"What are some ways that I can do things at home so that my back pain will not get worse?" I get asked questions like this quite often and I recommended a good stretching routine that can benefit your back pain when you are in a pinch. Stretching allows the muscles to feel less stiff and perform better. This will help with the health of your joints. How it does that is by decreasing the amount of compression that the muscles put on the joints. This is a good thing. 

The following stretches are great for keeping the compressive forces of everyday living from impacting your low back and the pain associated with it. 

Psoas Stretch

The psoas muscle attaches directly the the lower back vertebra. This means that if it is tight due to too much sitting, it can cause some low back pain. This stretch is a little difficult to master but well worth it. Start by doing a lunge but keep your back in an upright position. Then lean toward from the forward leg. This will allow a good stretch in the psoas. Hold for 5 seconds and repeat 2 more times. Doing this will not create a bad force in the spine while still stretching the psoas out. 

Cat-Camel

This stretch is great for keeping the spine mobile. It will feel great to move your spine this way and you will see great benefits to your overall spine health. Start by getting on your hands and knees. Gently flex and extend the entire spine. One cycle should take about 4 seconds. Do 5 cycles of this and see how your low back pain feels. 

Gluteus Stretch

This next stretch is great for the glutes and the piriformis muscle. These muscles affect the SI joint which is typically referred to to the hip but it is a different joint. This stretch is a great way to stay mobile and will help with tension in the hip musculature as well as the nerves that travel near it.  Start off slowly and work your way up. You want to lay on your back and then bring one leg over onto the knee as if crossing the legs when sitting. Then grab your other leg and pull slightly. You should feel a good stretch with this one. Go slow with it and hold for 5 seconds. Repeat 3 times and switch to the other leg. 

These stretches will help to improve the muscle compression on your joints and help to improve mobility in your spine and pelvis. These are great in conjunction with getting chiropractic adjustments to restore the proper motion in the spine and pelvis.