The knee to chest stretch is a gentle stretch for low back pain. Lying face up with both knees bent, you use both hands to hug one knee toward your chest until a mild stretch shows up. You hold it for twenty seconds, switch legs, and do it three times on each side.
This is one of the home exercises in our physician-directed physiotherapy program. Only do it if it is marked on the home exercise sheet your physician gave you. Unless your sheet says otherwise, do your checked exercises twice a day, every day.
How do you do the knee to chest stretch?
- Get set: Lie on your back with both knees bent.
- Move: Hold one knee with both hands and draw it toward your chest until you feel a gentle stretch in your low back and buttock. Lower it and switch.
- Repeat: Hold twenty seconds. Three times on each leg.
Why does the knee to chest stretch help low back pain?
Back pain makes the muscles of the low back and buttock tighten up to protect the spine. Over weeks, that guarding becomes its own source of pain. This stretch eases those muscles in a position that puts very little load on the spine.
How does it fit with your pain procedures?
After a back procedure, such as an epidural steroid injection, a facet or sacroiliac injection, or radiofrequency ablation, your physician tells you when to restart. The weeks of lower pain that follow are the best time to build strength, so the relief has support underneath it.
What mistakes should you avoid?
- Yanking the knee in hard or fast.
- Curling your head and neck up off the floor.
- Staying in the stretch through sharp or shooting pain.
When should you stop and call us?
Feeling a light stretch, some effort, or mild soreness the next morning is expected. Stop the exercise and call (314) 481-5000 if you notice:
- Pain that is sharp or stabbing
- Pain that climbs two or more points above your usual level and stays up for over an hour
- Numbness, tingling or weakness that is new
- Dizziness or any change in your eyesight
Chest pain, trouble breathing or fainting is an emergency: call 911.
Why keep an exercise log?
Mark one check each time you finish your exercises, and write down one pain number a day. Bring the log to each visit. Your technician tallies the days and has you show one exercise, so any form problem gets caught early.
What to remember
- A slow pull, not a yank.
- Head stays down on the floor.
- Twenty seconds, three times each leg.
Show us you have it: Show your technician one knee to chest stretch and say where you feel it. If any part is unclear, ask, and we will walk through it again at your next visit.
Other low back exercises in the program
- Pelvic Tilt Exercise for Low Back Pain
- Cat-Cow Stretch for Low Back Pain
- Bridge Exercise for Low Back Pain
Related reading: back pain we treat, what exercise does for back pain that keeps coming back, walking with spinal stenosis.