If you’ve ever woken up, tried to get out of bed, and felt a sharp pain shooting through your lower back. Sometimes it’s so bad you can’t even pull back the covers. When this happens, you know how nice it would be fore some quick hitters to get you some pain relief. Here’s the good news, there are a few simple exercises you can do in bed, before you even stand up. These 4 exercises will help start the process of reducing your pain so you can get out of bed and get on with your day.
- One Leg & Two Leg Pull
- Hip Rocks
- Side-to-side Rotation
- Piriformis Stretch
Why You’re Feeling That Sharp Lower Back Pain
There’s some common causes for your lower back pain. It could be muscular or soft tissue related, it may be coming from your spine or nervous system, or it might even involve other factors like nutritional deficiencies or inflammation.
For most people, especially when pain hits suddenly in the morning, the issue is often in the soft tissue, tight muscles, and restricted joints that haven’t been moving the way they should.
In many cases, the real problem isn’t even in your back, it’s more likely in your hips. When your hips get tight and restricted, your lower back is forced to compensate. That compensation often triggers pain and stiffness when you try to move. So, before you try to get out of bed and stand up, start by gently reintroducing movement to the areas that have locked up overnight.
Exercise 1: The One-Leg and Two-Leg Pull
For this exercise, lie on your back in bed and gently pull your left knee up to your chest. Hold it there for a 5 count, then lower it down.
Switch legs and pull your right knee to your chest. Again, hold it for a 5 count, then put it down.
Finally, repeat by bringing both knees to your chest. Hold them for a 5 count and then relax.
You can repeat this sequence several times. The goal is to create gentle movement in the hips and lower back while breathing deeply. This helps ease tension in the muscles and tissues that tightened up while you were sleeping.
Exercise 2: Hip Rocks
Imagine you have a rod running through your hips from left to right. It may even be helpful to imagine a rotisserie chicken (your hips) that has a skewer running through it. You’re going to slowly tilt your hips around that imaginary rod or skewer.
Start by tucking your pelvis under (posterior tilt) and pulling your tailbone toward the bed. Then arch your back slightly by tilting your pelvis forward (anterior tilt).
Move slowly and deliberately. The goal is not speed, but control. I’d suggest aiming for 15 to 20 repetitions. Keep breathing throughout the exercise, focusing on driving your breath down toward your lower abdomen and hips where the tightness is.
This small, controlled motion reintroduces flexibility to the pelvis and helps release stiffness from the muscles that attach into your lumbar spine.
Exercise 3: Side-to-Side Rotations
While lying on your back, bend your knees and slowly rotate them together from side to side. Move to the right, then to the left.
Keep your arms out to your sides for balance and to get a stretch through your chest and shoulder blades. Make sure to stay relaxed through your upper body.
This gentle twisting motion encourages mobility through the mid and lower segments of your spine, where tension often builds up overnight. Do 10 to 20 repetitions, or as many as feel comfortable.
These three movements will help unlock the areas that have tightened up during sleep and can make a big difference before you even get out of bed.
Bonus Exercise: The Piriformis Stretch
Once you’ve completed the first three exercises, you hopefully can move better and even sit up. Now, it’s time for a bonus stretch that targets one of the most overlooked muscles linked to back pain, the piriformis.
To perform correctly, sit on the edge of your bed and cross one ankle over the opposite knee to form a figure four. The goal is to bring your knee so it’s roughly parallel to the floor. Don’t force it down, as this may create pain and torque on your hip/knee. Instead, just let it relax down toward that position, or gently press down on your knee.
Keep your spine tall and lean forward slightly at your hips. You should feel a stretch deep in your hip and glute area. Hold for 15 to 30 seconds, breathing deeply, then switch sides.
This stretch helps release tension in the muscles that often pull on the pelvis and lower back, contributing to that morning pain.
Why Movement Matters So Much for Your Lower Back Pain
These exercises only take three to five minutes, but they can completely change how your day starts.
If you skip them and go straight from bed to sitting at a desk, those tight tissues likely will continue to stiffen. Most won’t loosen up on their own. By moving first thing in the morning, you give your body the opportunity to wake up naturally, improve circulation, and reduce irritation around the joints and nerves in your lower back.
The key is to make this part of your daily routine, not just something you do after the pain shows up.
When to Get Help For Your Back Pain
If you’re noticing that this pain keeps returning, or it isn’t improving even after consistent stretching and movement, there may be a deeper problem at play. You could be dealing with a structural core problem in your spine or nervous system. When your spine becomes restricted and stops moving the way it’s designed, the surrounding soft tissue tightens as a protective response. The longer that goes on, the more those tissues adhere and the more limited your movement becomes.
And it works both ways. When the muscles and soft tissues get too tight, they can start pulling the spine out of its healthy position. Over time, this creates a cycle of pain and stiffness that stretches alone won’t correct.
That’s why it’s important to make sure both your spine and your soft tissue are functioning the way they were designed.
The Prime Chiropractic Approach
At Prime Chiropractic, we focus on Neuro-Structural correction. We’re the only Neuro-Structural chiropractic clinic in the Centennial, CO area. Our goal is to identify and correct the core problems that affect how your spine and nervous system communicate with the rest of your body.
If your nervous system is under stress, your muscles, joints, and organs can’t function the way they’re supposed to. Once that stress is reduced, your body can finally start to heal and move the way it was built to.
If you’ve been waking up stiff or in pain, or if this happens repeatedly, it’s time to have your spine and nervous system checked.
You can schedule a complimentary consultation using the link below.
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Your pain could be caused by a variety of different things. It could be from your static lifestyle and desk job. Tight hips and muscular imbalance could be to blame. In a very severe case, you may have a disc issue. Lastly, there could be a nutritional or inflammatory issue at the core. Regardless, back pain upon waking may be common, but it is NOT normal.
As a general rule, it’s always smart to listen to your body. Don’t ever push pain and discomfort. Therefore, if any of the exercises make your pain worse, stop and consult an expert. Back pain can be triggered by many different things, and these exercises are not a catch all approach. Meaning, if these exercises feel good, keep doing them. If these exercises make the pain worse, stop immediately, as there are likely other exercises and stretches that would suit your specific back pain better.
Then it’s likely not due to tight muscle or soft tissue. You may have a structural core problem or other reason for your back pain. It’s likely time to consult a specialist.
It is possible they could be playing a role. However, it’s likely they are not the real issue. Instead, they’re probably adding fuel to the fire.