If I Can Only Touch My Toes-The Key to Lower Back Flexibility

written by Dr. Michael Kaye |

Twenty-seven was a great age. If an object fell to the floor, I did not hesitate to bend down and pick it up, and I certainly didn’t think twice about the proper way to bend.

But now I have to be very conscious of how I bend and move through my day. Most baby boomers are aware that our flexibility suffers as we age. The movements of bending, lifting, pushing, pulling, and reaching become more difficult. We lose our resiliency and fluidity.
To combat the loss of flexibility, I highly recommend yoga. If your flexibility is seriously compromised, however, yoga may be too difficult for you. If that is the case, I tell my patients and clients to begin a twice daily basic stretching program of specifically prescribed stretches designed to address the areas that need more flexibility. Most of my patients who embrace stretching as part of their daily routine experience a positive outcome in the form of improved movement with less pain.

Tight hamstrings (the muscles in the back of your legs) and gluteal muscles (the buttocks) are a common cause of ongoing pain. If your job requires prolonged standing (e.g. factory work) or prolonged sitting (e.g. desk work), you may very well experience lower back pain . This pain is often felt when you transition from sitting to standing. If you experience pain in the lower back when you rise from a chair and find that walking alleviates that pain, you are likely to benefit from the following stretches which will lessen tightness in the hamstrings.

To properly stretch the hamstrings you will need a piece of rope measuring four feet in length. These particular hamstring movement patterns are performed lying on your back. Hold each stretch/movement pattern for 10 seconds. After performing the stretch with one leg, switch legs and do the opposite.

To start, lie on your back with knees bent at 90 degrees and feet flat on the floor. Loop the rope around the right foot and straighten your right leg in the air. Keep the left leg bent.

For the second hamstring stretch, repeat the first movement except straighten the left leg, keeping it flat on the floor instead of bent. Use the rope to pull your right leg as close to perpendicular as possible.

The third movement pattern is the same as the second except that as you are straightening the right leg with the rope, also pull it toward the left. Cross the left leg under the right (moving the left leg underneath the right like an “X”).

The fourth movement involves pulling the straightened right leg to the outside (away from midline) and moving the left leg to the outside while keeping it straight on the floor (think the shape of the letter “V”).

For the fifth and last movement, with the left leg straight on the floor and right leg slightly bent at the knee (approximately 30 degrees), wrap the rope around the right foot and bring the right leg towards your chest.

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