Morning all

41 years old here and work in an office 9-5 with a couple of days at home, exercise 4-5 times a week- running, cycling and a tiny bit of strength training.

I’ve started to notice an intermittent strain in my lower back every now and again- it doesn’t seem to hurt when exercising but is really noticeable after standing up for a few hours- e.g. in a bar, at a gig, or walking slowly round town shopping or something like that. It doesn’t really hurt but its definitely there and feels like it stiffens up suddenly for a moment or two and then disappears.

I know I have short hamstrings so have been stretching hamstrings and also been doing childs pose, a hanging type stretch (like a casual toe-touch), figure 4 stretch, piroformis (whatever its called) stretch but its still there.

I’m wondering if anyone has had any luck with stretches for lower back can share some that might be worth a try?

Also, is it normal for your back to ache slightly after standing up for a few hours when you get older? I don’t feel like I’m that old yet?

Plan on replacing my office chair at home (its not appropriate for WfH at all) and if that doesn’t work I guess I’ll try a physio.

Thanks in advance if anyone has had any success with any stretches or other tips.

I’ve found the short Pilates workouts on Apple Fitness to be good. Not sure I’d advocate subscribing just for them, but if you happened to have a full fat Apple One subscription then they might be worth a look.

I was told by a physio that my lower back pain was caused by a weak core, she gave me a series of exercises for my core and stretches for my back and it has helped no end.

I would suggest a session with a good physio to pinpoint your issue, its money well spent.

This routine by Abi Carver is good one: https://youtu.be/ok-OupCTyK4 Doing this couple of times a week will sort me out and I then forget about doing it. Then I get back issues and start doing this again.
There is also shorter one somewhere on her channel, titled as post ride stretch or something like that.

I learnt the hard way that doing the wrong stretches for the particular problem one’s back has can be counter-productive. Some are ‘safe’ in that they won’t make things worse, others are not, and doing them in the right order can be important. I do Pilates with an instructor now, and she’s very insistent that you only do some stretches if you have enough movement in your lower back before you start them. So I recommend either Pilates or a one to one with a physio; doing stretches that other people have found useful for their issues may make yours worse.

Yeah, a physio is a good call. My work has an in-house guy who gave me some stretches which target my specific issues (lay down and pull knee towards chest whilst stretching the other out, and lock ankles/knees and rock legs from side to side) which are doing good. I’m failing to do the exercises but that’s on me. 🙂

For me it’s because those low back muscles are fighting against tight quads, tight hip flexors etc. so those are the useful stretches for me.

The other thing is tension in the muscles. My lifestyle (lots of sitting…) has rendered my glutes very lazy, in fact even now when doing lunges etc. I struggle to even engage my right glute, the body wants to use hamstrings, quads, low back muscles, glute medius etc. instead! As such the low back gets tired and tight because it is being used too much, and these muscles become hyperactive.

First step is learning to relax them with breathing exercises (far easier and less tedious than they sounds, there’s a trick to a type of breath which almost instantly relaxes the low back muscles).

Second step is teaching my body to use the glutes again instead of instinctively using the lesser muscles around them.

I think stretching the low back itself is overrated and potentially harmful, but any sort of gentle massage or similar that helps the muscles relax is good.

Thanks for all the responses, I’ll check these out, the yoga one looks worth a try. I do agree with whoever said that self-prescribing stretches likely carries a risk so I’ll avoid doing anything too outlandish.

I think if some general self-care stretching and a replacement office chair doesn’t work in the next couple of weeks then I’ll stump-up for the physio.

Go to a good physio. It is probably not your back that is causing the problem, but some other imbalance, and your problem might be entirely different to someone else with similar symptoms. In my case, doing a bridge exercise regularly (google it), recommended by the physio, worked wonders. Online recommendations/youtube, before visiting the physio, never improved things.

agree physio for chronic issues which are building up, though you sound to be at an early stage. Good thing about physios is they don’t teach dependence on them, just a session or two to diagnose and suggest exercises and off you go.

As a general thing about backs – okay it feels like stretching is the thing to do, but it’s not just that, you really do need to strengthen your core generally including not just abs but obliques and deeper core, and back muscles. There are plenty of general workouts for this sort of thing which you can do entirely safely unless you really are injured.

Stretching didn’t work for me, your just stretching already weak, sore muscles.
I used to be in tears just walking the dog in the morning. 6 months of core exercies sorted it out.
I do them pretty much everyday now and not had any back pain for 3 years.
Dead bugs, bird dogs, plank, side plank, superman, glute bridge etc. etc.

Stretching hip flexors (and that will also stretch quads) is useful.

But more important, and worked well for me, strength work. I do squats with kettle bell. And kettle bell swings (they really fire the glutes up!)

I think the primary problem with sitting too much in a modern office job, tight anterior muscles, and weak posterior muscles opposing them. Meaning we don’t move correctly, and the smaller muscles compensate and get tight (psoas). It all becomes a bit of a mess eventually. Anterior pelvic tilt.

I feel miles better for doing some strengh and really trying to fire up the glutes! It’s one of the easiest strength workouts too for us cyclsts, unlike upper body stuff..

Mines poor core and tight hip flexor amongst many things

I’m a bugger for not stretching too

Youtubes Jeff Cavalere is probably the only physio you’ll need.

Your short hamstrings are probably under a lot of tension because of the rotation in your hips. Stretching them probably wont help.

My bet is weak core and weak glutes. The glutes are lazy and the lower back muscles can essentially do the same job of extending the hips. Do you specifically target your glutes when you exercise?

Hope this helps. Im not a physio just repeating Jeff Cavalere

Youtubes Jeff Cavalere is probably the only physio you’ll need.

He’s probably got the most irritating youtube channel I subscribe to.

He’s got a regularly re-hashed episode called something like “5 steps to un-f*** your back in 28 days” or variations on that.

It’s a series of flexibility tests to determine which bits of your back aren’t doing their jobs properly, and then you alternate stretching days and strengthening days.

So day 1 might be hip flexor and lower back stretches, day 2 would be crunches and glute strengthening.

The principal is that a resting* muscle is actually applying about 20% of the force it does when it contracts. So you need to strengthen the opposing muscles sufficiently that that 20% is enough to overcome the tight ones that oppose them. So stretching alone won’t help in the medium to long term.

*not completely resting like when you force it, but when just doing day to day things both muscles in the antagonistic pair will be activated.

Lower back pain will [likely] be the result of one thing or one specific muscle even though it feels general

Physiotherapist will be your best bet.

…. Almost certain they’ll suggest ways in which you can strengthen around whatever the problem is – which is their main remit.

…. The good thing about them is they are realistic with one’s situation and just work around it (eg, if you are a builder – they won’t tell you your best bet is to stop lifting bricks – they’ll find a way to work around it)

I think you’ll get a lot more out of strength work with stretching as assistance activity, than the other way around. The benefits of weightlifting are really, really obvious but the same can’t be said for stretching.

You get forced into it eventually with age, and 41 is still young enough where it’s not obviously required – so I can see not wanting to join a gym or whatever. But the time to start lifting is when you’re in good physical condition. Not after spending 30 years in a chair, back is bollexed, think I’ll start squatting.

But the time to start lifting is when you’re in good physical condition. Not after spending 30 years in a chair, back is bollexed, think I’ll start squatting.

Yes! This!

I’ve not managed ANY consistent weights or gym work because it just aggravates other things which are already in a state of pre-aggravation. Squats and deadlifts are just a comically bad idea because my body has basically learned to use my low back for everything 🙄

Annoying as it seems like you need 6 months off life in general to get everything in a state of relaxed preparedness before you can even embark on the strengthening required to then enjoy your hobby pain free! I’m just going for the gently gently approach of a ‘few’ gentle glute bridges every morning to try and wake up and engage the glutes, I might eventually move on to something daring like a a body weight squat or two 🙄

Yeah I do an hour of week of “strength training” but in reality its just 50-60mins of kettlebell squats, planks, press-ups, weighted deadbugs, that sort of thing. Not really sure if that counts, or if its enough at the age of 41.

Have a duathlon planned in February so don’t really want to give up either running or cycling but its real hard to fit everything in!

Ditto the core strength stuff. Work on identifying weaknesses (usually the muscle that supports the ache/pain area – according to my physio). She also suggests an extended squat. 5 mins 3 times a day, if that is difficult use a book or something to support underneath the heels)

Works a treat!

trx core workouts have worked for me, at least twice a week.

jesus christ a thread with nowt but good advice!

One thing not so far mentioned is that a phsio will help identify where muscles have tension to massage out, with foam ball or whatever. Excruciating pleasure!

I tend to do a bit of this sort of stuff kind of every other night before bed for 10 mins, winds my wife up but hey, and latterly an every couple of weeks pilates class taken by a physio (100% mountain bikers as it goes though we now just do a general ‘workout’ – can’t take it seriously as exercise, think of it as cheap physio). And abs/core probably no more than a couple of times a week in a general strength workout. I’ve done this stuff for decades and I’ve got it down to a reasonably practiced minimum but it doesn’t get in the way of anything else.

And abs/core probably no more than a couple of times a week in a general strength workout.

This is a good point, I have a huge amount of faith in my physio and she is not afraid to challenge a lot of old style thinking, and whilst she complimented me on all the ab work I’ve been doing (more than my bloody wife ever has 🙄) and agreed it wasn’t a bad idea to have strength there, she also said one of my issues was that I was going around half ‘braced’ all the time (think ‘sucking the stomach in’) and doing this while riding or maybe trying to brace my core if my back or hip was sore was just counterproductive.

Letting the belly all hang out (so to speak) really helps, I noticed it especially when I’m walking, I used to sort of brace my abs and stomach in the belief that this ‘stiffness’ would help protect the low back and my sore hip muscles, but in reality I was just tensing muscles that were mostly already fatigued and cranky. It’s amazing how self conscious you feel walking about without the corset effect of tensing your core all the time 🤣

Letting the belly all hang out (so to speak) really helps, I noticed it especially when I’m walking, I used to sort of brace my abs and stomach in the belief that this ‘stiffness’ would help protect the low back and my sore hip muscles, but in reality I was just tensing muscles that were mostly already fatigued and cranky. It’s amazing how self conscious you feel walking about without the corset effect of tensing your core all the time 🤣

That’s interesting – I naturally have a bit of lordosis, arched lower back so like you have thought that a braced upright posture is helpful when walking. But perhaps you’re right and letting it all hang out is the way.

Walking is an interesting one on the back  – Whenever I’d go on a proper hillwalk I never really had any back pain, kinda tired all over but nothing really sore. But a days gentle strolling around (usually tourism) could absolutely fold me. Recollect having to stop and sit on various Parisian, Roman, Athenian benches like an OAP just to get respite, but up and down Scafell wouldn’t really cause problems.

Must be some combination of footwear, posture, or mental outlook. Like a variation of shopper’s back – where an afternoon in department stores is more exhausting and painful than a 25 mile time trial.

Pilates and losing weight solved mine.

And keeping active, lots of walking and just laying face down on mat throughout the day.

I had sciatica when sat at a desk all day, had it for years but the above sorted it.

This is a good point, I have a huge amount of faith in my physio and she is not afraid to challenge a lot of old style thinking, and whilst she complimented me on all the ab work I’ve been doing (more than my bloody wife ever has 🙄) and agreed it wasn’t a bad idea to have strength there

Mine was saying how he sees quite a few people who do some quite impressive seeming core workouts but they are still “weak as piss” because they are only doing the basic things (albeit impressively / with heavy weight) like crunching leg raises planks etc but 1) doing them with imperfect form and 2) not doing the more advanced things related to whatever their activity is – for example very very perfectly/specifically-executed bird dogs / dead bugs (and the further progressions of, slower / with bands etc etc) etc. it’s all about how perfectly one executes a core exercise, rather than with what force. Big difference!

For example – this is a video of me w my physio doing what looks like a very simple basic exercise. But it’s actually very difficult doing *properly* – keeping back very very very still

Basically – See a physio! Then if you need, find a very good PT to watch over you until you are doing perfect form on everything – from which time you can just do it yourself

One thing I havn’t seen mentioned, go to the doctors.
I have had a few issues with my back for the last couple of years and tried various things until early this year it became a real problem. Went to the docs, ended up having an MRI turns out I have a small bulge in one of my discs, now I have the correct info I can actually do the right things to fix it.
I started off just thinking it was just a muscle injury and it would go away.
So go and get some proper advice now don’t delay.

Hi All,

OP here, there was a lot of useful advice and help on this thread I posted a month or so ago, so thought I’d post an update after some news in case anyone else is searching similar issues in the future.

I tried a couple of other home remedies for my lower back pain after my original post- various stretches and a fancy new office chair which whilst doubtless is a positive thing to do, still didn’t fix my pain. New pillows had zero effect too.

Went to a physio in the end and it seems my lower back pain is related to poor posture and I have a “sway back” posture. This is when your pelvis tilts forward and then (I think) your back compensates by counter-balancing giving a sort of leaning back natural posture which can strain your lower back.

Lots of things my physio said made instant sense to me and I accurately reflected the things I have been feeling, and, what sorts of things trigger those sensations.

Good news is it seems like nothing to worry about like slipped discs or sciatica or anything like that. Its treatable with correction exercises and I’ve been off running for the last few weeks (though started again this week)and been cycling throughout.

I’ve been working through the exercises but not sure I’d say it has totally gone away yet- though the things that triggered the pain in the past were events that involved a lot of standing around (as in, spectating at events, busy bars, work conferences etc) and I haven’t really done anything like that over the Christmas holidays so hard to say really.

Anyway, it seems I have a reason for the pain, a plan going forward and no reason to go to hospital or anything like that so probably a good result really, comparatively speaking.

Went to a physio in the end and it seems my lower back pain is related to poor posture and I have a “sway back” posture. This is when your pelvis tilts forward and then (I think) your back compensates by counter-balancing giving a sort of leaning back natural posture which can strain your lower back.

Sounds like my problem, I think the technical term is anterior pelvic tilt. When walking the dog I actively think about pushing the pelvis in the right direction and my exercises are laying down on my back and:
1) knees up, lock knees and ankles together, swing from side to side (that’s likely very specific to an injury I have)
2) pull alternate knees to chest whilst keeping the other leg down and stretched.

The former is great at relaxing the muscle I have problems with, and the latter is great for the pelvic tilt pain. I did get an exercise of basically step ups, which I admit I’ve not been doing…