A physical therapist says you can ease your back pain and increase spinal mobility with these four exercises

Try these spinal stretches to ease stiffness and discomfort

woman in a yellow top sitting in front of a laptop with arms overhead stretching. there's a brown kitchen behind her
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Lou Mudge's avatar
By
published
in Features

Spinal immobility is the type of thing that creeps up on you, but once it appears, you can find yourself feeling stiff all the time.

Long periods of sitting are usually to blame, and when the spine isn’t moving well, it can have knock-on effects in other areas of the body.

Carrie Lamb, a physical therapist, educator at Balanced Body and Pilates instructor for Connect Physical Therapy and Pilates, recommends taking a break to stretch and move at least every two hours.

To help, she’s shared some of her favorite spinal mobility exercises you can do throughout the day. Consider them as exercise snacks—short, regular bursts of movement—to keep your back feeling good and mobile.

Pick one to do every couple of hours and you will have completed them all by the end of your working day.

All you need is a sturdy seat and a wall.

1. Seated thoracic extension

woman in a blue vest shot sideways from the waist up, seated with hands interlocked behind her head

(Image credit: Balanced Body)

Reps: 5-8

  • Sit in a chair with your feet flat on the floor and interlock your fingers behind your head.
  • Inhale as you lift your chest, opening your elbows out to the sides and leaning back slightly.
  • Exhale as you bring your elbows together, round your spine forward and look down into your lap.
  • Repeat five to eight times, alternating between rounding and arching.

Form tip: Focus your movement in the middle back, not the neck.

How to progress: As you lift your chest, twist towards the left, and as you round forward, twist to the right. Repeat going the other way.

2. Seated side stretch

woman in a blue vest, arm overhead reaching to the opposite side, shot with her back to the camera from waist up

(Image credit: Balanced Body)

Reps: 5-8 each side

  • Sit on a chair with your feet firmly on the floor and your spine upright.
  • Reach one arm up, imagining your spine lengthening as you reach.
  • Continue reaching as you inhale and bend to the right.
  • Exhale as you return to the start.
  • Complete the repetitions on one side, then repeat on the other side.

Form tip: As you bend, keep your opposite sit bone pressed into your chair.

How to progress: Extend the stretch by holding for five breaths and use your breath to deepen the stretch.

3. Hands and knees rotation

woman in a blue vest and black leggings on a blue exercise mat with physio props behind her. she's on her hands and knees with one arm on her lower back, chest rotated toward the camera and smiling

(Image credit: Balanced Body)

Reps: 5-8 each side

  • Begin on your hands and knees, with your wrists directly underneath your shoulders and your knees directly underneath your hips.
  • Place your left hand behind your lower back.
  • Press through the right palm as you twist your torso to the left, turning your head in line with your torso.
  • Return to the start and twist towards your right arm without bending your right elbow.
  • Complete all the repetitions, then switch sides.

Form tip: Imagine you are wringing out your ribcage as you twist.

How to progress: If your flexibility allows, twist your chest open with a straight arm, then thread it under your body lowering toward the floor.

4. Standing wall roll down

woman in a blue vest and black leggings with her back against a wall half way through a roll down.

(Image credit: Balanced Body)

Reps: 5-8

  • Stand with your back against a wall and your feet about 12 inches away.
  • Bend your knees and slide down the wall so you’re in a half squat position.
  • Starting from your head, gently peel yourself off the wall vertebrae by vertebrae until only your tailbone is touching it.
  • Engage your core to reverse the movement, rolling yourself back up slowly until the back of your head touches the wall again.

Form tip: Only move as far as feels comfortable and focus on your breathing.

How to progress: Stretch your arms overhead, then between reps, lower them to the sides, bending your elbows, until your upper arms are parallel with the floor.

About our expert
Head and shoulders of woman smiling at the camera. She wears a black tank top.
About our expert
Carrie Lamb

Lamb received her Master's of Physical Therapy from the University of Colorado in 2000 and her doctorate from Regis University in 2012. She also holds certifications in Orthopedics from APTA, is a nationally certified Pilates trainer with PMA and a Balanced Body Educator.

Lou Mudge
Lou Mudge
Fitness Writer

Lou Mudge is a Health Writer at Future Plc, working across Fit&Well and Coach. She previously worked for Live Science, and regularly writes for Space.com and Pet's Radar. Based in Bath, UK, she has a passion for food, nutrition and health and is eager to demystify diet culture in order to make health and fitness accessible to everybody.


Multiple diagnoses in her early twenties sparked an interest in the gut-brain axis and the impact that diet and exercise can have on both physical and mental health. She was put on the FODMAP elimination diet during this time and learned to adapt recipes to fit these parameters, while retaining core flavors and textures, and now enjoys cooking for gut health.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.