{"id":19504,"date":"2024-05-29T09:09:58","date_gmt":"2024-05-29T08:09:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mensfitness.co.uk\/?p=19504"},"modified":"2024-05-29T09:10:05","modified_gmt":"2024-05-29T08:10:05","slug":"best-back-stretches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mensfitness.co.uk\/workouts\/best-back-stretches\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Stretches To Prevent Back Pain"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Personal trainer and sports scientist Luke Worthington recommends the following back stretches to improve spinal flexibility and reduce discomfort.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You might already spend time doing leg and shoulder stretches, or using the best foam rollers for post-workout recovery<\/a>, but have you stretched your back recently? Spines are designed to move. However, they are designed to move with control \u2013 and in the places we want them to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The easiest way to assess which areas a human body should be getting its movement from is to look at the cross-sectional area of muscle available in each segment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here to jump to the stretches.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Cross-sectional
Cross-sectional muscle of the human back<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The areas with the greatest cross-sectional area of muscle are the areas that we can produce the most force, and also the areas where we can exercise the most control. If we look at the torso, the large phasic (force generating) muscles are the latissimus dorsi (lats) and the pectorals, these muscles wrap around the ribcage, and it is this area that we therefore have the ability to produce force through the upper body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The section of the spine that has ribs attached to it is known as the \u2018thoracic\u2019 spine and consists of 12 vertebra each with a corresponding rib.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The areas of the spine with the least cross-sectional area of muscle are the cervical (neck) and the lumbar (lower back).\u00a0\u00a0Therefore, these are areas that we do not have ability to produce much force and should be considered as \u2018stable\u2019 segments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Where there’s meat, there’s movement’<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The easy way to remember this is with the phrase \u2018where there\u2019s meat, there\u2019s movement’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, as well as giving the ability to produce force and control, large areas of phasic muscle can also \u2013 if not regularly maintained through movement \u2013 be responsible for reducing range of motion. If range of motion in one area of the body is reduced, then it is a simple principle of biomechanics that motion will have to increase in other areas \u2013 we call this a \u2018compensatory\u2019 movement pattern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to the spine, the area that is most likely to get \u2018tight\u2019 is the area with the most muscle attached to it (thoracic) which also happens to be its largest segment (the thoracic spine consists of 12 vertebra, while the lumbar and cervical have 5 and 7 vertebra respectively).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If movement that is \u2018supposed\u2019 to be occurring in a very large segment is forced to occur at a much smaller one then it is of course shared between far fewer vertebral segments. That not only means a greater range of motion at each one, but also that these smaller segments are protected by significantly less phasic muscle. Both of these factors mean the risk of damage to these vertebral segments is very high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keeping all of these factors in mind, we can see that maintaining regular movement through the thoracic section of the spine, as well as maintaining strength and stability of the core musculature to support the lumbar spine, is the key to a pain-free back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Best back stretches to prevent back pain<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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  1. Cat cow<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Half-kneeling windmill<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Thread the needle<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Seated QL stretch<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Standing wall press<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Couch stretch<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Keep reading for full exercise instructions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Man\"Man\"Man
    <\/a>1. Cat cow<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Reps:<\/strong> 8-10<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Benefits of cat cow:<\/strong> The simplest stretch of them all, cat cow moves the thoracic spine gently through flexion and extension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    How to do cat cow:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n