Stretching workouts to get rid of back pain

Before the real pandemic hit this year, back pain had been the pandemic for many millennials and Gen Xs.

There’s no surprise there, we’re addicted screens so whether it’s looking down at our phones or tablets all day or sitting behind the computer for hours while working, the situation has become very dire. According to research, about 80% of us in the UK are affected by lower back pain.

What causes lower back pain?

From a dull ache to a stabbing or shooting sensation, back pain comes in many forms and can be triggered by a number of things including medical conditions and lifestyle choices.

Sitting for too long behind screens is one of the main culprits of lower back pain for younger generations, but there are other factors like poor posture. Slouching can put a strain on the back causing muscular pain, while over doing it at the gym also causes sports injuries that can trigger back strain.

Also, being overweight adds more stress to the back and joints causing pack pain; while wearing ridiculously high heels or lifting and bending the wrong way also causes back pain.

The good news is that unless your back pain is caused by a serious medical condition, most back pain caused by lifestyle choices can be managed and in some cases eliminated completely with a few lifestyle changes like wearing reasonable shoes, avoiding heavy lifting or at least using the right technique when lifting.

Not slouching, maintaining a healthy body weight, taking up gentle exercise, and not sitting for long hours can go a long way to help ease lower back pain issues.

But if you’re caught in a vicious cycle of back pain due to long hours of sitting behind a screen that can’t be helped, make time – a minimum of 20 mins a day to do these back pain exercises to relieve your back pain. They’ve been tried and tested – and they work.

5 stretching workouts to relieve back pain fast

15 Minute Beginner Flexibility Routine: This is a beginners follow along workout to help with flexibility but also works its magic on tight back and glute muscles that cause pain.

It’ highly recommended if you’re starting out and can barely bend over to touch your toes. By the end, this back ache workout would have released some of the muscle tension and you should be able to move freely.

20 Minute Full Body Flexibility Routine: This is a much deeper stretching workout but should be easy to do if you’ve been doing the beginner’s workout for a while.

Moves like the Prone pec stretch, Lunge with a stretch and Elbow lunges to mention a few are some of the best exercises you can do to immediately ease pain in your back discs, side and front hamstring. I highly recommend it.

Booty-, Thigh-, and Abs-Toning Workout From a Victoria’s Secret Model Trainer: Don’t let the words Abs-Toning Workout or Victoria’s Secret Model Trainer fool you. This is one of the best workouts I’ve ever tried that stops back pain.

Based on the P. volve, it’s not immediately obvious why this workout is so good for back pain, I put it down to the stances and awkward feet positioning and arm movement; you can feel it deep in those inaccessible muscles that throb painfully when your back pain is at its worst.

It’s a bit long but I find that the first 15 minutes work wonders, although doing the full workout routine brings nothing but flexibility and pain free muscles.

How to Improve Your Posture: Most back pain problems are caused by sitting for too long and having bad posture so this workout is extremely helpful.

It’s only 10 minutes, can be done at your desk, and almost immediately gets rid of the stiffness and aches in your glute and thigh muscles. Hint: Pay attention to the leg movements and positioning, they are key.

Finally, there’s this 10 min yoga workout that can be done any time of day, it’s a gentle and preventative workout – the perfect routine to take on to relieve back pain before your back pain issues become a severe problem.

These stretching workouts help manage lower back pain and upper back pain but combined with the right lifestyle changes could help eliminate all other types of back pain once and for all.

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