In this video, I'm going to show you how to fix back pain
in 30 seconds. Stay tuned!
Hey, everyone. Doctor Rowe coming to you from SpineCare in
Saint Joseph, Michigan. In this video, I'm going to show easy
exercises that may help relieve back pain within 30 seconds and
to make it easy, I'm going to split it up into three separate
parts. Each part will focus on a major cause of back pain. In
the first part, we're going to focus on muscle tightness.
That's muscle spasms, muscle knots, trigger points, you name
it. In the second part, we're going to focus on joint
stiffness that might be leading to less mobility. And the third
part, we're going to focus on the big one which is muscle
weakness. All three parts, they work a little bit differently.
To get the best results, go through all three, take what
works best for you. As a bonus, all of these exercises can be
done at home and they require no special equipment. So, let's
get started and fix that back pain for good right now. In
this part, we're going to focus on getting back pain relief
that is being caused by muscle tightness including muscle
spasms, knots, trigger points, those type of things. This one
is what I call the two-dollar muscle fix because I'm going to
be using two ordinary tennis balls placed in a sock, twist
the end, put a knot right there and at that point, you have
what is known as a peanut tool. The peanut tool works really
well because you're going to lie flat on it and put the
spine right in between the two grooves. That way it hits the
muscles off to the side. This method can be used from the
upper back all the way down to the lower back including over
the pelvis. Just lie flat on your back next to a wall or a
door. Put your feet flat against the door. These roughly
bend at 90 degrees. Kinda want your hips and your knees in a
nice straight line. I'm going to demonstrate this on
the lower back and the pelvis but again, you can do this
method over the upper and middle backs. So, take the
tennis balls right here, the peanut tool and place it right
over the spot that you're having a lot of tightness.
Let's say it's right here at the top of the lower back for
me. I'm just going to center it over that spot and then allow
my body weight to go down. The nice thing with this method is
you can use your legs to raise and lower it to create enough
pressure in there where it's causing a self massage but not
causing any irritation. So, press down until you feel a
deep but comfortable amount of pressure in there and what I'm
going to do from there is take my hands, put them on my hips,
and do a simple pelvic rock or tilt. So, just kind of rock the
pelvis up and down like this, kind of like tucking the
tailbone. What you'll notice is it glides, those muscles will
glide over the tennis balls and it feels really good. This
really will help pinpoint and attack muscle spasms and knots
throughout the whole back. I do this for about 15 to 20
seconds. Just doing nice, slow, controlled breathing. At that
point, I can relax, take a breather. If I feel like I need
another set or two, do that. Just keep doing it until you
feel that muscle knot relax. I do recommend with every
repetition too to drive your body weight down into it just a
little bit to focus on trying to break that up just yeah a
little bit more at that point and then you can just switch
over different spots as needed. If you feel like you need to
take this one to the next level instead of taking the pelvis
and rocking it up and down. What you can do is a marching
motion like this. What you'll notice is that the body weight
gets put over those spots of the tennis balls just a little
bit more. So experiment with doing a marching motion like
this again for about fifteen, 20 seconds and you can also
then switch over different spots. If you're having more
pain across the sacrum over the pelvis, this is how you can
attack that. So, what I'm going to do is take my peanut tool
and place it right over the sacrum that's right below the
belt line. I'm going to apply enough pressure in there to get
that nice self massage but this time around, I'm going to take
my hands, put them off to the side for a stable anchor point,
take my knees, put my legs together, and then bring my
knees towards my chest. What I'm going to do from here
slowly rock from side to side and this feels really good. The
sacrum is a very hard spot to really get in there and release
a lot of tightness. So, this rocking motion, the sacral roll
really helps with that. I just try to do this for about 10 to
15 slow repetitions on each side and with each repetition,
try to bring the knees down just a little bit more but give
that a try and I hope that it gives very quick back pain
relief. In this part, we're going to go over mobility
exercise that are going to help relieve back pain caused by
joint stiffness. This first one is what I like to call Doctor
Rowe's all-in-one back stretch. It's three separate movements
that are going to target a lot of muscles throughout the whole
back. I'm going to start off in bed pretty close to the edge
and I'm going to prop my upper back on my elbows just like
this. They're kind of in a V shape and I just put my hands
together and kind of like a fist like this. I'm going to
tuck my chin towards my chest and I'm going to start with
what is known as a scorpion. So, I'm going to bend my knees
roughly at 90 degrees and I'm going to put my legs together.
From there, I'm just going to slowly turn my hips and legs in
one direction while keeping my upper body supported on my
forearms. The more that you go over, the more that you're
going to feel a deep stretch into the back. You'll also feel
it off to the side into the core all the way down to the
hips. You want to hold this position for about 20 seconds.
Do nice, slow, controlled breathing also. From there,
just relax and and repeat it on the other side. Next, we're
going to go into a pose called the cobra. Let's start off with
what is known as the press up stretch or the half cobra.
Again, I'm going to prop myself up on my elbows just like this.
Tuck my chin towards my chest and then I'm going to press up
with my arms to put my back into extension. The key with
this exercise also is not to raise your hips up like this.
Keep them flat. Only press up in the back until you feel a
deep stretch I feel it in the core the lower back and also
the front of the legs this one is going to hit the hip flexors
a big instigator of back pain you want to hold this one
comfortably for about 20 to 30 seconds do nice slow control
breathing to take the cobra to the next level what you can do
instead of propping up like this is to go into the full
cobra so I put my arms off to my sides and then I press up
like this as much as I can again not lifting up on my hips
but when you do this, you're going to feel a deep stretch. I
feel it throughout the whole back from the upper all the way
down to my tailbone pretty much. Very good core stretch
and also those hip flexors are engaging. Hold this one for 20
to 30 seconds and then relax. You can take this one to even
the next level by using a rolled up bedsheet. What the
bedsheet does is allows you to pinpoint areas in the lower
back to help open them up just a little bit more with the
cobra. So, roll up a large bedsheet place it right over
the spot in the lower back that you want to focus on. You're
just going to take the two bends right here, pull them
forward and then kind of lock them down into the bed with
your arm weight. The movement is very simple again. What I'm
doing is I'm going into that full cobra keeping my hips flat
on the bed right here but I'm pulling forward with the two
bends at the same time. This really pinpoints and
intensifies that stretch in the lower back and it feels really
good. Again, do this one for about twenty 30 seconds. You
can relax and then repeat over different spots as needed. This
final one is called the child's pose. I'm going to go up on my
knees just like this and then put my arms right out in front
of me. Really grip into the bed or the floor with your fingers
and crawl forward with them until you feel a good stretch
in the upper back and the upper back. From there, tuck your
chin towards your chest. You're going to rock your whole body
backward kind of like taking your butt towards your heels.
You'll feel a stretch from the upper back going all the way
down to the lower back. I feel it all the way down to my
tailbone. With this one too, you really want the chest to
sag downward towards the bed or the floor too. It'll really
help open up in between the shoulder blades for a very good
postural exercise. Hold this one comfortably. Do nice, slow
control breathing for about 20 to 30 seconds. From there, you
can rock forward and relax. To take this one to the next level
instead of going straight forward with it, let's lean our
upper body towards one side. This right here will open up
the opposite side that you're leaning towards. So, if you're
going towards the left, you're really going to feel it on the
right. It hits a muscle called the QL or the quadratus
lumborum, a big instigator of one-sided back pain. Again, 20
to 30 second hold and then, I'm just going to do it on the other
side but go through all of these motions. If you feel like
one is helping you out the most, throw more repetitions in
at that point but I wreck doing this complete cycle for about
three sets. So, here's another great full back mobility
exercise but this one is going to target the upper and middle
backs just a little bit more. Let's go next to a wall. I'm
going to start off in a scissored lunge stance. Both
knees roughly at 90 degrees. The side facing toward the wall
is going to be our top knee. The other knee is going to go
bent on the floor. Make sure to put a pillow or towel
underneath it for extra comfort. So, let's start by
place the side that is facing the wall flush against it from
our ankle to our knee hip and shoulder stable anchor point
from there I'm going to have very good upright posture I'm
going to tuck my chin slightly towards my chest and then I'm
going to put the arm that is facing the wall straight out in
front of me put the back of the hand against the wall too for
another stable anchor point the first movement is very easy
what I'm going to do is I'm going to lunge forward as much
as I can until I feel an activation of the front of the
leg those hip flexors on the knee that is touching the
floor. This right here really helps open up those hip
flexors, a big instigator of lower back pain. Once we feel
that, we're going to take it to the next level by straining the
other arm and then turning and rotating our whole back
including our head in the opposite direction. Go as far
as you're able to go. You should feel a deep stretch in
the upper back and middle back in between the shoulder blades.
The goal is to take the back of the hand here and touch the
wall. If you don't have the flexibility, build into it as
much as you can. Through repetitions, you'll get more
flexibility over time but I try to hold this one for about 20
to 30 seconds. Do nice, slow, controlled breathing also. From
there, just come back and relax. On the next repetition,
challenge yourself by stretching into it even more.
You want to do this one for three to five complete
repetitions and when you're done on one side, switch to the
other to keep them both in balance. Without a doubt, if
you not only want to get rid of back pain but get rid of it for
good, your main focus should be on strengthening the back. This
first one is going to be a combination exercise that is
going to focus on the back and also the front, the core. So,
when you put them together, you're going to get the best of
both worlds. You can do this one in bed or on a floor. Let's
start with the pelvic bridge. I'm going to lie flat on my
back. My knees are going to be bent, feet flat. My hands are
going to go on my hips. I'm going to drive my hips and
pelvis upward towards the ceiling until I have a nice
straight line from my knees to my hips to my shoulders if this
position is difficult to get into like let's say you can
only raise up a little bit do the best that you can over time
hopefully you will build strength and also flexibility
to get into this position but in this position you should
feel the core muscles engage the lower back the glutes the
legs everything that supports the spine you want to hold this
one for five sec from there you're just going to relax take
a breather try to do this one for 10 to 15 repetitions if you
feel like this one right here is a little bit too easy you
can lift one leg up and take it to the next level and put all
of the weight on one side just remember whatever you do on one
side always do on the other to keep them both in balance from
there if you feel like you have a little bit more left in the
tank you can throw in another set or two but next let's
switch over to what is known as the bird dog that's going to
more on the core muscles in the front. So, let's turn over and
get on all fours just like this. What I'm going to do from
here is tuck my chin towards my chest. I'm going to then start
to straighten one leg out. I'm going to keep the foot flat on
the bed or the floor and kind of reach my toes away from
me as much as I can until I feel the muscles in the calves,
the hamstrings go up towards the hips, into the glutes, and
then my lower back. Once we feel that, I'm going to slowly
start to raise the leg up while still reaching out with my
foot. Try to get the leg pretty much straight out just like
this. You're going to feel the core muscles engage. To take it
to the next level, really try to brace those core muscles
while doing this. Hold this one comfortably for about 5
seconds. From there, you're just going to relax and then
repeat it on the other side. You want to do this for 10 to
15 repetitions on both sides and again, if you feel like you
have a little bit more left in the tank, you can do this one
for three complete sets. This strengthening exercise is going
to focus more on the upper and middle backs especially in
between the shoulder blades. It's really good for anybody
that deals with forward leaning posture all day long. It's
known as the shoulder blade lift off and we just need a
door or a wall. So, start off by putting your whole backside
flush against that door or a wall. Pretty much from your
butt, upper back, and head. Put your feet and legs together and
put your feet slightly out in front of you so your body is
kind of leaning into the door. From there, my elbows are going
to go bent at 90 degrees. I'm going to put them off to my
side and then push them into the door. The movement very
easy. What I want to do is drive my elbows push into the
door and then lift my body off. So, I'm not trying to round my
back into this one but instead, using my elbows to press
forward. When you do this, you're going to feel the chest
engage. You're also going to feel the upper back muscles
engage in between the shoulder blade. Really focus on feeling
that. You want to hold this one for about 5 seconds. There,
you're just going to relax, take a breather. Try to do this
one for 10 to 15 repetitions. With each repetition, try to
drive yourself forward even more. You want to do that for
about three sets and to make this one harder, just space
your feet further in front of you. If the exercises help you,
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