Whether you have pain from sitting all day at your desk or you’ve done a strenuous workout, a stiff back can be very annoying. To help ease your back pain you just need just one tool—the foam roller. This will help massage your back like no other and give you relief from the pain you are feeling. Lying on the foam roller for five minutes a day, and opening your chest can really help to reverse the effects of being hunched over your desk.
Here are three exercises you can do with the foam roller for your back.
Thoracic Spine Roll
Place the roller under your shoulder blades, with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Support your head with your hands and engage the abs, move the spine slowly up and down the roller whilst focusing on your breath. If you feel a point that needs more pressure, stay there for a little longer and breathe through the sensation.
Glute Roll
The glute roll can give you more range of motion and alleviate any lower back pain or tension in your hips. You want to place the roller underneath the lower back, just on top of the glutes, with the knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Move slowly up and down or side to side past the glutes, holding at points you feel more pain.
Side Roll
The side of your body also needs to be rolled over to alleviate pain in the back. Place the foam roller under the right side of your torso, placing the right elbow on the ground and the left hand on top of the roller for support. The right leg is straight and the left leg is bent with the foot on the floor. Roll up and down the torso, from the hips to under the arms.
