Gò0dNews for Health & Fitness
Solve Your Lower Back Pain by Hannah Davis
O
ver 75% of adults experience back pain at some point in their lives. Despite this statistic, few people find relief
Exercises:
from chronic back pain and remain at the mercy of costly
a. Lying on your back with arms at
painkillers and injections.
your sides, bend the knees until
So what’s the good news?
your feet are directly under the
Chronic back pain is widespread among adults simply due to
knees, a few inches away from
misinformation on how to treat it. Chronic pain is often related to
your butt. Distance your feet hip
tight and underactive muscles. One common theme we see with
width apart and press through
new personal training clients are glutes that are tight, weak, or
your heels to lift the hips upward,
underactive and a weak core. This can happen because of a more
squeezing your glutes throughout
sedentary lifestyle—indefinite sitting throughout the day, repeated
the movement. Tip: Practice
leaning over desks and computers, or lengthy periods of driving.
creating a diagonal line starting
Try the following stretches and strengthening exercises to find
from the shoulders and ending at
relief and to begin to correct muscular imbalances leading to lower
the knees.
back pain.
Stretches:
2. Glute Clam Shells a. Lie on your side with one leg
1. Assisted hamstring stretch
stacked on top of the other and
a. Lie on your back with both legs
knees bent at a 45-degree angle.
straight out in front of you. Secure
While squeezing your core and
a yoga strap under the arch of one
pulling your belly in toward
foot while holding the ends of the
the spine, raise your upper
strap in each hand. If unavailable,
knee as high as you can without
try a towel or scarf. Raise the secured foot while maintaining a
disconnecting your feet at the
straight leg and flexed quad muscle. Use the strap to challenge
bottom. Return your upper leg
a deeper stretch with each exhale and hold for 20 seconds.
back to the starting position
2. Pigeon Pose/Piriformis stretch
and repeat.
a. Starting in plank position with
3. Bird Dog
your shoulders over your wrists,
a. Beginning in tabletop position
bring your right knee to your right
with your knees bent 90 degrees
wrist and your right foot to your
and wrists stacked directly under
left wrist. Sink your hips toward
the shoulders. Slowly extend your
the floor, maintaining equal balance with your right and left
left leg behind you while reaching
hip. For a deeper stretch, walk your hands forward and fold
your right hand out in front of
your chest toward the floor.
you. Keep your hips square to the
3. Wide Knee Child’s Pose
ground and brace the core to avoid
a. Kneel to the floor with your feet
any arching of the back. Hold the
together and knees placed hip width apart. Lower your torso between your knees and extend your arms to the floor out in front of you. With every exhale, fold your chest closer toward the ground. Notice the lengthening of your back muscles as you continue to walk your fingers further away from the body.
44 // March 2020
1. Hip Bridge
position for three breaths, then repeat with the opposite limbs. If you are interested in an individual assessment and a more personalized approach on how to treat your lower back pain, reach out to us at Body By Hannah Studio at (423) 641-8969 and schedule a fitness consultation today!
