Back Pain? 3 Moves to Unlock your Back

I come across too many people suffering with painful backs from spending hours at their desk or traveling in cars, trains or planes. All that siting can cause your back to tighten up and can become really uncomfortable. Here are three moves guaranteed to keep your back flexible and prevent any long-term pain or injury and they only take a few minutes each day.

1) Cat Breath – Curving the Spine
Start with a flat back, inhale, as you exhale pull up pelvic floor muscle, navel to spine, lower head and tailbone and curve spine.
Added Benefits – this move strengthens and tones abdominal muscles and massages internal organs.




2) Cat Breath - Arching the Spine
Return to a flat back, inhale, as you exhale raise head and tailbone.
Added Benefits – this move strengthens spine and relaxes the neck and shoulders helping to combat stress



3) Hip Rolls
Arms out at shoulder level, knees bent with feet flat on floor. Inhale, then exhale while lowering your knees to the right and turning your head to the left. Return to the centre and repeat on other side.
Added Benefits – this move aids digestion and relieves tension in your neck

Hunchbacked at your computer? Try this.

When I saw my client Simon last week and he told me he was becoming increasingly worried that he was getting stuck in what he called 'the hunchback' position at his desk simply because he spent so much time working at his computer. He felt he never quite got properly straightened up, felt lethargic as a result of this and often suffered back pain.

As part of his programme I showed him a quick chest stretch that he could do throughout the day that would fix this.


Simply stand upright, wedge one arm against a wall or a doorframe and twist your body away in the opposite direction. Then repeat on the other side. The stretch opens up the chest and the front of the shoulders, both areas that get tight when we work at a desk or spend a lot of time driving.

When we met up again this week, Simon was full of praise for the stretch (well as much as you can be for a stretch!). He claimed that of all the exercises in his routine, this one makes the biggest difference. By practicing the stretch throughout the day he feels taller, energised, more focused and much more comfortable.

Try it for yourself and see how it feels.