Lower Back Stretches: 8-Minute Routine for a Stiff Back

How to do the routine

Do the moves slowly and in order. Part one moves the spine, part two is stretches and holds. One-sided moves are done on one side first, then the other.

You may feel the movement, but it should not increase pain. If a move feels pinching in your lower back, make the range smaller or skip it.

The routine is light, so you can do it every day, for example in the morning or after a long stretch of sitting.

Part 1: move the spine

Three slow moves take the lower back into flexion, extension and a pelvic tilt. Move with your breath, without rushing. This part also works before training.

1. 1

   Cat Cow Stretch

   • 8 reps
   • Spine

   Spinal flexion and extension in time with your breath. The range is small and controlled, so it suits even a stiff back.

   Instructions

   1. Get on all fours with your wrists under your shoulders and your knees under your hips.
   2. Lightly brace your core and keep your neck neutral with your gaze toward the floor.
   3. Round your back by pushing the floor away with your hands, tilt your pelvis backward, and gently bring your chin toward your chest.
   4. Return to a neutral position with control, then arch your back by bringing your chest forward and tilting your pelvis forward as far as feels comfortable without pain.
   5. Repeat the movement slowly with your breathing for 6–10 repetitions.

   Tip

   Synchronize the movement with your breathing: exhale as you round your back and inhale as you arch it. Keep your elbows straight and focus the movement in your spine; don't let your shoulders rise toward your ears.

2. 2

   Child to Cobra Pose

   • 6 reps
   • Spine

   Child’s pose rounds and lengthens the lower back, cobra extends it. If the extension feels pinching in your lower back, come up less.

   Instructions

   1. Start in Child's Pose with your knees on the floor, sit back on your heels, reach your arms forward, and lower your forehead toward the floor.
   2. Glide your body forward by sliding your hands and chest along the floor, and lower your hips toward the floor.
   3. Press your palms into the floor and straighten your elbows, lift your chest into Cobra Pose, and lightly brace your core.
   4. Keep your neck long and your shoulders down, breathe steadily, and return to Child's Pose with control.

   Tip

   Keep your shoulder blades pulled back and down, and don't let your shoulders rise toward your ears. If you feel pinching in your lower back, reduce the extension and keep a slight bend in your elbows.

3. 3

   Pelvic Tilt Into Bridge

   • 10 reps
   • Pelvis and glutes

   Teaches you to move the pelvis and wakes up the glutes before the holds. Roll up into the bridge and down one vertebra at a time.

   Instructions

   1. Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor hip-width apart, with your arms by your sides.
   2. Gently draw your pubic bone toward your navel and brace your core so your lower back presses into the floor in a controlled posterior pelvic tilt.
   3. Drive through your heels and lift your hips one vertebra at a time until your body forms a straight line from your knees to your shoulders, then squeeze your glutes.
   4. Hold the top position for 1–2 seconds without overextending your lower back, and maintain core tension.
   5. Lower your hips one vertebra at a time and return your lower back to the floor before the next repetition.

   Tip

   Keep your chin slightly tucked and your rib cage down so the movement does not turn into lower back hyperextension. Keep your weight on your heels and your knees aligned with your toes.

Part 2: stretches

Holds for the lower back, lumbar rotation and hip flexors. Breathe calmly during the holds and let the muscles relax as you exhale.

1. 4

   Lying Knee Hugs

   • 2 × 30 s
   • Lower back

   Pulling the knees to the chest gently rounds the lower back and stretches the spinal erectors without load.

   Instructions

   1. Lie on your back on the floor with your legs straight and your arms by your sides.
   2. Bend your knees and slowly draw them toward your chest while keeping your lower back in a neutral position and your core lightly braced.
   3. Hold your shins or just below your knees and gently pull your knees closer to your chest without jerking.
   4. Hold the stretch for 20–40 seconds and breathe deeply, using each exhale to relax your hips and lower back further.
   5. Return your legs to the floor with control and repeat as needed.

   Tip

   Keep your shoulders relaxed and your neck long, and do not lift your head off the floor. Pull your knees only until you feel a comfortable stretch without pain.

2. 5

   Spine (Lumbar) - Rotation

   • 2 × 30 s per side
   • Lumbar rotation

   Lumbar rotation on your back. Keep the shoulders on the floor and lower the knees only as far as the movement stays pain-free.

   Instructions

   1. Lie on your back without any equipment, bend your knees, and keep your feet flat on the floor.
   2. Place your arms out to the sides at shoulder height and lightly brace your core so your lower back stays controlled.
   3. Lower your knees in a controlled manner to one side, rotating your lumbar spine and allowing your pelvis to follow the movement until you feel a stretch in your glutes.
   4. Hold the position for 15–30 seconds and breathe steadily while keeping your shoulders on the floor.
   5. Return your knees to the center and repeat on the other side.

   Tip

   Keep your shoulder blades and shoulders on the floor throughout the movement so the rotation is targeted correctly. Lower your knees only as far as you can while keeping the movement pain-free and controlled.

3. 6

   Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch

   • 2 × 30 s per side
   • Hip flexors

   The psoas major, one of the hip flexors, starts from the lumbar vertebrae, and sitting keeps the hip bent for long periods. Squeeze the glute of the back leg so the stretch lands in the front of the hip, not the lower back.

   Instructions

   1. Get into a half-kneeling position with your back knee on the floor and your front leg bent at a 90-degree angle in front of you.
   2. Brace your core and lightly squeeze the glute of your back leg to keep your pelvis in a neutral position.
   3. Slowly drive your hips forward without arching your lower back until you feel a stretch in the hip flexor of your back leg.
   4. Hold the stretch for 20–40 seconds and breathe steadily, then return to the starting position and switch sides.

   Tip

   Keep your chest up and your ribs down so the stretch targets your hip flexors rather than your lower back. Increase the stretch by raising the arm on the same side as the back leg overhead and gently side bending away from the stretching hip.

What the research says about stretching and back pain

According to the Cochrane review by Hayden et al. (2021), exercise therapy probably reduces long-lasting low back pain compared with no exercise. The effect on function was small.

Not all exercise is equal. In the network meta-analysis by Fernández-Rodríguez et al. (2022), with 118 trials and 9,710 participants, Pilates, strength training, core training and mind-body exercise such as yoga reduced pain and disability. Stretching alone did not reduce pain more than the control groups.

Stretching is a good way to move a stiff back, but if your back bothers you for a long time, add strengthening exercises. The Finnish Current Care Guidelines note that differences between exercise types are small in long-lasting pain, so the key is finding something you will keep doing.

Strengthen the core and glutes

For long-lasting back pain, strength and core training have the strongest evidence. These exercises are a good place to start, since none of them loads the spine with weights:

• Bird DogOpposite arm and leg extend from all fours. The back stays still while the limbs move.
• Dead BugThe same idea on your back: the lower back stays on the floor while the arms and legs move.
• Side PlankStrengthens the sides of the core and the hip abductors.
• Glute BridgeStrengthens the glutes and hamstrings on the floor without added weight.

Back-friendly training in the app

The SisuLift pre-workout warm-up picks mobility moves for the day’s training, such as cat-cow, and the stretching section targets stretching to this week’s training load. The guided player shows an animation, counts the hold and switches sides for you.

When you want to strengthen your core and glutes, SisuLift builds a gym program and adjusts weights and reps based on your logged workouts.

Frequently asked

Sources

1. Low back pain (Alaselkäkipu). Finnish Current Care Guidelines, patient version (updated 12 May 2025). Working group set up by the Finnish Medical Society Duodecim and the Finnish Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine.
2. Hayden JA, Ellis J, Ogilvie R, et al. Exercise therapy for chronic low back pain. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2021;9(9):CD009790.
3. Fernández-Rodríguez R, Álvarez-Bueno C, et al. Best exercise options for reducing pain and disability in adults with chronic low back pain: Pilates, strength, core-based, and mind-body. A network meta-analysis. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2022;52(8):505–521.
4. Thomas E, Bianco A, Paoli A, Palma A. The relation between stretching typology and stretching duration: the effects on range of motion. Int J Sports Med. 2018;39(4):243–254.

Read more

• Hip and hamstring stretches
• Core workout program
• Exercise library with animations
• All SisuLift features