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Absolute Best 10 Stretches For Back Pain & Perfect Posture!
- chelsie462
- 1 day ago
- 15 min read
This article is a transcribed, edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in July 2024. For the original video, go to https://youtu.be/Gz2ZIccRwZc
Brad: All right, we're going to cover 10 exercises that can help improve your posture as well as your back pain. Now we're gathering this information from 50 years of experience in the clinic with Bob, me, and Mike.
Mike: As well as experts that we've interviewed, like Dr. Stuart McGill and Rick Olderman.
Brad: Now, good posture and back pain are related like food and good health. So, we're going to go through it in detail, and you'll understand exactly what we mean.
Mike: So there are many good stretches for back pain. A lot of it just depends on your individual needs, what makes your back actually feel good, and what makes it feel worse.
Brad: So we'll go through the 10 stretches, do them along with us, and you're going to have to follow the rules we're going to go through to determine if the stretches are right for you. There are probably two or three for most people that are really going to be helpful.
Mike: So we're going to cover three important rules with every stretch. And the first rule is, if the stretch creates any sharp pain at all, it is not the stretch for you, and just avoid that one.
Brad: Very good, number two. If it feels good while you're doing it, that's a good sign. But it's also important to find out if it responds well after doing it, in other words, an hour or two, or up to 24 hours afterwards, to ensure that there are no residual effects that are negative. That can happen sometimes.
Mike: And the third rule is you have to relax and make sure you're breathing through each stretch. If you're tense doing the stretch, it's not going to do much.
Brad: That's right. So just enjoy the stretches, go through them, follow these rules, and we will determine what's going to work for you. Okay, the first stretch, we're going to use names that you can remember or not, and there are different names for these depending on yoga, therapist, or whatever you want. But we call this what?
Mike: This is called the child's pose, or all four hands rocking, whatever you want to call it. So you're going to start on your hands and knees like this. Now you're going to sit your butt towards your heels while keeping your hands in place. As you go down, this is going to start stretching your back. It also stretches your shoulders and other parts of your body. But if you have spinal stenosis, this stretch might feel good for you.
Brad: That's right, it also helps stretch out the shoulders and resolve some back pain up there. One thing is you're not going to do it on a table, you could do it on a bed, but it usually works best on a carpeted floor. And notice Mike's feet, he actually has his feet down like this, it actually does a nice stretch on the ankle as well.
Brad: If you do it with your toes up, it's a little more difficult. You could do it that way as well, you won't get as good a stretch on your back, but that's up to you, work with it. And again, remember the rules, if you get sharp pain, or this it's not comfortable, scratch it off. If it feels good, it may be on your list of things to do.
Mike: You can also stretch one way more than the other by crossing your hands if you want. So, say you have the left side of my body that's tight or needs some stretching, reach over to my right side. Get a little extra stretch, and you can switch sides. You could do this for three to four repetitions of 20 to 30 seconds, just make sure you're breathing throughout it.
Brad: Very good, let's go to number two. So stretch number two, particularly if you have low-sided back pain on one side, let's say it's on your right side. We can do it this way using a door frame, or I'll show you a way where you can simply use a Booyah Stik or a cane. Go ahead.
Mike: You can also use a pull-up bar if you happen to have one. Now I'm going to face my palm away from me, put it on top of the door frame. I realize there'll be a wall here, but I don't have one. So once you're up here, you're going to start to lean your pelvis through the door. And the more you bend your knees, the more of a stretch you will start feeling. This can really help decompress the spine on this side. So if you have some sort of sciatic or pinched nerve, this can really help with that.
Brad: Now, this may be difficult for someone to do, depending on the height of the door and yourself, as well as your comfort level and finger strength, so that when you do this, you're safe. So if that's the case, simply go ahead and use the stick of some sort, and you can do this seated or standing. You'll simply put the stick on the chair and then reach up, grab here, and I'm stretching already, I'm feeling a stretch here. And now if I lean to the right, that actually puts a real nice stretch. The key is, is that your hand doesn't slip down the stick. So get a grip on there and feel that stretch.
Brad: You can actually do this standing as well, at a table or a cupboard with a stick there, and stretch, feel that stretch there again. Once again, wait as soon as you feel that stretch, it should relieve that pain. If it hurts, it's not comfortable, scratch it. Let's go to number three.
Mike: So for this next stretch, you're going to be lying down on your stomach. Brad will show an alternative version standing. So this is called a prone press-up in the therapy world. What you can do is start by lying flat on your stomach. I can't put my head down because my mic is right here. And first, try to just go up on your elbows. If this is pain-free and easy, you can progress to the next step. If you start to feel back pain here, just sit here, relax, and stretch out in this position. Over time, what you want to try to do is put your hands on the mat, press up to where you comfortably can, hold for a second, and then come back down.
Mike: Over time, you want to try to progress to getting up as high as you can while keeping your pelvis touching the mat. You don't want it to lift up like this.
Mike: So what you're doing is actually working on your spinal extension. This is a good exercise if you happen to have a herniated disc.
Brad: Now, when you do this again, if you have pain going down the leg, and as you do this, if the leg pain gets better, that's a green light; you'll want to continue to work with this cautiously. If it causes pain down your leg, or the numbness or tingling gets worse, then you absolutely stop; it's not for you. Now number four is a very similar stretch to this, it does the same motion on the back, except for in a standing position, you're simply going to put your hands at your belt line like this, or like this, use that for support, and then simply stretch backwards. A lot of times, if people are uncomfortable sitting for long periods of time, this can be a good stretch to do before you sit or after you sit, for example, a long car ride. Stretch back like this again, it should feel good the more you do it. I only do these about three to five times, and then I'll do them more frequently, throughout the day, or depending on how often I'm sitting. For example, if you work at a computer, you may want to stand up and do this every one to two hours.
Brad: Now this next stretch is pretty common, more with people, maybe 50 years and older, and they're starting to have some stenosis in their back. You'll know if you have back pain and you sit down, and it feels better; this stretch may be good for you. I used to use it when I would walk, and after about half a mile of walking, my back pain would get bad because I have stenosis. So what I would do is I would squat down like this, and immediately, as soon as I did this, my back would feel better.
Brad: If you do this and it doesn't feel good, it's not for you again. And I would simply hold out like this for just five to 10 seconds, and I'd get up and maybe do that a couple times. Then I could get up and walk another half mile without pain, then you know you're right on. So that stretch, I kind of threw in there as my personal one, had great experience with it, and I know patients of mine have as well. So there we go, let's go, we're on number one?
Mike: Number six.
Brad: Oh.
Mike: Alright, stretch number six is actually going to work on your spinal or back rotation. This is going to work on your thoracic spine. It's roughly the middle portion of your spine, running from your neck to your lower back region.
Mike: So in order to do this, you're going to need to be in a seated position, so your lower back is stationary and can't move. What you're going to do is just start with rotations like this. Gentle, just go in each direction. You may notice one side is tighter than the other, so maybe spend a little more time on that side. If this feels easy, you could certainly add a little bit of pressure by grabbing onto the armrest and then pulling yourself into more rotation like this.
Mike: You can just do kind of repetitions with this, or hold for time if you want. Some people may sit here for 15-30 seconds in one position. Some people may be more comfortable just rotating back and forth gently.
Brad: Right, and again, that should feel like a good stretch, like maybe you haven't done it. It's really good for driving when you need to turn around to look behind, you have a functional use for it. If you want to get more specific and you want to maintain your posture, and this is a little more advanced, you may or may not want to do this. You simply use a stick that's long enough, put it over your shoulders, and hold onto here. And what this does is lock in your shoulders. And you do it in a seated position, now my waist is locked in, and it really gets a little more specific, you feel a greater stretch in the pec muscles here. It's good for posture as well. So that's why I like doing this one, I really do, I do this one at least three times a week, sometimes more. Yeah, again, feels great. When I'm done, I feel taller, stretched, and ready to go. Are we almost to number seven?
Mike: Almost.
Brad: There you go, seven, that's a lucky number.
Mike: Number seven is going to be a spinal decompression stretch. You're going to need either a pull-up bar, some Hanging Handles, or something you can grab onto and actually hang from. For beginners, it's nice if you happen to have it against the wall. If you're on a pull-up bar and it's not, that's fine. Slowly start sitting and bending your knees, and start feeling that your spine decompresses. Once you feel a comfortable position, just hold there for a while, and you'll get a good stretch. Do what's comfortable; your grip is probably going to give out before your actual back. It's tired in this position, but if you don't feel much of a stretch and you're stronger and you can do it, you can certainly let your legs relax. This is going to decompress your spine even more. However, if you can't do that, it's perfectly fine just to keep your feet flat.
Mike: Right, and why don't you go back up, Mike? It's really important that, now Mike is doing it with his back against the wall, because you can use the wall for posture, so you know your back is straight and your head is back. There you go. And it also acts as resistance, so you can control it. I really advise going only 50% of weight bearing, approximately, when you first do this, because it's actually going to work your shoulders as well as your back. It can be great for your shoulders as well. We've had many videos on that. Don't overdo it. Time-wise, I'd start five to 10 seconds. Do it for a few days, if it continues to feel good, then work yourself up maybe to 15 to 30 seconds.
Brad: This is one stretch where you have to be relaxed and breathe. If I'm tense and tight, I'm not relaxed my back at all, it's not going to work.
Mike: That's right.
Brad: So you need to be nice and relaxed. Good point. So that is a little more advanced caution with that, be careful. Now we realize a lot of people do not have a pull-up bar or hanging handles. Simply use a Booyah Stik like I have, or a mop handle like Mike has. And you can do this in a seated position or up to a cupboard, and put your hands up. The important part is, is that when you get the stretch, your hands don't slip down the pole. And so what I'm going to do is reach here, and there are two options, you can do it if you're seated like Mike, is you simply lean forward, and you'll feel a stretch throughout your mid and low back, as well as your shoulders. Breathe and relax, start out gently like our everything. There we go. None of these stretches is ever going to be really aggressive. Even when you get used to them, there's really no reason to try and stretch your body so you get six inches taller; it's not going to happen.
Brad: Now, if you're standing, you can simply flex your knees like this to get that same stretch. And being relaxed, like Mike said, is absolutely critical to get that low back to decompress. All right, what do you say, Mike?
Mike: Let's go on the next one.
Brad: That's right, number nine. Alright, number nine is excellent for posture, which goes along with the pain, as we know. But if you've got the hunch back, and you have a hard time straightening, we're going to use gravity and a roll, about six inches in diameter. You can either use a foam roller or simply make one out of some towels, roll them up tightly and neatly, and tape them up. So it's about six inches in diameter. We'll put that down, and you simply, now doing this on a bed, probably not so good, although you could start, probably on a carpeted floor is best. Put that between your shoulder blades, and we're going to allow gravity, and just relax to pull the shoulders back and keep the head in a neutral position. Can I see that pillow, Mike?
Mike: I suppose.
Brad: And you probably will need a pillow to let your head relax. If it's dangling there, you get a sore neck, it becomes uncomfortable, and back here like this. And Mike's going to show a little more detail on how to do this on the floor with the actual foam roller. Go ahead, Mike.
Mike: So, with the foam roller, typically I start in the lying position. I will sit up because it's a little tricky to get on these, and then you place your buttocks on it, and then the back of your head. This is where the long foam rollers come in handy, the shorter ones don't work as well. So, for this, what you can do is just lie here to begin with. If this feels okay, you can try putting your arms at your sides, and just relaxing, especially if you kind of have that forward rounded posture, this can really open up the shoulders as well as the pec muscles. It just kind of feels good.
Mike: If this seems easy, you can try progressing to doing what we call a snow angel. If you don't have snow, you're basically just making an angel on the ground. The goal of this is to keep contact with my head through my back and buttocks on the foam roller. Try to get as much of my hand to touch the floor as possible. If you're really tight, you may be up here; that's perfectly fine. Eventually, try to get your hands down to the ground and you can work up above your head, try to keep your elbows as straight as you can, and then come back down. It's just a good stretch.
Brad: Now, I know a few of you might be thinking, I don't have a foam roller, I don't think I can do this one. And you may be too tight for that anyway, you could actually go ahead, show them how to do it. Simply go on a carpeted floor and do the exact same thing without the roller, perhaps use a pillow under your head. And this may be tight for some people. They may actually have their hands go up in the air as they get above their head, so that their hands.
Mike: Yes.
Brad: Can you demonstrate that, Mike?
Mike: So, same concept if I've seen some people lying on the ground and their head is seriously like three or four inches off the ground. And it hurts; they can't even touch. So in that case, start with a pillow, eventually try to get something thinner, maybe a smaller towel roll, and then progress. Once you're able to go flat comfortably, without any issues, then you can start working on bringing your arms out to your side. This might be a good enough stretch. As long as your arms can touch the floor here, then you can do wall angels. They're much easier in this position compared to on the foam roller, because you have to have more flexibility for that. But this is certainly a good starting point.
Brad: Alright, let's go to the last one, number 10. This one actually, as far as we know, Mike is the inventor of it. So it's a really good stretch in the seated position.
Mike: So, the final stretch, you're going to need to sit in a chair for this one. It's basically just a hallelujah stretch, commonly known. So what you're going to do is arch your back, and then bring your arms up, if you're able to bring your arms up. If you can't bring your arms up, you could certainly just kind of go to the side if needed. So what you want to do is arch your back, get a good stretch, and go back as far as you can, and then come back forward.
Mike: Again, this should not cause any pain, but if you want to get a little more stretch, you can try grabbing a ball of sorts. You can even use a towel row at times. Place it behind your back, and find the spot that is comfortable for you. Some people may be higher up, some people may be lower. Just pick the spot and then work on arching back, and you really get that spinal extension now.
Brad: Right, and using a firm chair with armrests like this is probably the best chair to use. Using the soft chair in the living room probably is not going to work so well. So, a really nice stretch, the ball really allows you to isolate which part of your back you want to loosen up. Having fun, Mike?
Mike: Yeah, it works as a nice little fulcrum.
Brad: There it is, nice. Let's, let's be done, and finish up here, Mike, these people got things to do.
Mike: Okay.
Brad: Okay, so I'm sure you found some stretches you like better than the other just by how they feel. I'd narrow it down to three. Give yourself a day break, go back to those three, and work on those. But then you need to give it a day just to make sure they have no residual after effects the next day.
Mike: So, if the next day you are feeling good, no pain, no issues, you can certainly do those stretches again, and just continue to progress them as you tolerate.
Brad: And you may want to do them two to three times per day, as long as they continue to feel good, they're going to help your posture and reach all of our goals.
Mike: So if you want to check out another video on back pain, you can click the video link on the screen. It is "How to Fix Low Back Pain in 90 Seconds, Bob and Brad Concur!" Bob and Brad concur.
Brad: It's a very popular video, and a lot of people have commented with good results. So, very good, let's carry on the day.
Mike: I guess I concur with it, too.
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