Back issues are more and more common these days. The modern lifestyle – especially the working life, with lots of sitting on questionable chairs in front of the screen all day, causes issues with your back. Instead of sitting all day, you should try to take breaks and go for a walk or at least do some stretching during your work day. If you want to stay on your feet more and be less sedentary, you can look into getting shoe inserts from Protalus.com in order to improve your posture and reduce back pain.
These issues almost always lead you to develop back pain. We know, it’s not fun but we’re going to help!
Here’s the issue: Every time you mess up your posture, you apply more pressure on your spine and spinal discs (the shock absorbers between your vertebrae). If you misalign your spine you could develop serious issues, like sciatica.
Sciatica and other similar issues can be very painful so we’re giving you tools in this blog post to relax the strains that can cause them.
It is always better to be safe than sorry and take positive steps to maintain your greatest health! That’s why we are bringing you three types of stretching that can help you eliminate sciatica (if you already have it), as well as help those with early symptoms to avoid developing full-blown sciatica.
1) The Sitting Pigeon Pose
Sitting Pigeon is a great place to start. Can be a little bit challenging but totally worth it.
Start by sitting on the floor. Your legs are stretched in front of you and your back is straight. Legs are next to one another. Your upper and lower body should be forming a 90-degree angle.
Rest your hands on the ground. Move one leg on the knee of the other, for example, left leg on the right knee. Bend it to a 90-degree angle. Stretch your hands forward towards the toes of your right leg. If you can’t reach them, just hold in the closest position you can.
If you can reach your toes, grab them and stay in that position for at least 15 to 20 seconds. Return to the starting position and repeat with the other side of your body.
This stretch opens up the hips and releases the lower back.
2) Knee to the opposite shoulder
For this next pose, lay on the ground, both your arms and legs resting straight on the floor.
Bring your left knee up towards your chest. Bend your leg and grab it with your hands. Position your hands just below the knee.
Firstly, pull your leg towards your chest, gently but as much as you can. After that, try and pull your knee towards the opposite shoulder, for example, the left knee towards the right shoulder. Pull to comfort.
If you experience discomfort or pain, lower the amount of pressure you are exerting on your leg. Hold the position for half a minute to 40 seconds.
Return to the starting position and repeat with the other side as well. Be sure to do this stretching exercise at least 4 or 5 times for both sides of your body.
3) Standing Hamstring Stretch
We’re going to use a prop to help us out with this last pose. You will need a chair or a box.
You start by standing next to the prop. Place your heel on the chair or box and stretch the leg whos heel is resting on the box fully. The leg resting on the box or chair has to be as straight as possible.
Similar to the sitting pigeon pose, stretch your upper body towards the toes of the raised leg. Stretch as far as you can. Ideally, you should hold your toes for about half a minute.
Conclusion
Remember, do all these stretches to your own comfort. Also, many people see the best results when using stretches along with other complementary treatments – like a spinal adjustments from a skilled chiropractor.
If you start to experience pain, release the tension a bit. Lower your leg own while keeping it straight. Repeat with the other leg. Do three reps of this stretching exercise.
Good luck staying loose and healthy!
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