Can Acupressure Help With Back Pain?
When your back hurts, it’s no fun. It can leave you sidelined, cranky, and even depressed. So, when your back does drag you down, what
Introduction
Whether you’re at home or in the office, you can do a few simple stretches to relieve back pain. These stretches are easy to do, and they’ll help you feel better when you have back pain. They’re great for relieving muscle tension and keeping your spine healthy.
Before getting started
Before you get started, it’s important to warm up first. Warming up will help prevent injury and get your muscles ready for a full range of motion.
You should also stretch regularly throughout the day—not just before or after exercise. This will help keep your joints flexible and increase blood flow to the muscles that support the spine.
Stretching isn’t meant to replace exercise; it’s simply an adjunct that helps make certain exercises more effective or safer by improving flexibility. If you have any injuries or medical conditions, consult with your doctor before doing these stretches—or modify them so they’re right for you! And as always: if something hurts during a stretch, stop doing it!
Lower back stretch
Lower back stretch
- Place a towel or strap around the ball of your foot, and hold onto something for support. Your other leg should be straight in front of you and parallel to the ground.
- With your back straight and chest lifted, lean forward slowly over your bent leg until you feel a stretch in your lower back (keep bending slowly until you feel some tension). Hold this position for 20 seconds, then slowly return to standing. Repeat three times on each side. You can do this stretch every day if possible; it’s especially helpful after a long day sitting or lying down!
Knee to chest stretch
Lie on your back with knees bent. Pull one knee toward your chest. You should feel a stretch in the front of the thigh and hip of that leg. Keep the other leg relaxed on the floor, straight out with toes pointed down. Hold for 20 seconds to start, then work your way up to a minute or more if you can do so comfortably. Repeat three times per side if you’re new to stretching or if it’s been awhile since you’ve done this exercise, but aim for five reps total over time as part of your regular routine throughout the day in order to build flexibility and improve mobility.
If there is pain or discomfort during this stretch, stop immediately and consult a doctor before continuing with any physical activity!
Piriformis stretch
The piriformis muscle is a small muscle in the buttocks. It can get tight and cause pain in the lower back and hip. It can also cause sciatica, which is literally pain that radiates down one or both legs.
To stretch it, you will need to lay down and reach behind you until you feel it (this may take some time). The best way to do this is with a partner’s help so that they can pull your leg up toward them while keeping as much weight off of your lower back as possible by holding onto something sturdy near where your upper leg meets the chair or bed (like a table).
Cat-Cow Stretch
To do the cat-cow stretch:
- Start on your hands and knees with your wrists directly under your shoulders, and your knees directly under your hips.
- Tuck in your toes and round out through your spine so that you’re curling into a forward-facing fetal position. This is the cat pose. Try to keep weight evenly distributed between both palms and both knees—you don’t want to collapse too much on one side of the body or another. Hold this pose for 1 minute (or longer if you can).
- Now, begin to untuck from the forward-facing fetal position by lifting up through the crown of your head first, then letting it roll down toward where you’re resting on all fours (the cow pose). Keep this movement fluidly moving back and forth between cat and cow for 1 minute (or longer if you can). When finished, gently rest back onto all fours but still maintain an upright posture with a straight spine.
These are great stretches to relieve back pain.
Stretching can help you feel better, get more flexible and reduce pain.
- It’s important to stretch after a workout or physical activity. Stretching will help increase your range of motion in the muscles, helping them recover from being used as well as prepare for future use.
- Try these stretches for back pain relief:
- Hamstring Stretch – This is great for stretching out your hamstrings which are the muscles in the back of your thigh that run from the butt to just below the knee. If these muscles are tight it can lead to lower back pain since they put pressure on your hips which causes discomfort there too! The best part about this stretch is that you can do it anywhere since there’s no equipment needed so just grab some space on any hard surface (even if it’s just an old yoga mat). Then sit down with one leg extended straight out in front of you while keeping both feet firmly planted on ground without moving them around at all.”
Conclusion
If you suffer from back pain, these exercises are a great place to start. They’re easy to do and don’t take much time out of your day.