Glenn Dawson shows desk workers four exercises to fix lower back pain, which usually comes from hip misalignment. Start with hip-flexor lunges and figure-4 stretches, then lumbar rotations and bird-dogs. He emphasizes neutral spine and controlled breathing throughout.
If you're experiencing lower back pain and you work at a desk all day, I'm going to show you an easy, simple routine that you could do using no equipment from your home. Hi, I'm Glenn Dawson with Reset U Fitness, and follow this routine so you can feel better now and in the future. So first things first, most lower back pain comes from the hips being out of alignment. If you haven't had a proper assessment, we do that at Reset U. Below in the comments, you can sign up for a free assessment if we're still offering it. Now, without an assessment, we're just going to fix everything that can happen with your hips. So when your hips are in alignment, there's less tension on your lower back. So grab a mat or a pad or a pillow and let's get started. All right, so the first stretch we're going to do, lay a mat down or a pillow. You cannot have pain in your knee when you do this. If you, you do, it's not going to work. You're not going to stretch. We're going to do a hip flexor lunge stretch. So put one knee on the pillow and then take that back foot and hike it onto the couch behind you. From here, you're going to bring the opposite leg up into this lunge stretch. Now, this may be enough of a stretch for you. Tighten your abs, keep your core tight so that you don't hyperextend your lower back like this. Make sure you're tight, everything's in alignment, and then if you can start to lean forward, you should feel the stretch here in that hip flexor. It's literally like a band that goes around the back of your pelvis and down and forward. Now, when this gets tight, it starts to tilt your pelvis forward and creates tension in your lower back. So make sure as you do this, you keep the spine straight and there's no tension on the lower back. Once you've held this, put your arms above your head and exhale. Saddle in for 30 seconds. And then rotate over. Then on to the next stretch. All right, the next stretch is a figure 4 stretch or a hip capsule stretch. We're going to go through a different couple of variations, and then if you can do the last one, awesome. But the first thing is just lay down, bring your knee to your chest, and if this is a good enough stretch for you on your glute and you feel it here, then just hold this for 90 seconds. Now, if this doesn't provide enough stretch for you, you can kind of tilt it out a little bit or even over to the side. Whatever's tight, I need you to loosen because this hip capsule gets really bound up and then it affects your hip, which affects your lower back. So from here, I'm going to twist the leg and go into a figure 4 stretch. Now, this right here might be enough stretch for you as well. If this is enough stretch, 90 seconds, hold it and just breathe. If it's not, reach in through this hole in your leg, grab the back of the opposite leg and hold for 90 seconds and just breathe. Inhale for 5 seconds, hold, then exhale for 8. For 90 seconds. And we have one more stretch for you. Last stretch we're going to do is some lumbar rotations and really work on that SI joint. Bend your knees and I want you to tilt your knees to the side just like so and slowly bring them back up. You're going to stay within your range of motion and I want you to do at least 10 repetitions. Now, this doesn't provide enough stretch. Go ahead and put your hand on the top knee. Slide this leg straight and then look the opposite way. You can get a better stretch in that SI joint. So just like so, hold here, slide the leg out straight, and then look behind you. Last but not least, we have to do a strengthening exercise. All this mobility is great, but if you just become hypermobile and loose, it's not going to help anything. So you have to do a core workout. Now, my favorite one that's entry-level and easy for people to do that, you know, work at a desk all day is a bird dog. So you're going to go to all fours just like so, and you're going to alternate lifting your arm and your leg on the opposite sides and then hold. The biggest thing is the hold. With this, you want a neutral spine. Make sure you don't have too much extension, too much flexion. You don't want to go back and forth and twerk. You want to keep it nice and tight here and then move forward. So I'm going to lift my thumb in the hand and push back my heel on the back foot and activate my glute, keep my head pointed down, and just squeeze and hold everything together. You're also going to notice that this opposite leg is getting some stability work and the opposite shoulder. So as you're lifting, the side that is actually holding you up is also working at the same time. Now you're just going to alternate, do 10 each side, and then start your day. With that, it should basically get rid of most lower back pain. If it's not got— if it's still there, make sure you contact us, give us an assessment so we can get more deep into your details and figure out what muscular imbalances you have that are causing lower back pain. But this is a pretty safe routine to get rid of most lower back pain. If this video brought you value, make sure you share it with your friends. And then if you haven't subscribed, I don't know what's wrong with you. Literally, you're missing out on so much amazing, helpful content. All you have to do is just press the button below and subscribe. See ya.
Touch Your Toes in 6 Minutes | Release Muscular Guarding for Better Flexibility
