Lower back discomfort? Stretching to alleviate minor pain

Dec 30, 2018 | Health Tips, How to Videos

I’ve had soooo many of you asking about what I’d recommend for lower back discomfort, pain running down into the thigh and leg, and hip discomfort.

Before I go any further, I have to do my due diligence and say, ‘before starting any new exercise routine, consult your healthcare professional’. There, it’s done…the reason being, is that if you have something more serious and you come back telling me that these stretches made your condition worse, I’m going to make sure that you checked with your doctor first!

Now we get to move onto the fun stuff! I,of course, typically recommend going to a Chiropractor (I’m partial to that mode of healing) to make sure your spine is in alignment. When your body is in alignment, it can heal itself better. AFTER you’ve made sure that your spine is in alignment, you can try these yogic stretches. If the word ‘yoga’ gives you an unsettled feeling, just ignore that word and think of it as ‘stretching’.

I’m including a very short instructional video for you this week, because that’s way easier and more interesting than me writing about it.  I do these every single morning, no matter where I am in the world.

Movement in the morning helps to:

  • relieve stiff joints
  • increase circulation
  • warm up the muscles
  • reduce the risk of injury
  • increase your joint proprioception, which helps with your strength and agility

My Challenge to you this week:

  1. Take 5 minutes every morning for the next week and practice these stretching exercise.
  2. Keep a log of your daily pain levels. 
  3. Start the first day with rating your pain level from 0-10. Ten is the worst pain level and ‘0’ is the least. Write a little bit every day as you tune into how your body is feeling and changing with the new routine you’re starting for yourself!