♪ Bob and Brad, the two most famous ♪
♪ Physical therapists on the Internet ♪
(man claps)
- Hi folks, I'm Bob Schrupp, physical therapist.
- Brad Heineck, physical therapist.
- We are the most famous physical therapists
on the internet.
- In our opinion, of course, Bob.
- So we're all about easy, Brad.
Today we're gonna show you three easy stretches
for low back pain.
We're gonna break down just probably the three best ones.
- Right, and we've got,
we'll explain just a minute.
- (laughs) By the way, if you're new to our channel,
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We've provide videos how to stay healthy, fit, pain-free,
and we upload every day.
Also, if you go to Bob and Brad,
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- That's right. - Every week.
And this week we are giving away a blood pressure cuff,
a Bob and Brad blood pressure cuff,
by the way. - That's right.
- It's got our name on it, it's a good cuff.
- It's a good cuff, they did research on it, Brad,
that it was accurate. - Right.
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it'll be pinned to the top of the page on Facebook,
go to Twitter, Instagram, or TikTok
if you want a 60 second version of our program.
I just saw a comment, Brad, where somebody was complaining
that we gotta get on with it, go with it.
And I said to him, go to our 60 second program.
- Yeah, go to the 60 seconds.
- You don't have to put up with us talking.
- Some people say they like the babble.
Anyways, we also have a podcast going on out there
with a number of excellent interviews,
and we have the interview of one of the people
we're gonna talk about for these
back pain stretches. - Exactly.
- So are we done, can we get on with, okay.
Low back pain,
80%, and this is a varies, but somewhere around 80%,
depending on the study of people across our society
experience low back pain throughout their life.
- I think it actually, Brad, was low back pain
to the point where they can't go to work that day
or something like that, it was that serious,
you know, it wasn't just back pain.
It was to the point where they couldn't work for a while.
- Some people won't go to work just--
- Yeah I know. (Brad laughs)
- Anyway, no, seriously, back pain,
everyone has it sooner,
not everyone. - Right.
- Most people do. - Most people.
- Most people. - Yeah.
- So anyways, it's something
that if you can learn some stretches
that are easy and effective,
particularly do 'em as maintenance
before the back problem comes along.
And that's where, and these stretches came from
two of the best well-known physical therapists and--
- One's a PhD. - And one's a PhD.
And the other one, you know,
is Robin McKenzie, doesn't have his PhD
but he's got about 60, 50, 60 years of,
he dedicated his whole life--
- Yes he did. - To back treatment.
And Stuart McGill, the other one, he's got his PhD
and he also dedicated the vast majority
of his professional life,
and that's where we came up with these three exercises.
So listen closely to 'em.
They're easy, and it's something you can do.
The first one,
should we get right at it? - Yeah, let's get right at it.
- Why don't you lay down? - Sure.
- You can do this one in bed,
actually before you get out of bed,
it only takes about 30 seconds.
- This one's really pretty easy on people.
You know, most people can do this one.
So you're gonna put your feet together,
I got my ankles together,
and I'm gonna rotate back and forth.
Now you think, that's not moving the back.
Yes, it is, you're actually moving the hips.
So it's actually good for arthritic hips, too.
But it's also rotating the back,
getting a little motion in there.
- Yes.
- Probably a little synovial fluid in the joints.
- Yeah, so notice this, he lets his hip come up here,
and now watch right here, this hip actually comes up off--
- But my shoulders stay down. - Right.
- And that's where you get that rotation.
Yeah. - Yeah.
- And if it hurts one direction,
you're not gonna go that direction to start.
So let's say mine hurts going to the right.
I'm just gonna work at going to the left at first.
And then every once in a while, I'll try the right
and see how it's doin'.
So, great one to do.
You could do it for five minutes
as long as it's pain free. - Right.
- It's a great warmup for getting out of bed
in the morning. - Absolutely.
So there you go.
And you know, throughout the day, if you wanna lay down
and do that one, or-- - Or lie down.
- Lie, oh. - You were doing so well Brad.
- I know, I know,
I got a English major. - We're sorry, Karen.
- Yeah, Karen, she's been working good with those two,
and I let her down.
Number two, prone press-ups.
This one Robin McKenzie kinda has got the credit for,
and there's a little discrepancy
between Stuart McGill and Robin McKenzie,
so we're gonna just show you-- - We'll show you both ways.
- Right, yep, and explain to you how--
- McGill does not believe in these full prone press-ups.
- Right, right.
- We have used it with patients for many years.
I'm trying to push my pant leg down.
- And I'm still gonna use it
if it gives me really good results.
- Well I do 'em as a maintenance.
- You do, yeah. - I did 'em this morning.
- So what are we talking about?
Laying on your stomach-- - Basically
lying on your stomach. - Lying.
- Put your hands underneath your shoulders.
And you know, if you wanna do kind of in between
you can do a micro press-up. - Sure.
- Most of you are gonna wanna do that to start anyway.
And you don't want to lift up your pelvis,
you're trying to get motion to your back.
Now, the key with all of these,
if you're not having any pain,
then, you know, you can go up
as long as it doesn't give you any pain.
- Right. - But if you are having pain
this should be making your pain better,
especially if it's down the leg,
the pain should start retracting,
you know, going up the leg. - Right.
- To the point where you don't feel it in the leg anymore,
maybe you feel it in the butt now,
and then maybe no longer in the butt, but in the back.
- Yeah, sometimes they call it centralizing.
- Right.
- You know, I did wanna say, you can do this one on a bed.
It works best on a firm surface.
On the floor is probably better.
But if you can't get on the floor, the bed is okay.
- So now, Stuart McGill,
what he recommends instead is just first off lying prone.
And then you might even, well,
you might even go with this,
double fists like this. - Yep, under the chin.
- I believe he even gets to the prone position.
- I think that prone-- - Like that.
You move the neck up of little bit.
- Sure.
You ever do this one?
- No, I haven't.
- Yeah. - That was McKenzie wasn't it?
- Yeah, but I think Stuart wouldn't mind.
- No, exactly.
I think it was like this, right?
- Well, depends how high you wanna get your--
(Brad laughs) - Yeah, right.
- Whatever you're comfortable with.
But the whole idea is that the back is extending,
and you need to do it so it makes things feel better.
Sometimes you'll go up a little bit and it hurts,
but if you leave it there for maybe 20 seconds
and the pain settles out and goes away, that's a good sign.
If it gets worse after 20, 30 seconds,
then you gotta go back down.
- A little evidence, too, Brad,
and I saw this in a live patient,
he actually, we get in this position
and then he'd rotate back and forth
a little bit. - Ah, yeah, yep, yep.
- And that would kind of readjust things,
and it would feel better.
And Dr. McGill, when we interviewed him,
kind of alluded to that, too,
by saying he would actually pull on people's legs.
- Yes, to build traction.
- Yeah, rotate it back and forth, so.
Try it either way,
It's always, don't increase your pain
if you're having pain, you know, it should feel better.
- Right, right.
Otherwise go to the next,
that's why we've got three options.
- Right.
- So what...
- Cat, camel. - Cat and camel.
Now some people call this other things, don't they,
like the cow cow, or the horse or something. (laughs)
- So I'm basically bringing my head down
and arching my back up. - Yep.
And then I go the other way,
where I bring my head up and I'm creating
an arch in my back. - Sure.
And again, you can do this one on a bed,
probably the floor's better
if you're able to easily get up and down.
But basically what you're doing
is you're ranging out your spine in both directions.
Now, if you have pain in one direction,
don't push into it, just stop and go back up,
or if it's at the top go back down.
And again, it should feel better as you do.
You're gonna do about 10 of these.
- Right. - And it should feel better
as you do more, should feel like it's loosening up
and things are getting good,
and when you're done, it's like, oh, that was good.
- With all these, Brad, I would say
you can do 'em throughout the day.
- Sure.
- You can do 'em up to like,
McKenzie would say six to eight
times a day. - Yep.
- In fact he'd highly recommend that,
because you do it once, you know,
it's not gonna make a big deal, make a big difference.
But if you do it throughout the day,
things start to get better. - Right.
- And again, even the first time you should notice,
oh it does feel better,
that's for sure when you wanna get back with it.
But you're not gonna do that for the rest of your life.
When your back starts feeling better,
then you can go to once a day.
- Once a day, or even once every few days.
- Sure. - Depending on
how it works for you.
And I will also say, Brad,
you don't necessarily have to do all three.
If you find one that really works for you,
stick with that one.
- For example, me, I won't do prone press-ups.
I won't do them because of my back condition,
it just irritates it all the time.
So the-- - Brad has spondy,
I'll let you say it - Spondylolisthesis.
- And that is not recommended for spondy,
and neither is spinal stenosis,
you don't wanna be doing prone press-ups.
- Right, and you'll know 'cause it hurts.
- Yeah, you'll know.
- The more you do the worse it gets,
so you just don't do it. - No pain, no gain is not
the statement we're gonna be making today.
You want no pain. - Right, exactly.
But wait, Bob, there's more.
- There's bonus information today.
- This is, I think pretty much McKenzie, as well as McGill--
- Yeah this is universal. - Get out and walk.
And it's best to walk on even surface,
not in the forest or through the field.
- Right, on level surfaces or hills.
- On level, don't avoid going up and down,
or avoid hills and things like that.
And yeah, definitely that, and then posture.
- Well, I was gonna say,
even sometimes it feels better to walk at a higher speed,
believe it or not. - Yeah, oh yeah.
- If you walk at a low speed
it puts more pressure on your spine.
You walk at a higher speed,
it actually takes some of the weight off your spine.
And so people actually walk better sometimes
when they have back pain
if they walk a little faster.
Also, Stuart McGill would recommend
like four times a day, like, you know, after each meal
and then maybe one other one
where you actually go and get a 15, 20 minute walk.
And I just had my nephew do this.
He was having some sciatica. - Yeah.
- And he did best, he walked all the time.
- Yeah, well he's a student.
- He was a student. - Yeah, no car.
- Right. (Brad laughs)
So it helped.
- But anyways, yeah, do what you can
and make sure your posture is good.
Use a lumbar support, monitor your posture
so this kind of thing is not happening,
which can happen without even being aware of it, so.
You know, somebody in your house,
if you're slouching, have 'em come up to you
and give you a little hint, sit up tall young man.
- Stuart McGill says, you know,
the number one thing you wanna do is stop the cause.
When you're having back pain a lot of you think,
maybe I'm having pain all the time.
It's just not true,
there's always a cause if you can figure it out.
- Right. - And if you can't,
you might wanna get Stuart McGill's book.
- Right, right. - The "Back Mechanic".
- And if you have to resort to, you know,
seeing a therapist-- - Right.
- Yeah, just don't see us.
- Yeah. (both laugh)
All right.
Good luck to you.