Stretching your lower back might not be useful

It helps to understand why it’s cranky

As I wrote last week in “Ways that Your Posture Affects Pain Along Your Spine” the feeling of “tightness” isn’t always related to contracted muscles. When the muscles are held in a stretched or elongated position for a long time, they can feel tight, but stretching will only make them worse. Contracting the muscles to shorten them is what you need for relief in that case.

Sometimes stretching is helpful, but sometimes it’s not. It helps to understand what your body needs based on what is causing your discomfort in the first place. Start by noticing when your lower back hurts. First thing in the morning? At the end of the day? These types of observations can guide you toward the right answer.

There are many ways that incorrect posture can affect how your lower back feels. Slouching is only one of them.

Stand in front of a full length mirror and close your eyes. Make your body feel as symmetrical as possible, like you are standing in Mountain pose. Once you’re ready, open your eyes. Chances are you are not as upright as you thought you were. It might be time to relearn how to stand up straight.

What is your body telling you?

We don’t lead symmetrical lives so it’s common for your body to be a bit asymmetrical. This is universal, but can cause problems as you age because gravity is constant. The small asymmetries that existed when you are 20 feel more significant once you’re over 50. The constant pull of gravity deepens the asymmetries and can lead to pain if you haven’t done anything to correct them.

Gravity pulls on you all day, every day, and if you don’t stand/sit up straight more often than not, your body will speak to you and let you know. The body’s language is sensation. Learning to understand what your body tells you is one piece of the puzzle.

Sharp pain means stop what you are doing immediately. Vague diffuse pain might be from stretching or inactivity. This type of “pain” is not urgent, just uncomfortable. There are other types of pain and sensations as well, each type needing a different response.

Muscles that affect the lower back

There are many muscles that affect the lower back based on your posture and alignment.

Erector Spinae group

This group of three muscles runs vertically on either side of your spine. They create backbending movement, like in Cobra pose/Bhujangasana and Bridge pose/Setu Bandhasana. These muscles get overstretched when you slouch.

They often need contracting rather than stretching. The exception to this is side bending, which can be a useful stretch to release the lower back.

Psoas

The Psoas (pronounced SO-az) is one of the hip flexors that bring your thigh toward your chest. It attaches to the anterior (front) aspect of the lumbar vertebrae (lower back spine), travels through the torso to the medial aspect of the femur (inner part of the thigh bone). When tight, it pulls on the lower back. This is common after sitting or driving for long periods when it stays contracted.

These muscles benefit from both stretching and strengthening. Stretching them in a pose like Low Lunge/Anjaneyasana helps release them if you’ve been sitting for long periods. However, they also get weak with sitting as they passively shorten. Standing on one leg, bring the other knee toward your chest. Place your hands on your thigh and resist the knee coming toward your face.

Piriformis

This is a small band of muscle that goes across the buttocks from the Sacrum (triangular bone at the back of the pelvis) to the Greater Trochanter of the Femur (outer bony aspect of the thigh bone). This muscle laterally rotates the thigh (turns it outward) and abducts (moves the thigh away from the midline). When it gets tight, it can put pressure on the sciatic nerve, as the nerve runs under or sometimes through the Piriformis.

Hip openers, like Cow Face Pose/Gomukhasana and Ankle to Knee pose/Agnistambhasana, stretch the Piriformis. This one is often tight. The Glutes, however, are often weak due to “Gluteal Amnesia” (forgetting to use them in daily movements). If the Piriformis is forced to do the work of the glutes, it gets overworked and tight.

Hamstrings

This is another muscle group that overworks when the Glutes don’t. The Hamstrings are a group of three muscles that attach to the Ischial Tuberosity (sit bone, at the base of the pelvis) and run down the back of the thigh to the posterior aspect of the Tibia (back of the shin bone). Similar to the Psoas, sitting passively contracts this muscle. When you stand up, it pulls on the base of the pelvis, causing the lower back to round and overstretch.

I recommend stretching the hamstrings one at a time. When you stretch them at the same time, it’s easy to bypass them completely and stretch the lower back instead. Not what you need. A pose like Half Split/Ardha Hanumanasana isolates the hamstrings, especially when you keep the spine straight. Tipping the pelvis moves the sit bone away from the shin so you stretch the hamstrings.

A short lower back flow

There are many other muscles that you’ll explore as part of the Yoga for the Lower Back course I am launching in March. In it are multiple yoga sequences to strengthen and stretch the muscles that are tight and/or weak to feel more comfortable in your lower back. The lower back gets cranky as you age, and this is something you can do to change that.

This sequence is a short Cat/Cow pose flow that opens up the back and hips if your lower back is feeling cranky from sleeping or sitting. If this bothers your wrists, you can do it on the knuckles of your fists or on your forearms. Feel free to put padding under your knees as well.

Yoga for the Lower Back

In 2023 I created the first iteration of this course. Since then I have run it multiple times, each time improving and building off the version before. In March 2026 I am launching Yoga for the Lower Back, a self-study online course to build core strength, stretch tight, cranky muscles, and learn why your lower back gets cranky as you age.

There are bonus videos included, like “Mechanics of Walking,” “Foam Rolling for Active Adults,” “Listening to Your Body.” You will get a coursebook that includes information about why you need to use your glues, very basic anatomy, when to stretch, when to strengthen, when to foam roll, and much more.

Click the button below if you’d like to be notified when this course goes live. I am offering discounts and free one-on-one sessions for anyone who orders the course in the first week!