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#1 Stretch For Lower Back Pain Relief
- chelsie462
- 17 hours ago
- 6 min read
This article is a transcribed, edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in July of 2024. For the original video, go to https://youtu.be/lTM8aIaebhE
Brad: If you're struggling with low back pain and are unsure of the cause, this could help you out.
Mike: So we're going to talk about the best stretch to help relieve your back pain. And you might actually be surprised what it is.
Brad: That's right. All right, now, to understand low back pain, one thing that can be a common cause of the pain is the pelvis, and it's something called an anterior tilt. So we look at the pelvis, it can be anterior tilted this way. I'm going to exaggerate it so it's easy to see. But here's a neutral position. This is anterior tilt, this is posterior tilt. Now, when the hip flexors get tight, they'll actually pull the pelvis into that anterior tilt to a degree where it causes pain.
Brad: So, when you look at the hip flexor muscles, we don't have the best anatomy lesson here. But, typically, some of them will run from the low back spine region here and cross the hip joint itself and go down into the femur. Another one connects more up in the lower back. And you actually have a long one that runs all the way down to the knee.
Mike: So if any of these get tight, commonly what can happen is it'll pull your pelvis forward like Brad was showing, causing anterior tilt. And if you look at me right now, my anterior tilt is causing my low back to extend backward. So if I want to have good posture, this is going to get uncomfortable and cause some lower back pain.
Brad: Right, it actually puts the low back, at what we call end range, pushing all the facet joints in here close together right to the end. And that's why it's called end range. And there we get pain. So what we wanted to do is find one stretch to stretch all the muscles that cause anterior tilt. And Rick Olderman, the physical therapist, wrote books on this, and we're going to show you what he likes to do. It is his number one stretch for this. All right, now there's an assessment or a test to find out if your anterior tilt exists. Simply lie down. You could do this on a bed, but on a firm bed or on a carpeted floor.
Brad: So you'll lie down just like this first, and you're going to time it for 30 seconds. And you're going to monitor your back pain. If it feels, if it irritates it, if it feels very comfortable, whatever. Monitor it, put that number in your head. Zero is no pain. 10 is extreme pain. You know, just use good judgment, pick a number. And then, the second position, there are three of them altogether, is knees up. And does that change your lower back pain? Does it make it better, does it make it worse? Okay, for 30 seconds, monitor it. Again, put that number up for pain level, whether it goes worse or bad.
Brad: And the third position, both knees to your chest, hold them here. Now you're relaxing with all this, you're not pulling really hard. Just a comfortable hold with your hands. Again, 30 seconds, monitor the pain and see where it goes.
Brad: Now, if you find that lying flat with your legs down is the most uncomfortable position, it's a very good indication that your hip flexors are tight. You need to stretch them out. They're actually putting your pelvis into that anterior tilt. So let's go through the stretch if indeed this flat position is the most painful.
Mike: In order to perform this stretch, you'll either need a firm mattress or you can do it on a counter or tabletop as well. But you're going to need something off the ground. You'll see why in a second. You're going to sit near the edge and then lie on your back. Bring both knees to your chest. This is the starting position. The closer my butt is to the edge here, the more stretch I will feel. The less stretch I will feel if I'm up higher. Go with what's comfortable for you.
Brad: Now, Mike, before we stop, you do this one on your bed, correct?
Mike: I do this on my bed, but I have to put something else firm there in order to get that way.
Brad: Because otherwise, the edge of the bed collapses a little bit. So you put a pillow there to help brace it up?
Mike: Yep, if it's too soft, you will sink down, and the stretch won't be as adequate. So you do need something rather firm. So once you're in this position, slowly lower one leg down. Now, once I'm down, you can see I'm going to bring this knee up towards my chest, and you can see my hip flexor pulling up a little bit. Try to keep it down and try to add a bend in the knee if possible. If you start getting cramping or pain sensations, just don't bend as far. Do what's comfortable for you and try to hold this for roughly 30 seconds. Make sure to breathe throughout. Once you do one side, reset and then do the other side. Now, if you happen to have back pain on one side, the side you're stretching, you'll probably feel it a little more. Maybe that side does three stretches, and the other side, you only have to do two. But you'll probably notice a difference between the sides.
Brad: One mechanical thing you want to be aware of is the knee position. Now, you can't see it from there, but he's very much in line, knee, hip, up to his head. Sometimes the tendency is for a knee to go out to the side. You want to bring it back to neutral and hold it there so that you have good alignment, and that'll give you a much better stretch on those hip flexors. You know, again, pulling the foot under, you're going to feel the stretch more in the quad than when you don't have that. And that's getting the rectus femoris, that muscle that oftentimes gets missed with hip flexor stretches. All right, I just want to recover this. When you're doing the stretch, you're going to hold each one for about 30 seconds. Relax and breathe, do both legs. And like Mike said, do the tight one three times. The one that's not so tight, you can go two. It's really up to you. But, do those once or two, even up to three times per day. As long as you don't get sore, particularly after the first time you try it, the muscles have not gotten used to it yet. So, you'll find it. It'll work out very well. Mike, what else do we have?
Mike: If you are still experiencing back pain and you think it may actually be sciatica, check out our video "Only 1 In 5000 Know This About Treating Sciatica."
Brad: There you go.
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