8 Exercises To Relieve Lower Back and Hip Pain!

It may be the most harmless activity known to man, but it's also one of the biggest dangers to your health.

WHAT IS IT?  BELIEVE IT OR NOT- SITTING!

If you sit for hours on end due to a desk job you will very likely develop tight hip flexors and hip flexor discomfort. Sitting makes these muscles unwind and deactivate (zero contractive power) causing an agonizing condition called versatile shortening. They eventually will become continuously weaker and shorter. This is due to the fact that muscles, for the most part, have a tendency to become noticeably shorter with time from every day contractile movement.

This naturally will create a strong desire to find ways to reverse these effects.  Without regular exercise and stretching, the hip flexors will tend to remain in that shortened condition causing pain.  Applying power (muscle withdrawal) on a muscle which is both tight, short and feeble will only lead to chronic discomfort that can be very hard overcome. Weight from the heaviness of sitting opens up the damage from absence of sufficient flow and decreased apprehensive movement.

Even athletes that work where you are required to sit long periods of time can also deal with tight hip flexors.  Unfortunately, you may be unknowingly be kicking your body into fat storing mode and it has no way of eliminating the excess due to the inactivity.

ALIGNMENT AND POSTURE

When your hip flexor muscles are weak and poorly conditioned, you are no longer able to maintain a straight and aligned posture from your back to your pelvis.  There should be minimum movement between the natural curve of the spine concerning the pelvis.  This is to preserve the healthy distribution of weight on the lumbar discs.  The discs which are most prone to injury are the discs closer in proximity to the pelvis (ex. L5-S1).

Tight hips not only contribute to disc injury but also become very sore, presenting symptoms of tenderness, pain, and stiffness.  Because these muscles are less well known, we tend to believe that we are sore simply due to the added weight from sitting directly on the muscles themselves or pain due to overuse.

Massage and topical analgesics are a popular method of treatment.  This, however, does not fully address the issue until a proper treatment of stretching and strengthening is practiced.  The benefits of massage and other treatments are fully realized when the muscles are increased to an optimal length.

PAIN FROM SITTING AND STANDING

Excessive sitting contributes to tight hip flexors and hip flexor pain.  Sitting causes these muscles to relax and deactivate (zero contractive force) causing a painful condition called adaptive shortening  They become progressively weaker and shorter.  This is because muscles generally tend to become shorter with time from daily contractile activity.

This leads to their tightening.  Without exercise, they also become smaller in size.  Exerting force (muscle contraction) on a muscle which is both tight, short and weak results in a cycle of pain that can be difficult to identify and overcome.  Pressure from the weight of sitting amplifies the injury from lack of adequate circulation and reduced nervous activity.

One of the most important hip flexors, the psoas major muscle becomes chronically shortened and pulls on the lumbar spine (from the hip joint) while in the standing position

PELVIS TILT AND LOWER BACK PAIN

Standing after long periods of sitting causes injury to your lumbar spine.  Pelvic tilt and lower back pain symptoms become more apparent when this occurs.  Due to the soreness that occurs when standing, one finds it more preferable to sit to alleviate this soreness.  While you are standing, a dull aching sensation is felt.  Your pelvis tends to tilt forward causing an anterior pelvic tilt.  This excessive, abnormal tilt creates imbalanced pressure on your discs and facets joints. This increases the likelihood of a possible disc tear or herniation.

Soreness is experienced as a dull and progressively increasing aching pain in the lower back.  A deeper pain is felt directly from the Psoas Major and Iliacus muscle itself due to the tightness, weakness and sustained pull on this muscle while standing.  Pain experienced towards the top of the thigh is sometimes due to tightness in the Rectus Femoris hip flexor.

WHAT ARE THE SPECIFIC EXERCISES?

I suggest that you implement these 8 Simple Moves into your daily routine. They take under 15-minutes and can open your hip flexors (psoas muscles) with the goal activating  mode.

To effectively relieve issues of tight hip flexors, learning to stretch the right way is vital.  However, hip flexor stretching in combination with glute muscle stretching is more beneficial.  It is difficult for some of us to stretch this muscle because as we do it, we tend to feel the effect of the stretch on other neighboring muscles.

These other muscles such as the hamstrings, quadriceps, and abdominals are the first to relax well before the hip flexors themselves.  Consequently, they are also the first to fatigue, thereby limiting your ability to stretch properly.  Treating these neighboring muscles may allow you to feel better, but since your hip flexors are not stretched sufficiently, the source of the pain is not well managed.

HIP FLEXORS EXERCISES

Two magnificent activities are the SEATED LUNGE and the SEATED LEG TO CHEST development. These two activities can be performed together while sitting, for example, amid work breaks.

SEATED LUNGE

Sit in a chair with your legs shoulder width apart.  Bend over stretching your torso down below your waist extending as far as is comfortable.  Do 3 sets of 15.

SEATED LEG TO CHEST

Sit in a chair and lift one leg at a time toward your chest holding onto your leg just below your knee.  You will feel the stretch as you pull your leg as high as possible and across your chest.  By extending these muscles, you can instantly decrease hip flexor tension and protract them to a more ideal state required.  Side effects are likewise decreased as the pressure from standing is lowered.

These two activities will lengthen your glute muscles. Your gluteal muscles are your essential hip extensors. It is important to strengthen them in order to achieve full restoration of your hip flexors. This enables the hip flexors to unwind normally and will enhance the impact of the stretch.

Learn how to do all 8 exercises properly by following our program...

Cheers

Richard