Back pain can make the most simple tasks frustratingly difficult. The last 2 weeks, we discussed how to relieve the first 2 of the 3 common categories of low back pain that we often see here at Solutions Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine:
- Pain that gets worse while sitting
- Pain that happens when getting up out of a chair, when walking, or bending and lifting
This week, we’re discussing how to relieve the third category: Pain that happens mostly when walking or running. Here are 2 exercises you can do to get yourself walking and running well again.
Hip flexor stretch
When back pain happens with walking and running, tight hip flexors are often preventing your hips from moving as much as they should. This makes you move more at your low back than you should, creating low back pain. Stretching the hip flexors allows your hips to move normally again.
Hold this stretch for 30 seconds and do it 3 times on each side. Do this twice a day for maximal effect.
Split Squat
Split squats help you maintain the flexibility you gained from stretching your hip flexors. As you lower yourself down, stay tall and don’t bend at your hip on the back leg. Your shoulder, hip and knee of your back leg should stay in a straight line the entire way down. Hold for 5 seconds at the bottom and then return to the start position. Start with 2 sets of 10 every other day and work up to 3 sets of 10.
Neither of the exercises above should make you hurt more. If they do, or if you’ve tried these and you’re still hurting, there’s still hope! Back pain can be frustrating to fix on your own. At Solutions Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine, we’re experts at treating low back pain. We can discover why you’re still hurting and help you overcome it.
Call our office at 703-299-3111, or click here and a member of our team will schedule you an evaluation with one of our expert physical therapists.
Helping you live your best life,
The Solutions Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine Team
