Dr. Brenden Kirk goes over how to relieve lower back pain with these quick and easy exercises.
Video Link: https://youtu.be/wlj3IJNmzjs
The first thing we’re going to do is a series of stretches for your glutes and for your piriformis, a muscle under your glutes that attaches to the bottom of your spine.
First, cross one leg over the other and reach across to your opposite knee and pull towards your opposite armpit; you should feel a stretch on that side. The next arm of this exercise is to reach through the opening in your legs, grab the front of your knee, and pull it back and you should feel a stretch on that side.
Each of these stretches should be held for at least thirty seconds three times on each side. Nerves can be tight just like muscles can be tight.
If you experience pain in your lower back or down your legs, it could be caused by a tight sciatic nerve.
This is how you stretch it: Grab the back of your thigh, then take your toes hard to your shin and slowly straighten your knee toward the ceiling. When you feel a strong stretch, hold it for a moment. Then relax.
This next exercise should be intense but short. Lie flat on the ground, and your legs straighten up towards your head. When you reach the maximum point, you’ll feel a strong burn. Relax again, then do it 10 times on each side. You’re going to stretch your sciatic nerve in your back. Start with one knee bent and the other straightened out behind it, like this. Slide your back foot forward until you feel a stretch deep in the hip of your front leg. Slowly lean forward from here until you reach the arm up towards the ceiling. You’re going to feel this stretching through the quad and the hip flexor of your back leg. Hold for 30 seconds three times on each side, then repeat with the other leg bent and straightened out behind it instead.
