Stretching Series Part 4
Recently, we discussed Dr. Nissim, DC’s incredibly helpful article about the importance of stretching your arms at home during COVID. We’ve also covered the best ways to stretch your neck after receiving whiplash. Today, we are going to discuss another particularly important stretching routine – this time for your back. Stretching your back daily is something everyone should do, as the benefits are numerous. Stretching your back reduces tension in the muscles that support the spine, improves the range of your motion, and decreases the risk of back pain. It also helps you keep an ideal alignment.
We spoke with our very own Doctors on Liens Dr. Taghreed Abutaleb, DC from Platinum Chiropractic Center about her ideal back stretching routine. Follow along with Dr. Abutaleb HERE and being incorporating stretching into your daily life so you can experience its many benefits.
The Routine
First, begin by laying on your back. Take your right knee and pull it up to touch your chest. Hold this for a minute and repeat with the left knee.
Next, bring both of your knees to your chest and hold this for a minute.
Then, slowly twist your hips over to one side and hold the stretch. Then, do it to the other side. You should feel this stretch in your lower back.
Next, carefully place your legs in a position so they resemble a number 4 (reference the video here). Once they are in the correct position, pull your bottom leg up towards your chest. Hold this for a minute before switching.
Now, sit up, put your legs out in front of you, and reach over one side so your hand touches your toes. If you can’t reach, just aim for the toes and get your fingers as close as you can. Hold this for a minute before switching sides.
Next, we are going to focus on back-strengthening exercises. Lay on your stomach with your arms at your side. Then, lift up your arms and legs so only your stomach is left on the floor/mat. Using your back muscles to lift your arms and legs like this is key for building muscles in your back.
Next, lift just your legs one at a time for 15 lifts on each side.
Finally, a nice stretch in Cobra pose is a perfect way to finish out a back-stretching routine. Here, we lift our shoulders off the mat with our hands and leave the rest of our body on the mat, getting a nice stretch in the lower back.
All in all, we tend to get caught up in a routine and miss out on daily opportunities to help ourselves physically. So, please take the time out of your day to stretch as much as you can. And be sure to continue following our Doctors on Liens Quick Tips here!
Read about stretches to alleviate the tension from whiplash here!
