10 Stretches for Your Back That Can Help Prevent Injury by (www.besthealthmag.ca)

Prevent back injury and keep your back muscles flexible by adding these exercises into your stretching routine.​

Spine Stretch

Before you get started with these back stretches, keep in mind that form is important. Read through the technique and see a professional if you experience any pain.

Technique: Sitting on the floor with your feet wider than your hips, nod your head forward and begin to bend forward by hinging at the hips. Breathe normally. As you go down, draw your chin into your neck. “It feels like you’re rolling down the discs of the spine,” says Margot McKinnon, director of Body Harmonics Pilates in Toronto, who trains Pilates teachers across Canada and the U.S. Slide your hands in front of you along the floor.

​“This stretch elongates the paraspinal muscles [the muscles beside the spine], and you may feel it in the hamstrings, calf muscles and the bottoms of the feet.” Your hands should not reach past your toes-you’re not aiming to lie on the floor-and you shouldn’t feel as if your back and spinal ligaments are being pulled. Once you feel the stretch through your back, slowly return to the starting position. McKinnon advises doing this several times daily, after the end of your workday.

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