Back Stretching Exercises - Simple Back Twist Exercise For Lower Back Pain Relief

One of my favorite back stretching exercises I use, the Back Twist will work your lower back, neck, upper back, waist and hips.

It works in a side twisting action, which is rhythmic and gentle, and limbers the muscles, aligns the vertebrae, boosts the blood circulation and loosens the hips.

But, if you think you might have problems with your neck or back, you should talk with a health professional before trying it.

Back Twist Exercise

1. Keep your feet parallel and your back straight, with the shoulders as apart from each other as possible.
Bend your knees a little.

Let your weight on the legs.

Keep your hands by your sides, hanging loosely.

Look in front of you.

2. Twist your head and upper body (gently) to your RIGHT, until your look is directly behind you.
Don't do anything special with your hands and arms, just allow them to move on their own, based on the turning movement of the upper body.

Your feet and legs should be kept towards your front all this time, since only the arms and body move.
To make it easier to be straight while doing this exercise, without swaying forwards or backwards, just imagine that your body has a pole in the middle of it, running from the ground, through your spine and up to the top of the head. And, your body twists around the pole in this exercise.

3. Turn back to the front slowly, then keep going and tun to the LEFT, in the same way, until you're looking behind you, just like you did before. Keep doing this, moving from one side to the other.

Don't forget that the arms should move naturally, without you interfering in any way. Do the exercise in a continuous movement, without pausing. Build up the torque and speed from the upper body and hips GRADUALLY. Doing this will make the hands to slap your sides and the arms to swing wider.

Start from doing 10-15 twists for each side, and in time get to 30-40 for each side. It shouldn't take you more than a few minutes.

Don't stop suddenly when you're finished with the exercise. Instead, slow down gradually, then return to the position where you started (step 1), leaving your arms to swing until they return to your sides naturally. Take a few deep and slow breaths.