00:00You can't really improve your lower back without improving what's on top of it.
00:04The thoracic spine, especially if you already have some wear and tear in your spine,
00:08bulging, herniated disc, or osteoarthritis. And if you're a physical therapist and you don't
00:14understand this, now you know why your patient isn't getting better, right? In this video,
00:19I'm going to show you three exercises you can do at home or at work. And you'll feel the pain
00:24decrease in your body and your lower back become looser. Phenomenal. The first exercise is done
00:29lying down and only takes three minutes. It's perfect for you to do when you wake up to prepare
00:34your spine and start your day well. And before going to bed, to release all that accumulated
00:39tension and have a good night's sleep. Grab a pillow. You're going to place it at the level
00:45of your shoulder blades, preferably. Put it here. Look more or less as if it were below your armpit,
00:52below your arm. It's at this level. Here you're going to lie down slowly with your legs bent,
00:58relax as much as you can. If it's hard for you to keep your chin tucked in here,
01:05you can use a lower pillow under your head. Okay, start in this position. Just relax. Breathe
01:12in a relaxed way, focusing on exhaling in this position. You can already feel your thoracic spine
01:20stretching and little by little you'll feel your body getting used to it. It's like this stretch
01:26becomes more and more natural for you. Stay in this position for one minute. After a minute,
01:33we'll start stretching the lower chain, the myofascial chain. Okay, keep the same position
01:40and slowly go. Just stretch your legs as far as is comfortable. Don't worry if you can't fully
01:47straighten your knee the first time. This can even be like a mirror to show you how much you'll improve
01:52over the days. Keep your legs straight as straight as is comfortable. Keep breathing and relaxing for
02:02another minute. Little by little this stretch will start to feel more natural. Lastly, you're going
02:09to stretch the upper part so slowly raise your arms again just until it's comfortable. Here you will feel
02:17a greater stretch in your thoracic spine, your rib cage, your chest, and your pectoral muscle.
02:25Hold here for one more minute. If you can, you can bring your hands together and stretch like this,
02:30your hands and feet. Stretch as if you were reaching as far as you can with your hands at the
02:36top and as
02:36far as you can with your feet at the bottom. Hold this position for one more minute. Attention when you
02:43get
02:43up, don't just get up. Lower your arms, lower your legs, turn to your sides so you can sit up
02:50without
02:50putting too much strain on your cervical or thoracic spine. Remove your shoes to keep the couch clean.
03:01The second exercise only takes 10 seconds and it's perfect for you to do at work throughout the day.
03:07To relieve your whole spine, this is one of those exercises that will become part of your routine.
03:13The first step is to sit with your entire back supported by the backrest of the chair from the
03:18bottom all the way to the top. The second step is essential. It's the most important one. Interlace
03:25your fingers and place your hands on the back of your neck. Interlace them. Interlace your fingers
03:31behind your neck. Bring your elbows forward as far as is comfortable. You'll feel like you're hugging
03:38your entire neck. From here, just lean back pointing your elbows toward the ceiling. You feel the stretch
03:46in the front, in the thoracic spine, in the sternum, in the ribs and in the spine as well. Hold
03:53this
03:53position for 10 seconds. Focus when exhaling, do it well and then return. Your hands are important so you
04:02don't keep your thoracic spine locked and only move your neck. And you'll feel that this support from
04:07your hands will create a kind of decompression, a traction throughout your spine. This is extremely
04:13important for those who have a herniated disc. Ah, Dr. Alexandremota, my chair isn't this hard. My chair
04:21reclines. Same thing. Just interlace, hug your neck and simply let your body go back. Hold this for a few
04:28seconds and come back. You can repeat this exercise a few times, each time better than the last.
04:35During work breaks, during travel breaks, we can improve the relationship between the lower back
04:41and the thoracic spine and between the lower back and the shoulders. At the same time, with a single
04:46exercise. And before I forget, if you want to go deeper, take a step further to take care of and
04:53improve your spine. At home, I have a two-week exercise program each day. There are three different
04:59exercises for you to start from scratch and restore all the good movement that our spine needs.
05:04If you want more information to know how the program works or if you already want to start the
05:10seven-day trial, the link is down here in the description. But let's get to the exercise. What we're
05:16going to do here is position the entire shoulder girdle. Position the shoulder blades. First step,
05:22simply relax your shoulders. Let your shoulders drop away from your ears. Keep your elbows straight.
05:29Give a thumbs up with both hands and bring your thumbs back as far as you can. You'll feel your
05:35chest opening up. You'll get that morning stretch sensation here in your chest muscles. Bring it to where
05:42it feels pleasant and comfortable for you. Be careful because at this last part, a lot of people
05:48let their shoulders rise. Don't do that. Keep your shoulders down, okay? Relax as much as you can.
05:54Keep this pleasant stretch for 30 seconds and then come back. You can repeat this a few times or do
06:02it
06:02for a more advanced stretch. At the end, in that nice stretching position, you're going to swing your arms as
06:10if you want to touch your arms back there or bring your shoulder blades together. Another part of the
06:15body that really affects the lower back and almost no one remembers are the inner thigh muscles. I show
06:22how to test and improve these muscles in this video here. Just click here on the screen to watch.
06:27I hope I was able to help you today and remember to do this video and help those who need
06:32it. So share it,
06:34send it to someone who has back pain or some kind of spine problem. That's all I ask of you.
06:39I'll stop here.
06:40A big hug and see you next time.
