Almost everyone, at least in their adult life has at some point experienced lower back pain or stiffness
.
If you haven't, then you are a very rare breed lol
You either move really well or maybe it just hasn't caught up to you yet. Now I'm not saying we are supposed to experience lower back pain/stiffness. It is NOT normal, but it is VERY common.
Why?
Because of our modern lifestyle habits, lack of movement through our environment, and common compensations we don't address.
We often start blaming our aches and pains due to "getting old". THAT STATEMENT COULDN'T BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH. We don't start feeling stiffness/pain because we're getting older. It starts to happen because more than likely we have not done anything about it for a LONG TIME. Tension and compensation starts to accumulate over time and then one day it SHOWS UP.
I was 23/24 years old when I was experiencing CHRONIC lower back pain. Is that old? No. But you bet I never directly addressed it. I didn't know any better back then.
There could be hundred of different reasons we may experience pain out of nowhere. It's all subjective and varies for each individual. But there are common factors that can contribute to lower back stiffness/pain.
These 3 Stretches can help alleviate tension/stiffness/pain for our lower back.
VIDEO LINK: https://youtu.be/KHwbvjwusT8
1. Open Book Stretch:
Helps open up the thoracic spine (upper back). Stiffness in our upper back, neck/ and shoulders can lead to lower back stiffness/pain.
2. 90/90 Stretch for External/Internal Rotation:
Often times, linear movements such as squatting, bending, and hinging over can result in some lower back discomfort. When their are deficits in our linear movement, there is more than likely a deficit in the rotational capacity of the joints involved in the movement. This stretch helps address the hip rotators. You'll see that squatting and hinging may seem a lot easier after performing these stretches.
3. Couch Stretch:
Do you sit all day? Ride bikes or spin often? Drive and commute for long hours? Some of these things we can't avoid, and that okay. As long as we know how to compensate for it. A lot of hip flexion happens during all of this. Which ends up stiffening our quads and psoas (one of our hip flexors). Its the deepest hip flexor muscle that attaches to our lumbar spine. The couch stretch help lengthen those tissues and compensate for all of the hip flexion we put ourselves through.
If you notice, these stretches do not stretch the lower back directly. Even though we feel pain there, it doesn't mean that it's the issue. The issue usually comes from somewhere else. This can be said for any other joint you may be experiencing pain at.
