Best Stretch for Chronic Low Back Pain
By Dr. Ben Kim on June 30, 2004
Do you know anyone who suffers from chronic low back pain? As simple as it seems, many people with chronic low back pain can improve and even fully heal their backs by doing one simple thing: stretching their hamstrings.
Your hamstrings are the muscles that run along the back of your thighs, from behind your knees to the bottom of your pelvis. If your hamstrings are tight, they are causing a constant downward pull on your pelvis. Since your pelvis is the foundation of your lower back and spine, having tight hamstrings contributes to an unstable lower back and a greater chance of intermittent sprains and strains. In my chiropractic practice, I estimate that at least 80 percent of people who present to me with chronic lower back pain have tight hamstrings as the root of their problem. Even if these people have their lower backs treated on a regular basis, they will continue to suffer from intermittent lower back pain if they do not address their hamstring tightness.
How do you know if your hamstrings are tight? The best way to assess hamstring length is to lie flat on your back and have someone slowly raise one leg. Your leg must be completely relaxed, and you must not help lift the leg with your own muscles. If your hamstrings are at an appropriate length for your body, your leg can be raised to 90 degrees off the ground without any significant tightness anywhere along your hamstrings from behind your knee to your sitting bone (pelvis). If you start to feel tightness before 90 degrees, you know it’s time to stretch!
A simple and effective way to stretch your hamstrings is to sit in a hurdler’s stretch – with one leg tucked behind your bum, and one leg flat on the ground, outstretched in front of you - and to lean forward slightly until you feel a stretch anywhere along the back of your thigh or knee. An alternative is shown in this picture, where your resting leg is tucked in with the foot resting on the inner thigh of the leg being stretched. It is important to keep your back straight, and to only go to a point where you feel a comfortable stretch. If you experience pain, ease back until you are comfortable. Some people find that slinging a towel around their outstretched foot and holding onto both ends with their hands is more comfortable than bending forward without a towel. Be sure to breathe while you stretch, and to do the same stretch for your other leg.
It is best to stretch your hamstrings later on in the day, or after a good warm up such as after a brisk walk or jog. The key is to get lots of blood going through your muscles before you stretch. Alternating between legs for a few minutes each day is enough for most people. Many people with chronic lower back pain can experience dramatic improvement after stretching their hamstrings on a daily basis for 1-3 months. If you don’t have lower back problems, stretching your hamstrings everyday is an excellent preventive measure that will keep your lower back and pelvis balanced for the years ahead.
Related Articles:
Effective Exercise for Preventing Low Back Pain
The Best Treatment For Acute Back Pain
The picture of the hamstring stretch is from Stretching, (c) 2000 by Bob Anderson. Shelter Publications, Bolinas, CA. Reprinted with permission by Shelter Publications.
If you think this article is worth sharing with the world, please buzz it up at Yahoo by clicking here.
|
Rate this article
|
||
Related Articles |
||||
Experience Your Best Health with Dr. Ben Kim's Free E-mail Newsletter |
||||
|
||||
ReviewsJust a note to let you know how much I appreciate your newsletter. As a fellow health care provider (optometrist) and medical researcher, I find your distillation of the literature into lay terms to be accurate and very understandable. I really enjoyed your contribution regarding macular degeneration. Keep up the good work.- Kristine Erickson, OD, PhD, FAAO I get a lot of e-mailed newsletters and yours is the only one I read thoroughly from top to bottom. Your advice is enlightening, educational, easy to follow and it works! Thank you so much for all that you offer.- Lisa Abramovic Thanks for your excellent health newsletter. I look forward to it every week. Thanks for providing the best online health resource I have found.- Moorea Maguire, M.A. I thank you and your staff for such a great website. I am former National Level Bodybuilder so I know a thing or two about health and fitness. Your site is very valuable and I do my best to pass it on to friends and people I train. It is also a helpful resource in my career as a human service provider working with clients who need to recover from substance abuse. I believe a major part of recovery is getting your body and mind feeling healthy and strong. Thank you again! Great Website! - Michael Christopher, MSW | ||||
Stretching hamstrings
I found a way that works for me is to stand and then lean over as if touching my toes, keeping my legs straight. But the trick is not to force anything.
After a few seconds, by just letting the weight of my arms and chest do the work, I find that I can easily touch the ground next to my toes (when before the exercise I could barely reach my ankles). The back of my legs feel stretched at first but by the time I am touching the ground I am completely relaxed and do not feel any pain whatsoever.
After a few moments I gently straighten up and stretch my arms upwards with fingers extended whilst standing on my toes - basically I stretch upwards.
I usually do this just before going to bed and have always found that this helps me to sleep better.
I don't know where I got this from - probably some yoga book I had read - but it works for me so maybe it would work for others too.
I also wanted to congratulate you on your articles Dr Kim. Please keep them coming and thank you !
John