Lower back pain
In the UK around 8 in 10 people suffer with lower back pain every year. In most of these cases, it is not due to a serious disease or back problem, and the exact cause of the pain is not clear. This is called non-specific lower back pain. The usual advice is to keep active, and do normal activities as much as possible.
A lot of the time Lower back pain is down to Overused & Tight Muscles Here are some of the muscle groups that are normally affected
Quadratus Lumborum (Qls)
Illiopsoas
Tensor fascia lata
Piriformis
Hamstrings
In this page I have included stretches for each of these muscle groups to help get you back to full fitness as soon as possible!
Due to most people sitting for long periods of the day, their quadratus lumborums (QLs) are short, tight, and overused. The QLs assists in side bending and in back extension. The QL is constantly working if you are sitting without lower back support.
Also if you have back pain that is only on one side of your lower back, there’s a good chance it’s the QL on that side. This is normally due to crossing your legs when you sit, and you normally only cross them one way (i.e. always right over left), then there are unequal forces on your back! So for your body to keep your back straight, one of your QLs is then constantly engaged. For example, crossing your left leg over your right means you lean slightly to the right, with, say, 70% of your weight on your right sit-bone, 30% on your left. This isn’t a problem, unless you do it for long periods, every day (like most of us do when we’re sitting).
Quadratus Lumborum Stretch
Lie on your side on the ball
the ball should be supporting the side of your trunk
Keep your top leg straight and position your top arm over your head
You should feel the stretch in the side of your trunk.
Illiopsoas Stretch
Lunge forward with knee on padded mat. Position foot beyond forward knee. Place hands on knee
Straighten hip of rear leg by pushing hips forward. Hold stretch. Repeat with opposite side.
Tensor fascia lata stretch
Laying on your side with your pelvis perpendicular to the floor.
Flex your top leg and relax your hips and legs.
another variant is to place your ankle behind the side of your knee as shown in the second image,
Periformis stretch
Lay on the floor on your back and cross the right ankle over the left knee
Grip the thigh of your left leg and pull the knee towards you, lifting the foot off the floor
Pull the knee further towards you to increase the stretch
Hold for between 10 and 30 seconds
Hamstring stretch
Stand with one leg just in front of the other
Bend the back knee and rest your weight on the bent knee
Tilt the hips forwards as if sticking your bum in the air!
Hold for between 10 and 30 seconds
Another way to help with lower back pain is to help strengthen the lower back and the core muscles, if you would like more information please do not hesitate to contact me via my contact page.