Back pain is an incredibly common health issue. Most people, around 80% of Americans, will experience back pain at some point in their lives. Back pain can be completely debilitating, impacting your daily activities, disrupting your sleep, and hurting your productivity. What’s more, Americans collectively spend about $50 billion annually on back pain treatments! What if you could ease back pain without taking painkillers or spending money on expensive chiropractic visits?
In this article, PainFreeOutlet.com will teach you how to use stretches and strengthening exercises to relieve back pain at the source!
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What You Need to Get Started
You don’t need much, if anything, to start stretching. Position yourself on a bed or carpeted floor, throw on some comfortable clothes and you’re ready to go. Of course, investing in a few new items never hurts! A yoga mat will provide a protective layer of cushioning on hard floors and offer a non-slip surface for your stretching routine. Yoga blocks, blankets, and straps can further enhance the safety and efficacy of your stretching experience.
You may also want to get some comfortable, stretchy clothing that won’t restrict your movements or get in the way as you twist and bend. Look for bras that don’t have wires or clasps that will dig into you while you’re stretching. For example, Davy Piper’s Carol Racerback Bra will offer comfort and support in everything from restorative Yin yoga to sweaty Pilates sessions.
Why Stretching Works
Unlike medication-based treatments for back pain, stretching exercises target pain at the source. The spine is a series of joints, tendons, bones, ligaments, and muscles that work in tandem to support movement and carry the weight of the body. Regular stretching keeps everything strong and flexible. Well+Good explains that without stretching, your fascia—the connective tissues surrounding your muscles—can become stiff and tight, creating pain. Stretching improves the elasticity and pliability of the fascia so your joints and muscles can function to their full capacity.
Neck and Shoulder Stretches
Neck and shoulder pain is common among people who spend a lot of time sitting at a desk or looking down at a phone. To relieve pain and stiffness, try some stretches that loosen up the muscles around your neck and chest. Gentle side-to-side neck bends, shoulder rolls, and overhead arm reaches are great for warming things up. Some good yoga poses for your upper back and neck include child’s pose, cat-cow, and downward dog.
Lower Back Stretches
These poses are also great for lower back health. If you want to target your lower back specifically, spinal twists and pelvic tilts are great. Stretches that loosen your hip flexors and glutes can also help to ease lower back pain, so try pigeon pose, cow-face pose, and supine figure 4 stretch as well. Try to include some low back strengthening exercises in your routine to strengthen your muscles and take some of the pressure off your spine.
Stretching Before Bed
Stretching before bed is ideal if back pain is keeping you up at night. A relaxing yoga or tai chi routine can relieve tension from the day and even improve your sleep quality. Beyond relieving the pain of muscle tightness, stretching before bed can also reduce stress, improve your mood, and promote full-body relaxation, making it easier to fall asleep. And you’ll be less likely to wake up with a sleep-disturbing cramp when you stretch out those muscles before hitting the hay.
Living with back pain isn’t fun. Thankfully, there are many things you can do to take control of your pain and reduce its debilitating effects. Commit to regular stretching and strengthening exercises, and your back pain should reduce to a much more manageable level, and maybe even disappear completely!
Are you looking for more pain relief advice? Check out PainFreeOutlet.com for information and products designed to help you combat pain and finally find relief.
I would like to thank Sheila Olson for providing this informative and well-written guest article on the topic of stretching. As she stated, stretching should be a standard routine in our daily lives since it not only helps us ease physical pain around our joints, back and neck, and it also improves the quality of our lives going forward. A flexible body with a good range of motion is much more superior than a tight body with a limited range of motion, yes? And, don’t forget to visit her web site at fitsheila.com to get great fitness tips!
