by Dr. Heidi Fennell, D.C., FICPA
Lower back pain affects 80 percent of Americans. It is the most common reason for missed work and the overuse of pain meds. Why is low back pain so prevalent? The answer lies simply in our most common activity of daily living: sitting. In America, we sit while we eat, while we work, in our cars in traffic, while we watch our favorite TV show and so on. Most of us sit more than we do any other activity.
All of this sitting weakens our core and tightens our hip flexors, the muscles that connect our femur to our lower lumbar vertebrae and are responsible for hip flexion. While sitting, the hip flexors are in constant contraction and over time, this constant contraction leads to improper biomechanics of the lumbar spine and hip joints which results in pain. Chiropractic adjustments are extremely helpful in correcting the biomechanical issues caused by this problem and alleviating the pain. But in order to keep the alignment holding strong and prevent future episodes of pain, patients must stretch the hip flexors (most notably the Psoas muscle), with a stretch known at the "Runners Stretch".
How to do the "Runners Stretch":
Kneel on the right knee with the left foot planted in front of you. Now pull your belly button to your spine (very important) and lean into the left foot until you feel a stretch on the front of the right hip. For added stretch, maintain the belly button pulled in and reach your right arm overhead. Hold stretch for 6 deep breathes and repeat on other side.
Do this stretch daily as part of your morning or evening stretching routine and begin to watch low back tension lessen over time.
