute or two. When you need a
breather, just use your arms and legs to push yourself back
up but you can take this one to the next level by instead of
going straight up on your elbows by outreaching your arms
straight. Lock your fingers into the ground or the carpet
and just try to pull forward as much as you can. Kinda like
crawling forward with your fingers and this feels really
good. I feel a deep stretch pretty much from my shoulder
blades going all the way down to my lower back but with this
one, I try to do that for about three to five complete
repetitions. Always stretching into it just a little bit more.
From there, you can also experiment with different angle
So, instead of going straight with it, go up to one side a
little bit. You'll notice that whatever side that you're going
towards, it hits the other side just a little bit more. It's
really good at hitting one-sided back pain and
targeting a muscle called the QL or quadratus lumborum which
runs right through here and that one is a big instigator of
back pain but experiment with different angles. Go all the
way towards the left, go all the way towards the right. If
you notice that one hits it just a little bit better, throw
more repetitions in If you want to take this one to even the
next level, you can focus on what is called threading the
needle which hits the upper back just a little bit more.
So, get back into that position with your arms outstretched but
take one arm off, bend the elbow at 90 degrees, and slowly
rotate your body including the upper body and head towards the
opposite direction. I really feel a good stretch in my upper
back including into the shoulder blade region. Hold
this one for about 15 seconds. Just relax and then repeat it
on the other side. But go through all of those motions.
If one feels like it hits it just a little bit better, make
note of it, throw more repetitions in. If the
exercises help, please support the channel by giving this
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If you have any comments or questions, please leave them
below. I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Thanks for
watching!