Back pain

Hey everyone, I started stretching every day about 2 weeks ago, and now I am having lower back pain, mostly on my spine about a palms length up from my tailbone. I am not flexible at ALL...Could it be from over-stretching, or is it just sore muscles?

If it's relevant, I also just started working out with the xtreme rings 2 weeks ago too...

Thanks,

Garrett

I'm not a doctor, so I don't really know what it might be, but I know of a useful stretch that temporarily eliminates back pain for me.

Lie down on the ground, face down, and spread your legs about shoulder width. Put your hands near your hips, and press your upper body up and back, so that you look toward the sky (without moving your lower body). You should also inhale while going up. Then, hold the position for a few seconds, and slowly lower yourself down. Repeat a few times, and remember to RELAX into the stretch, and you should feel the tension leave your lower back, at least for a few hours. If that doesn't work, at the end of a few repetitions, instead of just looking back, look over each shoulder to slowly work the back from different angles in the stretch.

Hope that helps.

Stretching Frequency

You are overdoing your stretching. First, I would recommend that you take at least one week off from stretching, perhaps even two. Then begin once again with your stretching, but restricting your days per week to two, or at the most three. Please note that these stretching days should be non-consecutive.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Thanks for the replies, I will take off a week or two from stretching then take it easy.

Interesting, you can overdo stretching (in terms of how many times a week)! Coach Sommer do you suggest simply starting with static-passive stretches then add dynamic, isometric, active and loaded, or some such procedure?

Thanks,

Ed