Lower back movement

The movement

At Get Strong physiotherapy & osteopathy we are passionate about how the human body moves. We analyse posture and movement for a living and this is a movement that is so important to everyday life. Your lower back bends backwards every time you stand, take a step and even turn over in bed. Have you ever tried rolling over in bed when you have a stiff back or muscle spasm? It is near impossible! When we do these actions such as taking a step or standing up from sitting the lower vertebrae move backwards on each other to set up the hip, knee, ankle and big toe. Without this set up a simple action of stading, walking and turning over in bed becomes very difficult. Often especially after pain or injury the lower back (or should I say the brain) can avoid this movement in order to 'protect' us and avoid further 'injury'. Unfortunately it is a movement we tend to lose as we get older.

Let's not allow our brains to be so protective that it ends up avoiding this movement everyday. Let's keep it healthy by doing this simple movement in the video. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.

How to do it

Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, bend backwards just a few inches at your lower back. It is a short movement so don't worry about bending far. Keep your knees very straight and tune into your big toes as your sway backwards and forwards. The bend comes from your L4/5 vertebrae. Check the video to see how simple it is.