Back stretches for the whole spine, upper to lower

The back is a long column of 24 movable vertebrae, plus the sacrum and tailbone, with layers of muscle along both sides. It is built to move: forward, back, sideways and around. Long days of sitting, driving and looking down at a phone mostly ask it to hold still, slightly rounded, which is why it often feels stiff by evening.

This routine moves the whole spine once in each direction, from the upper back down to the hips, in about ten minutes. If your lower back is the main complaint, start with the lower back stretches you can do lying down instead, which stay on the floor throughout.

When should you see a doctor or physio instead?

These stretches are for everyday stiffness. See a doctor or physiotherapist first if your back pain:

• started after a fall, an accident or a heavy lift;
• comes with pain, numbness, tingling or weakness in a leg;
• comes with numbness around the groin or buttocks, or changes in bladder or bowel control (get urgent help);
• comes with a fever or unexplained weight loss, or is worse at night and at rest;
• is getting worse rather than settling.

The page on yoga and back pain explains more about moving with care.

How do you do a back stretch routine?

Hold each shape for five to eight slow breaths unless noted. Move slowly, and breathe out as you settle into each stretch.

1. Seated side stretch. Sit cross-legged or on a chair. Place the right hand beside you and reach the left arm up and over to the right. Five breaths, then switch. You feel the side of the back and ribs.
2. Cat-Cow. On hands and knees, wrists under shoulders and knees under hips. Breathing in, let the belly drop and look slightly forward; breathing out, round the back and let the head hang. Eight slow rounds. Cat-Cow with the breath has more cues.
3. Thread the needle. On hands and knees, slide the right arm under the left, palm up, and rest the right shoulder and the side of the head down. Five breaths, then switch.
4. Child’s Pose. Big toes together, knees apart, sit the hips back towards the heels and rest the forehead on a cushion. Eight breaths. The Child’s Pose page shows supported versions.
5. Sphinx. Lie on your front with the forearms on the floor and the elbows under the shoulders. Lift the chest gently and keep the lower belly heavy. Five breaths. Come out if the lower back pinches.
6. Knees to chest. Lie on your back, hug both knees in and rock slowly side to side. Eight breaths.
7. Reclined twist. Knees bent, feet on the floor, arms wide. Let both knees fall to the right onto a cushion. Five to eight breaths, then the other side. Rest flat for a minute to finish.

Common mistakes

• Forcing the twist. Let the knees fall with their own weight instead of pulling them down.
• Cranking the neck in Cat-Cow. Move the head with the spine, not ahead of it.
• Lifting too high in Sphinx. The forearms stay down; this is a mild back bend.
• Holding the breath. A held breath usually means the stretch is too strong.

Make it easier or harder

• Easier: do Cat-Cow seated on a chair with the hands on the knees; rest the chest on a bolster in Child’s Pose; skip Sphinx if back bends feel uncomfortable.
• Harder: stay longer in each shape on a rest day, or lift into a low Cobra from Sphinx, only if the lower back feels easy.

Where does this routine fit?

For the area between the shoulder blades, the upper back stretches for screen days go further, and the shoulder exercises that steady the shoulder blades add strength there. For strength along the spine itself, try the back exercises with reps and breath. If the tightness sits deep in the buttock rather than the back, try the glute stretches lying down and seated or the piriformis stretch with its safety notes. For twisting and arching through the middle of the back, see the thoracic spine stretches for mobility.