In this video, I'm going to show you how to fix quadratus
lumborum pain for good. Stay tuned.
Hey, everyone. Doctor Rowe coming to you from SpineCare in St.
Joseph, Michigan. In this video, we're going to focus on
getting quick and long-lasting pain relief for the quadratus
lumborum, commonly known as the QL muscle. If you're unfamiliar
with it, it's a muscle that originates at the top of the
pelvis, connects to the side of the lumbar spine, the lower
back, and attaches at your bottom rib. When this muscle
becomes inflamed, tight, and achy, you can get a lot of
one-sided deep lower back pain that runs through the pelvis
even into the hips. So, to make getting relief easy, I'm going
to break this video up into three separate parts. We're
going to focus on knocking out muscle tightness with a easy
self massage then actively lengthening the muscle and then
strengthening it to hopefully get rid of that pain for good.
As a bonus, all of these exercises can be done at home
and you may find get quick pain relief even within 30 seconds.
So, with that being said, let's get rid of that QL muscle pain
for good right now. So, in the first part, we're going to
focus on releasing a lot of muscle tightness in that
quadratus lumborum. For this one, we just need something
round and soft. A tennis ball works perfectly. You can also
use a lacrosse ball or a racquet ball. So, what I'm
going to do is start off lying flat on my back on a floor.
Whatever side that you're having pain, let's say it's my
right side. What I'm going to do is put this over the QL
muscle and to find it, what you want to do is pretty much go
right above the hip off to the side of the spine, don't put
this over the spine right here, it can cause irritation, and then right
below the rib cage. You can just take your tennis ball and
just kind of press in that area too. Once you find the spot
that just feels pinpoint and tight, what you're going to do
is then roll up on that painful side just like this. If that
muscle is pretty painful even a slight amount of pressure is
going to cause a really deep massage in there. So, you can
control this by rolling up on it and then lifting your hips
up and down. So, what I would do is press into that muscle
just until you find that comfortable amount of self
massage once you feel that what you want to do is use your body
to roll forward a couple times do this for about 10 seconds
relax and then repeat this a couple more times and with each
repetition press into it just a little bit more to target that
muscle you can also go up and down do circular motions really
explore the area and then after that you can just move the ball
over different spots as needed. If you want to take this one to the
next level, let's focus on activating that quadratus
lumborum muscle. So, what I'm going to do is roll over, press
down with my hip as much as I can and then I'm going to lift
my chest upward. What we're focusing on doing is trying to
take the bottom of the ribs here away from the hip by
coming up like this and you'll feel a deep activation of that
QL muscle. So, again, you can do rolling motions in there to
help massage that out just a little bit more. If you want to
take this one to even the next level, let's throw in some
dynamic movement in there to really focus on activating that
quadratus limborum. So, what I'm going to do is roll over,
press down, lift up like this, and then I'm going to take my
leg up like this, almost like a knee to the chest. You'll feel
that muscle start to activate. We're going to hold this for
about a second or two and then we're going to straighten our
leg and then turn our foot inward and try to reach away
from our body as much as we can with our toes. Hold this for a
couple of seconds and then you're just going to repeat
this process. Essentialy, what we're doing is flossing the muscle
and it usually feels really really good but try to do this
for about 10 to 15 repetitions relax if you feel like you need
another set or two throw some in but afterwards just switch
the ball over different spots and target any achiness that
needs it and from there you can switch to the other side and
repeat. So in this part, we're going to focus on lengthening
the quadratus lumborum, knock out a lot of muscle tightness
and hopefully get some quick pain relief. This first exercise
is known as the 90-90 QL opener. It gets its name
because we're going to have one leg straight in front of us,
knee bent at 90 degrees, the other leg is going to be off to
the side, knee also bent at 90 degrees. Whatever side that
you're having pain is going to be this back side. So, in this
case, I'd have a lot of left-sided quadratus lumborum
pain. To get into position, we want to have as much good
upright posture as possible. Take this back hip here and
press it down towards the floor as much as you can during this
exercise. So, once we're in position, I'm going to take the
arm on the painful side, straighten my elbow, and then
reach over towards the non-painful side. So, my left
arm is reaching over towards the right as much as I can. The
goal is to stretch these bottom ribs right here away from the
hip as much as possible. That will help activate that
quadratus lumborum muscle and you know you're doing it right
because you're going to feel a deep stretch on the one side of
the lower back right here into that hip. Once you feel that,
hold this one comfortably for about 30 seconds. You're just going
to relax and then you can repeat this one up to five
times and with each repetition try to build into it just a
little bit more if you want to take this one to the next level
what we can do is then rotate our chest downward towards the
floor as we do this you'll feel a much deeper activation of
that QL muscle. Again, a 30 second hold, just relax, and then
try to build into it for about three to five repetitions and
then from there I do recommend doing it on both sides to keep
everything in balance. So here's a really good one that you can do
throughout the day to really help keep the QL muscle nice
and loose it's known as the ballerina. I'm going to start
standing with very good upright posture whatever side that
you're having pain let's say it's my right side I'm going to
take the painful side's leg put it over the non-painful side my
feet and my toes are going to be pointed straight ahead from
there I'm going to take the hand on the non-painful side
put it on that side's hip so in this case my left hand is on my
left hip. I'm going to take the painful side's arm, bend my elbow
at 90 degrees, put it overhead. So, for obvious reasons, it
looks like a ballerina. The movement from here is pretty
easy. What I'm going to do is drive my hip towards the
painful side right here while leaning through my waist
towards the non-painful side. When you do this, you're going
to feel a deep stretch forming on that painful side. What we
want to focus on doing is opening up that area from the
bottom of the rib cage going into the lower back into the
hip. So, tilt as much as you can until you start to feel that.
It usually feels really really good. I try to hold this one
for about 30 seconds. I just relax and then I can repeat
this one up to five times and with each repetition, try to
build into it just a little bit more and again, I do recommend
doing this on both sides to keep them imbalance. So, if
your goal is to get rid of quadratus lumborum pain for
good, your focus needs to be on building strength and stability
into that muscle. So, out of all three of these parts,
concentrate on these exercises the most. This first one is
known as a hip hiker. It's best done at the edge of a
staircase. So, every time that you go up and down stairs,
throw in a couple reps. It will definitely add up. I'm going to
start off by just putting one foot up at the edge of a stair.
The other one is going to go off and you can definitely grab
off to the side of the wall right here too if you need a
little bit more support or if you have balance issues. So,
I'm going to keep both of my legs straight at my knees. I'm
going to allow one leg to go off the side of the stair right
here. I'm going to put my hand on my hip and the movement, I'm
driving the hip upward towards the ceiling as much as I can.
So, I'm not really trying to bend my leg at all. All the
movement needs to be through the hip through the pelvis and
lower back going upward as much as you can. You're really going
to feel a ton of muscles start to fire including the glutes
and that quadratus lumborum. I like to hold this one for about
5 seconds. I just relax and then I repeat this one 10 to
fifteen times, just nice and slowly. Build into it as much
as you can. From there, if you have a little bit more energy,
throw in another set or two. To take this one to the next
level, what you can do is not only go up with it like this
but then slowly lower that leg and that foot downward towards
the floor but don't let the foot touch. Just let it hover
slightly above the floor. You'll feel a lot of muscles on
the other side activate. So, you kind of get a nice twofer
with it, but again, try to do this one for about 10 to 15
repetitions and then from there, switch to the other side
to keep them both in balance. So, here's a strengthening exercise
fittingly called the butt walk. This one is really going to
target the glutes and that quadratus lumbarum. I'm
going to start seated on a floor. The movement is pretty
easy. What I want to do is take one glute right here and lift
my hip and that glute off the floor as much as we can until
you feel those muscles start to fire on that side. From there,
we're going to drive our body forward, so kind of like taking
our foot forward as much as possible, putting our heel down
and then you're just going to do the same thing on the other
side. As you do this, you're going to notice that you're going to
start to walk with your butt. But I try to do this one nice
and slowly for about 10 to 15 repetitions on both sides to
take this one to the next level just simply go in reverse
you're going to notice the muscles get hit just a little
bit differently so try to do this again for 10 to 15
repetitions in both directions if you feel like you have a
little bit more energy throw in another set or two if the
exercises help please support the channel by giving this
video a like and maybe subscribing too. 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!