5 Best Stretching Exercises to Alleviate Your Back Pain

Many people suffer back pain at one point or another through out their lives. Back pain can be caused by a lot of things. A lot of times the pain in our backs will be caused by things that we do. One of the choices of treatment choices for back pain can be the use of prescription medications. But the drawback to using these kinds of medication is that they don't actually heal the condition. It just masks your discomfort sufficiently to help you get through the day. If you don't truly fix the problem, your back pain could continue to cause you problems for some time to come. A better way to speed up your recovery is to start doing stretching exercises aimed at back pain. Stretching exercises are especially important because they can help reduce your pain and discomfort, and may even help prevent future episodes of pain or injury. Your back pain stretch exercises should include a routine of stretching the back's muscles as well as the ligaments and tendons that support the muscles. Here are some simple stretching exercises to help help get rid of your back pain and ease the strain on your back. 1. Knee to Chest Lie on your back and extend both your feet. Fold the right knee and pull it towards your chest by holding the knee at the back of the thigh. Pull the knee as far as you can and till you feel a stretch on your lumbar spine and thigh. Hold in the position for sometime and then release. Change the leg and repeat the same. Gradually you can also do this exercise by bringing both the knees to the chest simultaneously. 2. Pelvic Tilt Lie on your back, bend your knees and place your feet on the floor. "Brace" your stomach—tighten your muscles by pulling in and imagining your belly button moving toward your spine. You should feel like your back is pressing to the floor and your hips and pelvis are rocking back. Hold the position for 15 to 20 seconds, but do not hold your breath. Repeat this stretch 10 to 12 times. 3. Pelvic Lift Lie on your back, bend your knees and place your feet on the floor. Your hands should be placed alongside your body. Push the lower back against the floor, lift your buttocks from the floor slowly without any strain as far as possible. Breathe in and out and hold the same position for 5 to 10 seconds. Lower slowly then repeat. 4. Piriformis Stretch Lie on your back, both arms stretching outward at 45 degree angles away from your body. Raise your left leg and bring it across your body, trying to make it touch the ground by your right hand. Keep your shoulders as flat as possible. Hold for 20seconds. Return to starting position. and repeat for the other leg. Do ten repetitions with each leg. 5. Dog Stretches Lie face-down on a mat, placing your hands next to your chest with your fingers pointing forward. Bend your knees, raise your hips and come onto your hands and knees. Curl your toes under, press into your hands and raise your buttocks into the air, moving your thighs up and back. Continue to lift up with the front of your legs as you lower your heels to the ground. Hold for 30 seconds to one minute, breathing evenly. To release, return to all fours and sit back on your heels. These back stretching exercises will relieve your back pain and make it less vulnerable to injury. Hope you find these stretching exercises for back very useful for you.