oh hey everybody it's Doctor Jo and Remy, and today I'm gonna show you the top ten
low back stretches. so let's get started.
A lot of you asked me how many should I do. generally with stretches you want to hold them for
30 seconds and do three on each side. number one, pelvic tilt. so you might hear
me say pelvic tilt for a lot of different things, but it really is a
great stretch. this one is really going to loosen up those back muscles and it's
one of my favorites to do. for a supine pelvic tilt, lie down on the ground with
your legs propped up, feet flat on the ground. and imagine that you're trying to
squish your hand if it was underneath you. so push down rotate the hips and
come back up.
number two, the cat dog stretch. again with the cat and the dog, my favorite
because it's animals it's really really great stretch for your low back. you can
feel it stretching forwards and backwards with those two motions and it
really loosens up that low back. for the cat dog stretch, get on all fours. you're
gonna arch your back like a cat and tuck your chin in and then drop your back
down and pick your head up.
number three, trunk rotation in supine or lying on your back. so this one's
really good just to start getting some rotational movements and your back and
your back is supported on the floor so it's a nice stretch. for a trunk rotation
stretch, bend both knees up and keep your feet flat on the ground. then just rotate
your knees to one side trying to keep the upper part of your body flat and
hold that stretch.
number four, trunk rotation with a leg crossover. if just the regular rotation
isn't quite enough stretch for you, if you bring your leg up and over it's
going to give you an even bigger stretch and sometimes you'll feel a little pop
in your low back because it's readjusting your spine. for a lower back
stretch lying down, place one leg straight out and pull the other one up
to about a 90 degree angle and then pull it across your body.
number five, hamstring stretch with a strap. using a strap or a rope or a dog
leash to stretch out your hamstrings is a great way to get that stretch and just
keep those muscles nice and relaxed. for hamstring stretch in supine with a strap,
you can use a belt or a dog leash. take the belt and put it at the ball of your
foot, straighten out your leg as much as you can. you want that knee to be
straight, so if it bends then bring it back down a little bit. pull your toes
towards you and bring it up till you feel a stretch and hold it.
number six, hip flexor stretch off of a bed. this is a great way to stretch out
your hip flexors. if you have knee problems and you can't do it really well
in a lunge stretch, if you just take your leg and drop it off the edge of the bed,
without falling off, it really stretches out those hip flexor muscles. for hip
flexor stretch off the bed, lie down on your back on a bed and get close to the
edge, but try not to fall off the bed. bring one leg down off the edge, letting
it hang, lie back a little bit and then bring the
other knee up towards your chest and hold that stretch.
number seven, a prone press up. so if you're on your stomach and you're
pressing up, you get a nice stretch in your low back in and your abdominals.
this is sometimes contraindicated for certain back conditions, so make sure
this is something this is general pain or maybe a disc issue, and if you're not
quite sure what it is, you might want to hold off on this one. for a prone press
up, lie on your stomach and then put your hands flat on the ground, and press your
upper body up. try and keep your hips down. so you're not coming up with the
hips, but the hips are down and you're bending
just at your back and then hold it.
number eight, a knee a chest stretch. it does a great job of stretching out that
low back, but make sure if you have some knee problems, don't put too much
pressure on your knees when you're stretching. for a single knee to chest,
bend both knees up. then take your hands and grab underneath your thigh and
pull towards your chest holding that stretch.
number nine, double knee to chest stretch. so after you do just the single knee, if
you bring them both up together, it's a really good overall stretch on your low
back as well as your upper back too. for a double knee to chest stretch, prop both
knees up. then grab underneath both thighs and
pull your knees towards your chest holding that stretch.
number ten, a prayer stretch or Child's Pose whichever one you want to call it.
this is just a great whole body stretch. you can get your arms, you can get your
upper back, your lower back, your hips, and your knees, so it's a good one to finish
with. for the prayer stretch, start off sitting on your feet and then you're
going to push your arms straight out in front of you on the ground, holding the
stretch.
so there you have it, those were your top ten low back stretches. if you'd like to
help support my channel, make sure and click on the link up there, and don't
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and remember, be safe, yeah have fun, and I hope you feel better soon.