Back & Spine: Level 1

Purpose

• To strengthen abdominal muscle.

Steps

• Lay on your back with knees bent. Place a towel in the small of your back. Keep your lower back pressed against the towel.
• Tighten abdominal muscles and hold.
• In one continuous move, slowly straighten left leg, pause, and then bring it back to the starting position. Do the same with right leg. Let your heels slide across the floor.
• Maintain tightened abdominals as you alternate legs.
• Repeat 5 times.

Tips

• When unable to keep pressure on the towel with your lower back, Stop.

Goals

• This simple and safe exercise increases your leg and abs strength quickly when practiced regularly.

Purpose

• To stretch lower back.

Steps

• Start on your hands and knees, with shoulders vertically above wrists and with hips above knees.
• On inhale: Arch back upward and lower head. Try to round spine as much as is comfortably possible. Tuck your pelvis under using abdominals and buttocks.
• Hold for 5 seconds.
• On exhale: Lift head upward and push your chest and abdomen toward the floor.
• Hold for 5 seconds and then repeat step 2.
• Repeat previous steps 5 times.

Tips

• Move slowly, feeling a gentle stretch in your lower back.
• On inhale, avoid compressing lower back, instead, feel your chest expanding.

Goals

• This is a stability exercise that trains your entire core, including your abdominal, lower-back, and hip muscles.

Purpose

• To maintain and improve low back range of motion.

Steps

• Lay flat on your abdomen with your arms resting comfortably at your side.
• Relax for 3 to 5 minutes.
• Prop yourself up on your elbows.
• Hold for 2 to 3 minutes.
• Return to position 1 and relax for one minute.
• Repeat 5 times.

Tips

• Do not bend head backwards.
• Keep your back as relaxed as possible.

Goals

• Helps maintain the normal lumbar curve and strengthen low back muscles.

Purpose

• To warm-up and stretch hamstring.

Steps

• Begin by lying on your back with arms at your side. Keep the left leg straight on the floor.
• Lift right leg at hip approximately 90 degrees and place both hands behind right leg.
• Keep elbows straight and slowly straighten right knee to feel stretch behind right leg.
• Hold for 1-5 seconds.
• Slowly return leg to floor and relax.
• Repeat 5 times holding stretch longer each time.
• Repeat previous steps with left leg.

---

Tips

• You can also use a belt or a towel to help elevate the leg.
• No pain should be felt in low back with this exercise.
• You may place a folded towel under your low back for support.

---

Goals

• This is one of the best ways to get a pure hamstring stretch without putting tension on the sciatic nerve. A great way to gain length in tight hamstrings.

Purpose

• To loosen tight hamstring muscles.

Steps

• Sit upright on the floor with right leg straight and the left leg comfortably bent in front of your body.
• Reach forward with your right hand toward your left foot until you feel tension in your hamstring.
• Hold for 5-10 seconds and then relax.
• Repeat 5 times holding stretch longer each time.
• Repeat with your left leg and right hand.

Tips

• You should bend at the waist and keep your back straight.
• For a more intense stretch, grasp foot with both hands.

Goals

• The Seated Hamstring Stretch can help loosen hamstrings and the lower back.

Purpose

• To stretch low back, hips and legs. Also to improve low back range of motion.

Steps

• Begin by lying on your back and placing left leg on the outside of the right knee.
• Pull your left knee down toward the floor with the right hand as far as is comfortably possible.
• Hold for 10 seconds.
• Slowly return to starting position
• Repeat 5 times.
• Repeat with right leg.

Tips

• Your hips will roll from side-to-side but keep your shoulders flat on the floor.

Goals

• The cross-over hip stretch improves your hip flexibility and relieves tight hip and backside muscles.

Purpose

• To strengthen abdominal muscles.

---

Steps

• Begin by lying on your back with your knees bent.
• Hollow out your stomach by sucking in your abdominal muscles.
• Tighten abdominal muscles in this position.Hold for 3-5 seconds.
• Repeat 5 times.

---

Tips

• Place towel under low back for support.

---

Goals

• This exercise is the minimal building block to a great core stability exercise program. Learning how to set your abs correctly carries over into all functions of daily life such as walking, lifting, running, sports etc. and can help prevent the onset of low back pain.

Purpose

• To strengthen buttocks.

Steps

• Begin by lying on your stomach.
• Squeeze your buttock muscles.
• Hold for 5-10 seconds.
• Repeat 5-15 times.

Tips

• Breath deeply between sets.

Goals

• Take the stress out of your back by learning how to do relax your lower back with Isometric Buttocks.

Purpose

• To loosen and warm up lower back.

Steps

• Begin by lying on your back with you knees bent and feet on the floor.
• With both hands, pull (don’t lift) your right knee as close to your chest as possible. Keep your left knee bent with foot flat on the floor.
• Repeat 5 times.
• Repeat steps 1-4 with left leg.
• Repeat steps 1-4 with both legs.

Tips

• Don’t “lift” legs with your hands and arms-just pull until you feel a gentle stretch in the lower back.
• If you have bad knees, put your hands under the knee and pull.
• If you’d like to intensify the stretch, straighten the leg that is not being pulled to the chest.

Goals

• Raising the knees to the chest can decrease tension on the lower spine and help to keep your low back flexible.

Purpose

• To stretch low back, hips and sides.

Steps

• In the hands and knees position, reach forward with the left hand and grasp a secure object.
• From this position sit back diagonally toward the left buttocks, elongating the left side.
• The left arm may be internally rotated to increase the stretch.
• Work on elongation of the left side by dropping the pelvis further diagonally backward and toward the hip.
• Hold for 5 seconds.
• Repeat on opposite side.

Tips

• Pull head slowly.

Goals

• This exercise stabilizes your pelvis and lower back, and assists in sideways flexion of your spine and lower back rotation. Stretching your quadratus lumborum is not too difficult, and often you’ll also get the benefit of stretching other muscles in the vicinity, such as your glutes and those in your hips.

Purpose

• To strengthen abdominal and back muscles.

Steps

• Begin by lying on your back with you knees bent and feet on the floor.
• Push the lower part of your back into the floor by tightening your abdominal and buttock muscles. Rotate the pelvis upward without bringing your back off the floor.
• Hold for 5 seconds and then return to starting position.
• Relax for 5 seconds.
• Repeat 5 times.

Tips

• Keep your lower back flat against the floor.
• You may use a towel to support low back.

Goals

• Pelvic tilts are an exercise comprised of very subtle spinal movements that strengthen the support muscles around the low back, particularly the abdominals. They are a good preliminary exercise for those seeking low back pain relief, and they feel great because they give your back a little massage.

Purpose

• To stretch buttock (piriformis) muscle.

Steps

• Begin by lying on your back and lifting your left leg with your knee bent.
• Grasp left leg with right hand over or under the ankle. Place left hand on outside of left knee.
• Bring left leg knee toward midline of your chest.
• Slowly increase pressure on ankle using right hand. Feel the stretch in your left buttocks.
• Hold for 3-5 seconds.
• Repeat 5 times.
• Repeat repeat with right leg.

Tips

• Keep your knee in line with your nose.

Goals

• Two options are given to provide a stretch to the piriformis muscle. When tight or aggravated, this muscle can cause pain in your buttocks or down your leg by placing pressure on the sciatic nerve.

Purpose

• To warm up and gently stretch lower back.

Steps

• Start on your hands and knees, with your arms stretched out in front of you.
• Extend your hips backward and move your face close to the floor. Try to touch your buttocks to heels.
• Hold for 10 seconds and return to starting position.
• Repeat previous steps 5 times.

---

Tips

• Slide hands while maintaining arm positioning.
• Keep back straight.

---

Goals

• This stretch is for the lower back muscles along the spine and can also increase flexibility and circulation to your wrists.

 

Purpose

• To stretch abdominals and increase low back range of motion.

Steps

• Lay on your abdomen and place hands, palms down, next to your shoulders.
• Slowly push your upper body up off the floor, straightening your arms as much as is comfortably possible.
• Hold for 5 seconds.
• Return to starting position and relax.
• Repeat 1-5 times.

Tips

• Keep your pelvis on the floor and your eyes looking forward.
• Keep lower back and buttocks relaxed.

Goals

• This exercise can help gain mobility in your back. People who work in a flexed, bent over position all day, may find this exercise beneficial to reducing the onset of back pain.

Purpose

• To stretch side of trunk.

Steps

• Stand upright and place your right hand on your right hip.
• Bend to the left, reaching down with your left hand toward the outside of your left knee. Do not let your upper body bend forward.
• Hold for 5 seconds then return to starting position.
• Repeat 5 times.
• Repeat steps 1-4 with left hand on left hip bending to the right.

Tips

• Do not let your upper body bend forward.

Goals

• The standing side stretch will help to improve your side flexibility and relieve tight side and core muscles.