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Patient Education: Spinal Stretching Exercises
24 Exercises | Time: 24 minutes
- Seated on the floor, right hand grasps right knee; left hand pulls right
leg as far back as comfortable. Hold for 20 seconds. Repeat on opposite side.
- Flex your head and neck, keeping your chin on your chest. Lock your knees.
Bend at the waist, reaching for the floor as far as you comfortably can. Hold
this for 20 seconds.
- Stand erect in your best posture. Keeping your hands behind your head,
bend forward as far as you comfortably can. Lock your knees and hold for a
count of 20 seconds.
- Standing erect, reach forward, stretching as far as you can--as in the
illustration. Hold for 20 seconds.
- Kneeling on the floor, with your feet stretched behind as in the
illustration, take 2-3 knee steps forward and sit back on your heels,
stretching to a maximum of the upper part of your feet. Hold for 20 seconds.
- Throw the shoulders back and the arms as far as possible to the rear; hold
for 20 seconds.
- Lock your knees in the straight position, holding the thigh muscles tight.
Look up toward the ceiling. Extend the neck, arching your back and neck as far
as possible, straining to extend your entire spine. Hold both arms to the rear
as far as you can. Hold for 20 seconds.
- Flex your neck laterally, to the side, bringing your ear as close to your
shoulder as you can without lifting your shoulder. Then flex your whole spine
to the side, reaching with your hand as far down the side of that leg as you
can. Strain until you feel stretch throughout. Hold 20 seconds. Repeat on the
opposite side.
- Put your right hand up near your right shoulder. With your left hand and
arm, push the right elbow upward and back, pointing it toward the ceiling as
far back as possible. Keep your right arm relaxed in a passive stretch,
letting the left hand push and cause the stretch. Hold for 20 seconds. Repeat
for the left elbow, using the right hand to assist.
- Standing erect, with the right arm straight at your side, reach behind
your back and grasp the right wrist with your left hand. Lift your right
forearm as parallel to the floor as possible behind your back. Hold for 20
seconds. Repeat on the opposite side.
- While standing with feet 12 inches apart, rotate your head as far as
possible to the right, seeing as much as you can, while keeping your shoulders
square over your hips. Then, after a few seconds, allow your shoulders to
turn, rotating the entire spine, looking as far as you can behind you to your
right. Strain with your eyes. Hold 20 seconds. Repeat in the opposite
direction.
- This exercise is to stretch the ligaments and capsules of the knee joints.
With most of your weight on one knee (in the left illustration) holding the
foot well planted on the floor, rotate without moving your foot. Hold at
whatever the maximum rotation motion achieved. Hold for 20 seconds. The middle
figure is in a neutral position. Again, with the foot firmly planted, rotate
as far as you can go in the opposite direction. Hold for 20 seconds. Repeat
with the other knee.
- Spread your legs as far apart as possible; then reach for the floor. Hold
for 20 seconds, stretching the inside of both thighs--a stretch you can feel.
- Lie flat on the floor near a door jamb with buttocks about 8-10 inches
inside the door jamb. Elevate inside leg to 90° or more and catch heel above.
Hold to a count of 20 seconds. Repeat on opposite side.
- Standing with your head and neck in slight extension (i.e., looking at
where the ceiling meets the wall), lower your chin to your chest (large
arrow), then start rotating first to the right. Stretch as far as you can to
the right side, then roll your head back looking at the ceiling or as far as
you can beyond your eyebrows. Continue the rotation around to the left,
returning down to where you started with chin on your chest. Then do this same
rotation stretching to your maximal comfort to your left (small arrows) and
continue with this circular motion back to the original position--middle of
figure 15. These motions should be done slowly, stretching to the maximum
within reasonable comfort. Repeat 10 times each way.
- Standing at your best posture, chin up, keeping your arms straight by your
side, slowly rotate your right shoulder, making as complete a circle as
possible in as nearly a vertical plane as possible. Make as big a circle as
you can, stretching all the way; repeat the circle 20 times. Perform the same
rotation sequence on the opposite side.
- Standing erect, cross one leg over the other so the feet are near
parallel. Then lean forward as far as you can, hopefully reaching a point
where you can touch the floor. Hold for 20 seconds. Repeat, crossing the other
leg in front and reaching for the floor. Hold for 20 seconds.
- Standing erect with your elbows as far laterally as possible, rotate the
shoulders upward and back as far as you can. The effort is to keep the elbows
as high off the floor as possible. One count is down and up. Repeat 15 times.
- Standing, elevate both arms squarely out to the side. You will find that
with the palms facing the floor you cannot bring the palms together. Hold this
to a count of 20 when you get as far as you can. Rotate your arms and you'll
find you can bring your palms together above your head. Hold for 20 seconds.
- Standing near a table, place one hand on the table and extend the leg as
far out as possible. Hold for 20 seconds. Repeat on the opposite side.
- Standing, grasp the toes of your right foot with your left hand. With help
from your right hand, lift your knee up and out as far as is possible. Your
hip is extended laterally and in some rotation. Stay as posturally erect as
possible to a count of 20 seconds. Repeat on the other side.
- Standing on one foot and, if necessary, using a wall or post to help
balance, grasp your right foot at about your toe level (forefoot) and bring
your heel up to your buttock, stretching passively as much as is comfortable.
Hold 20 seconds. Repeat the procedure on the opposite side.
- Standing beside a table, kitchen counter, or a high chair, lift one leg
and rest your heel on the surface. The higher it can be comfortable, the
better. Keeping your legs straight, lean forward, reaching for your toes on
that foot. Hold for 20 seconds and pull the toes toward you and hold for 10
seconds, as in the illustration. Repeat on the other side.
- Standing with feet at least 12 inches apart and about 3 feet from a
counter, put both hands down on the counter or other stable surface. With your
feet and toes as far back as possible, lean forward, holding your legs
straight, stretching the back of your calves as much as possible. Hold 20
seconds.
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