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A physical therapist recommends these four spine stretches to ease back pain and increase spinal mobility
Spinal immobility is the type of thing that creeps up on you, but once it appears, you can find yourself feeling stiff all the time.
Long periods of sitting are usually to blame, and when the spine isn’t moving well, it can have knock-on effects in other areas of the body.
Carrie Lamb, a physical therapist, educator at Balanced Body and Pilates instructor for Connect Physical Therapy and Pilates, recommends taking a break to stretch and move at least every two hours.
To help, she’s shared some of her favorite spinal mobility exercises you can do throughout the day. Consider them as exercise snacks—short, regular bursts of movement—to keep your back feeling good and mobile.
Pick one to do every couple of hours and you will have completed them all by the end of your working day.
All you need is a sturdy seat and a wall.
1. Seated thoracic extension
(Image credit: Balanced Body)
Reps: 5-8
- Sit in a chair with your feet flat on the floor and interlock your fingers behind your head.
- Inhale as you lift your chest, opening your elbows out to the sides and leaning back slightly.
- Exhale as you bring your elbows together, round your spine forward and look down into your lap.
- Repeat five to eight times, alternating between rounding and arching.
Form tip: Focus your movement in the middle back, not the neck.
How to progress: As you lift your chest, twist towards the left, and as you round forward, twist to the right. Repeat going the other way.
2. Seated side stretch
(Image credit: Balanced Body)
Reps: 5-8 each side
- Sit on a chair with your feet firmly on the floor and your spine upright.
- Reach one arm up, imagining your spine lengthening as you reach.
- Continue reaching as you inhale and bend to the right.
- Exhale as you return to the start.
- Complete the repetitions on one side, then repeat on the other side.
Form tip: As you bend, keep your opposite sit bone pressed into your chair.
How to progress: Extend the stretch by holding for five breaths and use your breath to deepen the stretch.
3. Hands and knees rotation
(Image credit: Balanced Body)
Reps: 5-8 each side
- Begin on your hands and knees, with your wrists directly underneath your shoulders and your knees directly underneath your hips.
- Place your left hand behind your lower back.
- Press through the right palm as you twist your torso to the left, turning your head in line with your torso.
- Return to the start and twist towards your right arm without bending your right elbow.
- Complete all the repetitions, then switch sides.
Form tip: Imagine you are wringing out your ribcage as you twist.
How to progress: If your flexibility allows, twist your chest open with a straight arm, then thread it under your body lowering toward the floor.
4. Standing wall roll down
(Image credit: Balanced Body)
Reps: 5-8
- Stand with your back against a wall and your feet about 12 inches away.
- Bend your knees and slide down the wall so you’re in a half squat position.
- Starting from your head, gently peel yourself off the wall vertebrae by vertebrae until only your tailbone is touching it.
- Engage your core to reverse the movement, rolling yourself back up slowly until the back of your head touches the wall again.
Form tip: Only move as far as feels comfortable and focus on your breathing.
How to progress: Stretch your arms overhead, then between reps, lower them to the sides, bending your elbows, until your upper arms are parallel with the floor.
Lamb received her Master’s of Physical Therapy from the University of Colorado in 2000 and her doctorate from Regis University in 2012. She also holds certifications in Orthopedics from APTA, is a nationally certified Pilates trainer with PMA and a Balanced Body Educator.
