Foam Roller Exercise #1
Banish that stiff neck and alleviate that ache between your shoulder blades from baby care, breastfeeding, or sitting at your desk at work. A simple foam roll can be a miracle worker when it comes to upper back discomfort. Here is one way to use a foam roll to stretch your entire spine:
- Lie down on the foam so that your tailbone is on the roll, as well as the base of your head
- Bend your knees
- Perform deep breathing series, inhale for 4 seconds, exhale for 4 seconds, repeat 10 times
- Keep your ribs down, but bring your arms overhead, which will increase the stretch through your mid back, chest, and ribs
- Keep arms overhead for 30 seconds (less if your hands fall asleep)
- Repeat bringing your arms overhead 4 times, for a total of 2 minutes
- Carefully roll to your side to get off of the roll
This is an excellent stretch to do in the morning if you sleep on your side! Give it a try, and as always, if you have problems you can call us for help!