Lower Back Stretches: 8 Moves to Ease a Stiff, Achy Back

A stiff or achy lower back usually loosens up with gentle movement, not bed rest. These eight stretches and mobility moves ease that tight, guarded feeling across the lower back and hips, and you can run through the lot in about ten minutes on the floor at home. They suit ordinary stiffness from sitting, light strain or a grumbly back that flares now and then, and the NHS is clear that staying gently active beats resting up for most back pain (NHS back pain guidance). Here is each move, how long to hold it, and what it does.

The one rule that governs all of these

Every move here should feel like mild relief or a gentle pull, nothing sharper. A stretch that bites, or that sends pain down your leg towards the foot, is telling you to stop that one. Pain easing back up towards your spine is a good sign; pain spreading further down the leg is not. If several of these aggravate a shooting, down-the-leg pain rather than a dull backache, you may be dealing with a nerve rather than a stiff muscle, and our sciatica exercises guide is the better starting point.

8 lower back stretches

1. Knee to chest

Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat. Draw one knee up and hug it towards your chest with both hands until you feel a soft pull in your lower back and buttock. Hold 20 to 30 seconds, lower, then swap. Two or three rounds each side.

This is the move most people reach for first, and for good reason. It gently opens the space at the back of the lower spine and lets the lumbar muscles let go. Once single knee feels easy, hug both in together for a stronger version.

2. Child's pose

From all fours, sit your hips back towards your heels, stretch your arms out in front and let your forehead rest on the floor. Breathe into your lower back and let it sink. Hold 30 to 60 seconds.

Targets the long muscles either side of your spine and gives the whole lower back a light, decompressing stretch. Widen your knees if your belly gets in the way, and slide a cushion under your hips if sitting back that far pinches.

3. Cat-cow

On your hands and knees, slowly alternate between arching your back and dropping your belly (cow), then rounding your spine towards the ceiling and tucking your chin (cat). Move with your breath, about three seconds each way, for 8 to 10 full rounds.

This one isn't a hold; it's mobility. It coaxes each segment of your spine through its range and makes a brilliant warm-up before the static stretches, especially first thing when everything feels welded together. Full technique and common errors are in the cat-cow stretch guide.

4. Pelvic tilt

Stay on your back, knees bent, feet flat. Gently flatten your lower back into the floor by tightening your stomach and tilting your pelvis, as if trying to close a small gap under your spine. Hold five seconds, release. Ten to fifteen slow reps.

Small and unglamorous, but it quietly restores control to a back that has spent the day braced and stiff. It also wakes up the deep abdominals that help support your spine, which is where the stretching starts to shade into strengthening.

5. Piriformis figure-four

Lying on your back with both knees bent, cross one ankle over the opposite thigh so your legs make a figure four. Reach through the gap, hold the back of the supporting thigh, and draw it towards you. You should feel a deep stretch through the buttock of the crossed leg. Hold 30 seconds, two or three times per side.

The piriformis sits deep in the buttock, and when it tightens it drags on the lower back and sometimes irritates the nerve beneath it. Loosening it often takes a surprising amount of pressure off the back itself. Keep your head and shoulders relaxed on the floor throughout.

6. Half-kneeling hip flexor stretch

Kneel on one knee with the other foot planted in front, like the bottom of a lunge. Tuck your tailbone under to flatten your lower back, squeeze the glute on the kneeling side, then shift your weight gently forward until you feel a stretch down the front of the kneeling hip. Hold 30 seconds each side.

Tight hip flexors from long hours sitting tug the front of your pelvis down, which tips it forward and piles extra load onto your lower back. Freeing them up is one of the most underrated fixes for a nagging ache. Keep the tailbone tucked; if you arch your back instead, you'll feel it in the spine rather than the hip. More options are in the hip flexor stretches guide.

7. Lying trunk rotation

On your back, knees bent and together, arms out wide for balance. Keeping your shoulders flat on the floor, let both knees roll slowly to one side as far as feels comfortable, then bring them back and roll to the other. Hold 20 to 30 seconds at the end of each side.

Gentle rotation like this frees up a stiff lower and mid back and stretches the obliques along the way. Go only as far as your shoulders can stay down; this is a slow, easy roll, not a forced twist. If one side feels much tighter, give it an extra round.

8. Cobra press-up

Lie face down with your hands flat under your shoulders. Press your upper body up while keeping your hips and pelvis on the floor, going only as high as stays comfortable. Hold a second or two at the top, lower, and repeat 8 to 10 times.

Extension like this counters the hours most of us spend folded forward over desks and phones, and it helps a good share of backs feel looser. It's also the one to watch most closely: if pressing up sends pain down your leg rather than easing your back, stop and leave it out. For a back that likes extension, it's often the move that gives the most relief.

How often, and for how long

Little and often wins. A five to ten minute round once or twice a day beats a single marathon session, and it keeps a stiff back moving without overdoing any one position. Mornings suit a stiff back; an evening round helps after a day at a desk.

Warm up with cat-cow and a few pelvic tilts, then work through the holds. Breathe out as you ease into each stretch and let the tension drop a little further on each exhale. Never bounce, and never chase range by gritting through pain; the gains come from relaxed, repeated stretching, not force.

Why stretching alone won't fix it

Here's the honest part. Stretching eases a stiff, guarded back in the moment, and it genuinely helps: a trial of 228 adults with chronic low back pain found that 12 weekly stretching classes improved function and reduced symptoms about as much as yoga did, with the benefits lasting several months (randomised trial comparing yoga, stretching and self-care). What stretching doesn't do on its own is build the strength that stops the ache coming back.

That's where the rest of your week comes in. A large review pulling together 88 systematic reviews of exercise for low back pain found that exercise therapy reliably reduced pain, with strengthening among the most studied and effective approaches (umbrella review of exercise therapy for low back pain). Treat these stretches as the way to calm things down, then add glute bridges, dead bugs and gentle hip and core work two or three times a week as the actual repair. Walking does more than people expect, too; short, frequent walks keep the back loose between sessions.

Gear that makes the routine stick

You don't need much, but a couple of bits make floor work more pleasant and easier to keep up. A decent yoga mat gives you enough padding that child's pose and the knee hugs don't dig into your spine or knees on a hard floor. A foam roller used gently on the glutes, hips and upper back can take the edge off tightness before you stretch, though roll the muscle rather than grinding directly on your spine. For a knot that keeps nagging, a massage gun works it loose quickly, again kept to the muscle and off the bony spine.

None of it replaces the movement. The kit just lowers the friction, and a routine you'll actually do beats the perfect one you won't.

Recommended reads

1. The cat-cow stretch, step by step
2. Hip flexor stretches that ease the lower back
3. Gentle exercises for sciatica
4. The best yoga mat in the UK
5. The best foam roller in the UK