Lower Back Stretches: 2 to avoid & 3 to start

Lower back stretches are thought to help lower back pain. Many people don’t realize this is only a short-term benefit.  In my experience I’ve found that stretching muscles of the hip is more effective in reducing pain in the long-term.

Time and time again I find lower back pain is a symptom of poorly functioning hips. Addressing this problem is more effective than persisting with the following stretches.

The 2 stretches to avoid

The first are lower back stretches in their various form. For example lying on the floor and lowering your knees from side to side. Here you are stretching the muscles either side of your lumbar spine. Stretching these muscles can increase their sensitivity to becoming tighter in the future. This doesn’t mean it doesn’t have value but for low-back pain they aren’t useful.

The second are hamstring stretches; these muscles attached onto the bottom of your pelvis and continue down the back of your leg to the knee. These muscles can become tight as a symptom of hip stability not low-back pain. It is better to address the hip instability that can be causing low-back pain rather than tight hamstrings.

The 3 stretches to start

Stretches that help your lower back are hip stretches. Most notably stretching the gluteal group, adductor group and psoas. Although they aren’t lower back stretches they allow the muscles of the lower back to relax. They give you a longer-term benefit, because they mobilise your hips and in turn stabilise your lumbar spine.

The video above helps you learn more about these stretches and why they are important.

Lower Back Exercises

An important element in making these stretches work for you are the right exercises. The right stretches and exercises together even more effective than stretches alone. These exercises work in a similar way to the stretches. They aren’t lower back exercises that work lower back muscles. They are exercises that challenge the muscles of the core and hips.