Today I’m going to be talking about my top back exercises to maintain a healthy spine.

 

So these are all back exercises that I give out almost on a daily basis and massively help with preventing lower back pain as well as the management of existing symptoms. Most of my clients will have performed at least one of these exercises at some point throughout our time working together – that’s just how much I use them! So to clarify this isn’t a countdown of my top individual stretches; this is a routine where each stretch works in conjunction with the other.

  • Double Knee Hugs
  • Single Knee Hugs
  • Knee Rolls
  • Piriformis Stretch
  • Psoas Stretch
  • Lumbar Twist

With each stretch you want to hold the position for 30 seconds. Most research tends to fall around the 30-second mark for a stretch to have its full effect. Although you can keep stretching for longer, any additional stretch that takes place after 30 seconds tends to revert back like an elastic band and produces no additional benefit and if anything you’re more likely to do damage to the muscle.

Now if you did decide to stretch for more than 30 seconds you are highly unlikely to hurt yourself of these exercises, but you can imagine how easy it would be to strain a muscle in your leg if you were trying to stretch into the splits, for example.

Research also suggests repeating stretches two to four times per day for them to produce the greatest results, so I would usually recommend three times per day to my clients and it has always proved to be a good amount.

Now obviously most of my clients are in the process of trying to resolve an underlying issue and we’re trying to encourage as much progress in as short as time as possible so if you’re simply looking to keep your back nice and loose then even once every other day will be enough to help.

Also remember that although these back exercises are to reduce tension and allow the muscles to work more efficiently, they won’t necessarily strengthen the muscles. You can have extremely loose and relaxed muscles but you can still be weak and therefore more prone to injury. I’ve treated numerous people over the years, who either through yoga or from some other form of stretching, prided themselves on how flexible they are as if that was a sign of good physical health, but unfortunately they neglected strength and the combination of having extreme mobility with weakened muscles inevitably led to injury.

My final tip for the day is that these stretches are to maintain a healthy back, not to fix a bad one. If you’re currently struggling with back pain I wouldn’t recommend these exercises as any one of them to potentially aggravate things. If the pain isn’t showing any signs of getting better then you should always seek a professional’s opinion before starting any new exercise or stretching routine. These exercises have helped hundreds of my clients so they should be able to help you too, but feel free to let me know what you think!

For more information, you can read up on my FAQ page or contact me here.