In today’s episode Troy, our specialist in flexibility, mobility and function is going to show us 3 exercises you can easily do by yourself in case you have lower back pain, or if you’d like to reinforce your strength and flexibility in that area.

The first exercise is called couch stretch. You’ll need a couch that’s not too tall for that one. You’ll be in the position we show in the video around 1 or 2 minutes to stretch your quads all the way until the hip flexor, so this is going to open the hips up. Check your hips, they need to be squared to the front. If that’s too intense for you, you can just start by doing it with the back foot on the ground. Don’t forget to do the other side too 😉

The second exercise is touching toes, a quick simple movement to better bind our spine. Tuck your chin to your chest, keep your legs straight and start bending your spine forward until you reach your toes. Then come all the way back up. If your lower back pain is too sharp, you don’t want to work through the pain. Just go as far as you can and when you feel the pain, stop there and move up 2cm and stay there. You might ask your physio to give you some extra help as well.

Last exercise is called ‘butterflies’. You can use a wall, and move your lower back towards the wall, without leaving any space in between. Place your feet together, so you can see a diamond shape between your legs.  Push your knees down with your hands kindly to open up the hips and groins area. Stay there for a couple of breathings and then release and repeat. Another option is to push your knees down without using your hands, just with your arms and elbows to engage your glutes. Then move your knees up joining them together and come back down into a diamond shape. Repeat for a couple of times.

Hope that works for you! If  you have any questions do not hesitate to ask Troy if you see him around, or any of our staff members.