Many people suffer from chronic back pain. It’s epidemic. If you know
anyone with back pain please forward this onto them. It will be SUPER
helpful and they’ll thank you.
Even though chiropractic care is the best treatment for back pain,
adding some good stretches to accompany the adjustments is a great idea.
So today I wanted to share with you two stretches that are great for low back
pain and sciatica that you can do at home.
Sound good?
Okay, here’s a simple exercise you can try today: Get one of those inflatable
medicine balls (the kind you find at the gym and can be purchased at any
sporting goods store).
Start by lying on the ball on your stomach, looking at the floor. Your feet
should be spread apart for balance. Next, slowly roll forward until the ball
is placed in front of your hips. Allow your body to bend forward, rounding
to the shape of the ball.
Next, relax your body completely and place your hands on the floor for
support and balance. You should feel light to moderate stretching in your
lower back, and possibly your hamstrings.
This stretch loosens the muscles that run up and down your spine. This
creates more space between each vertebra.
You’ll be amazed by the pain relief you get from increasing the space
between each vertebrae and when you combine this stretch with your
chiropractic adjustments, it’s a great 1-2 punch to eliminate your pain
and improve your health!
Here’s the next one. Tight hip flexors is one of the most common cause of
low back pain, even very severe pain. To alleviate this sometimes we have
to do some muscle work at the clinic called a psoas strain/counter strain.
If you stay on top of it though you’ll be less likely to need that. Here’s how
to do a great hip flexor stretch.
Get into a lunge position. Hips should point forward. Your torso needs to be
straight up and down (don’t lean forward). Push down into the ground from
your hips. You should feel the stretch right at the front of your hip on the leg
that is extended backwards.
Try them out and let me know how it goes!
Have a great day and I’ll talk to you soon,
Dr. Chris Frykman
Shakopee, MN