If you’re currently dealing with lower back pain, injury or a strain. You need to address the entirety of your posterior chain. In addition to addressing your lower back you should also focus on your glutes, hip flexors, and hamstrings; as they play a key role in your posterior chain and the positioning of your hips.

Moreover, your lower back tends to be the weakest leak in your posterior chain and while it may be the source of your discomfort it’s likely not the point of origin of it.

Child’s Pose

The first stretch of this series is the Child’s Pose. This stretch is great for elongating your spine as well as your hips, thighs, and ankles.

Inching your hands forward you can deepen the stretch in your lower back. Or if you want to stretch your lats you can walk them to either side of your body.

Chair Forward Fold

Next, a Chair Forward Fold allows you to reduce the hamstring reference of a traditional forward fold stretch and emphasize stretching and elongating your spine. Spread your feet wider than shoulder-width apart so that your torso can fall between your legs allowing you to deepen the stretch.

Walking your hands forward or side-to-side like the child’s pose will allow you to deepen the stretch through particularly tight parts of your back.

Trunk Rotation Stretch

Moving on, the Trunk Rotation will loosen up the muscles that are responsible for torso rotation around your spinal column. Additionally, this stretch will refer to your glutes as well.

If the rotation of your trunk is particularly uncomfortable feel free to use a yoga block or your hand to keep your knee propped up.

Single Knee to Chest

Next, the single knee to chest allows you to stretch your lower back and glutes as well.

Do your best to keep your non-stretch leg flush with the floor, however, if doing so causes you further discomfort try to bend both knees instead.

Seated Piriformis Stretch

From here we can emphasize your gluteus maximus and minimus with the Seated Piriformis Stretch. Great for hip mobility, this stretch allows you to dictate how much you want to stretch inching your hips further away or towards your plant foot.

Be sure to keep your stretched leg perpendicular to your body as it will deepen the stretch most effectively.

Additionally, if you prefer to do this laying down (supine) feel free to do so or swap the stretch for a Pigeon Stretch.

Elevated Single Leg Hamstring Stretch

Moving to your hamstrings will be the Elevated Single Leg Hamstring Stretch; this stretch is great to keep your knee in extension and prevent you from unconsciously improving your ROM at the expense of executing the stretch with a straight leg.

Be sure to keep your hips square and plant foot point forward to deepen the stretch.

Additionally, if you aren’t able to reach your toes, don’t force it, instead reach for your shin and as your mobility improves slowly work your way down to your toes.

Couch Stretch

Lastly, the couch stretch is a great hip flexor and quadriceps stretch that is a great hip opener that alleviates tension in your back. By sinking your hips forward you can deepen the stretch in your hip flexor and by bending your knee more you can deepen the quad stretch.

Placing a mat doubled or quadrupled over on the floor will help to decrease discomfort from planting your knee onto the ground.

The 7 stretches introduced in this video are among the best you can utilize to alleviate your lower back discomfort, however, it’s not the entirety of the picture when it comes to rehabilitating a lower back injury.

You should also look into utilizing core strengthen exercises, unilateral glute, hip, and hamstring exercising and try to determine if you have any major muscular imbalances that may be the source of your lower back pain. As it’s likely to fully resolve itself unless you improve muscular tightness, mobility, and strength.

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