The Two-Minute Back Stretch Routine

The statistics are depressing but true: Over 80 percent of people will experience some kind of back pain during their lives. The potential causes of this discomfort can include an acute injury, muscle weakness and muscle tightness. So, to help prevent back pain we want to ensure our back muscles are strong and flexible. This is especially important given the increasing amount of time we spend sitting each day, which has the opposite effect - significantly weakening and tightening the back muscles.

Here is a quick back stretch routine you can do right at home:

The helpful back stretches shown in this video are:

1. Hanging back stretch
2. Cat stretch
3. Lying torso rotation (right and left sides)

Each stretch is done for 30 seconds for a total of two minutes.

Spending just two minutes each day stretching our backs can make a world of difference in keeping these muscles healthy and preventing the all-too-common lower back pain.