If you have seen your doctor for lower back pain relief, he may have ordered back stretches. However, if you are suffering back pain the first thing you probably want to do is go to bed and rest because the last thing you feel like doing are lower back pain stretches. But, you will need to realize that inactivity is perhaps the worst thing for you. Seriously, the more inactive you are and the less you do, the more back pain you will suffer.

Back Strains, Sprains and Spasms

To understand the benefit of doing back stretches for lower back pain relief, first understand the common cause of back pain and how it involves the muscles and ligaments of the back. The most common cause of back pain is a strain which is the injury to the muscle or a sprain which is a ligament injury.

The sprain or strain is likely to be caused by any of the following:

Poor posture
Excess weight, especially that �spare tire’ weight
Improper lifting
Carrying heavy loads, including backpacks and purses
Sleeping in the wrong position

Muscle strains usually hit the lower back area because this location, being a pivot point for turning, is especially vulnerable to injury. This is the reason why you may suddenly experience low back pain when you are bending or when you are lifting.

Unfortunately, a sprain or strain may not cause immediate pain but instead soreness and stiffness will hit you later. That is because the muscle, when injured, tends to knot up in a spasm. Back spasms is your body immobilizing and protecting the area from any further injury.

Benefits of Back Stretches for Lower Back Pain Relief

If you have been diagnosed with a back strain, sprain or spasm, back exercises and stretches may be your prescription for pain relief. There are a multitude of benefits when doing back stretches for back pain relief. Pain is eased during stretching because the action is:

Improving blood flow to the muscles and the supporting tissues in the area
Elongating the muscles that shortened as a result of the injury
Increasing the blood flow to the injured muscles and ligaments
Removing the build-up of lactic acid and other waste products of the lymph system
Increasing the joint mobility of the spine

Before Doing Back Stretches for Lower Back Pain Relief

But before performing back pain exercises or stretches you must first loosen up. Always plan on loosening up for no less than five minutes by walking, marching in place or slowly riding an exercise bike. This warms up the area to prevent further tearing and injury to the area or, worse yet, new back injuries.

The process of loosening up increases the blood flow to the area. The increased blood flow into the area warms the region and works to remove and carry away the waste products that exercising creates.

Proper Technique For Back Stretches For Lower Back Pain Relief

One of the major differences between and exercise and a stretch is that the stretch is a pause or holding of a position of your body. Compared to exercises which work to strengthen your muscles, stretches are designed to elongate the muscle and provide pain relief.

If you are just starting out in stretching, hold the stretch position for about 5 to 10 seconds. As you get accustomed to the stretches over the days, work to increase your hold time to 60 to 90 seconds.

In the beginning, you will stretch for about three repetitions and you will eventually increase that to 15 repetitions. For example, if you are holding the stretch for about 30 seconds, then you will do 3 to 5 reps of the stretch. Increase your stretch hold time and the number of repetitions gradually.

When doing low back pain stretches, remember to breathe. Effective breathing will help keep your muscles loosened up, making the stretch even more effective.

When doing lower back pain stretches where clothing that does not bind or constrict.

Never force your body into difficult or painful positions. Stretches for low back pain should be gentle and pain free.

Use fluid motion to enter into the stretch, without bouncing. Any bouncing motion during stretching can actually tear the muscles and increase low back pain.

Before beginning lower back pain stretches remember to get approval from your physician.