Today I will be discussing a handful of easy to do and very important stretches to help keep you limber and healthy between your chiropractic appointments!
Hey everybody! It's Dr.Bob here with Lowcountry Chiropractic with another exciting blog dedicated to your body and your lower back. I hope everyone is staying safe and well out there. Today, we are going to be talking about stretches dedicated to the lower back and the lower part of your body. A lot of patients come in with complaints about lower back pain, stiffness, tenderness, and other similar issues. I will be discussing some very simple and effective stretches today that everyone can do to help with this kind of pain, no matter if you're working at home on your computer, on a construction site, or in a traditional office setting. If you add these stretches into your life every day, they can help save you and prevent you from injury. These stretches help if you have a job that requires you to lift heavy things. One thing I will say though before we get into today's blog, these stretches are not a substitute for chiropractic care. Chiropractic care and stretches are two different things. Stretches are meant to elongate your muscles and keep them toned and loose so they don't seize up and pull the vertebrae out, irritate the nerve, and cause a subluxation. If you have a subluxation, the stretches aren't going to fix the subluxation, which is what I'm here for! I want to give you four main stretches to use every day. These are stretches that I give to my patients all the time. The first needs to be done in the morning before you get out of bed. This is especially for my readers who wake up very stiff in the morning and it takes time to straighten up and out of bed before you can get moving for the day. This stretch is wonderful, so I recommend you giving it a chance and see how your body improves over time when adding it into your schedule!
This second stretch is for people who sit a lot. There are a lot of people out there who sit for hours during the workday, which can be particularly hard on the body. You should be doing this particular stretch every half hour or so, maybe even more. Don't just sit in the same position all day hunched over your desk and your computer. When you sit there for hours, everything begins to tighten up. Gravity settles down into your discs and it's not a healthy situation. So, what can you do? Very simple! Stretch!
This third stretch is my favorite! I do it before and after I go to the gym, before and after I run, and I do it before and after I need to lift something heavy. This is a perfect stretch for anyone out there in the construction field who is lifting anything heavy. Please make sure to do this stretch along with all the stretches we've talked about today. If you add all of the stretches we will be talking about today into your routine, you're going to prevent a lot of bad injuries. If your muscles are looser and then you put weight on them, they're going to handle it a lot better compared to if they were wound up and tight. You can do this next stretch multiple ways, either by leaning onto a desk or chair or carefully balancing without one.
Stretch number four is a stretch called a child's pose. The child's pose is a yoga stretch. Some of you may be familiar with this, and if you are, you know what a wonderful stretch this is!
These four stretches are amazing for your lower back. While we are talking stretches today, I want to give you a few more simple stretches to add to your everyday life to help stretch out your piriformis muscles. The sciatic nerve goes through the piriformis muscles, so sometimes it is easy to blame sciatic pain on your lower back when it is coming from the piriformis muscles. When this happens, your piriformis muscle has tightened up and is squeezing that sciatic nerve, and that is not good! These next two stretches are to help you work on your piriformis and your psoas muscles, which are your hip flexors. The hip flexors are attached to the front of your hips and back in your lumbar spine. Sometimes you can get lower back pain and it's actually related to your psoas being tight. To stretch your piriformis muscles:
You can stretch your psoas muscles in many different ways, but today I am just going to give you a few options on how to stretch them.
All of these stretches are good basic. every day, effective stretches. They are effective if you keep up with them and make time for them in your busy schedule. if you don't do them every day, they won't help you as much as they could. Now that you have this blog as a reference point, there aren't any excuses not to do them. However, let me reiterate, these are stretches. This is not self-prescribed chiropractic care. These stretches will help you, but if you have a subluxation in your spine, you won't be able to stretch it out. When you have a subluxation, that is when you need to call me! If you're suffering out there and you need relief from the pain in your lower back, are experiencing sciatic pain or other pain, make sure to look us up, come find us, and we will be happy to help you in every way we can! I'm Dr. Bob, and remember, I've got your back covered! Until next time, take care!
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Dr. Bob Salamon
8988 University Blvd., Suite 104 North Charleston, SC 29406 843-553-9383 bob.salamon@lcchiropractic.com |
Office Hours:
M, W, F: 10:00AM - 1:00PM & 3:00PM - 6:00PM Saturday: By Appointment Only Closed T, Th, Sunday |