On The Side: Chronic Low Back Pressure

Find yourself having troubles standing up straight when you first get out of bed or out of a chair? Your not alone - with the majority of our workforce stuck in a seated position for extended periods of time it's no mystery. It's no easier if you are on the other end of the spectrum and are on your feet all day running around, lifting or bending for an eight hour shift.

Both cases cause stress to the primary hip flexor - the psoas muscle. It attaches to the front of our lower spine and connects it to our leg through our pelvis. When we are standing its function is to lift our leg up (think marching in place). Doing repeated lifting, standing or carrying often irritates this muscle. It's finicky because sitting will keep the muscle short and tight making it feel irritated as well.

Getting low back ache just above the belt is the psoas muscle "speaking to you". When it gets shortened it puts pressure on our lumbar spine. This creates "back arching" tension at the spine and upsets the muscles on the opposite side starting a tug of war between the two groups.

So what can you do? Try the stretching out your hip flexor (psoas muscle) when you get low back pain, sit too long or working it too much. It is a simple lunge stretch you can do kneeling or standing. Keeping an upright posture is key to making this stretch work. See how to do it and to learn some variations that will help you get the most out of this stretch by clicking our video link above