This article is a transcribed edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in December of 2023. For the original video go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4Wc8yYauLc&t=119s
Brad: Did you know that one out of five people over the age of 60 have spinal stenosis?
Mike: And did you also know that most spinal stenosis can be treated with a few simple exercises?
Brad: Now I personally have spinal stenosis, and there was a point in my life about five years ago when I could not walk more than three-fourths of a mile. It was very consistent. I started this exercise program, and now I can walk indefinitely. It's changed my life. We're also going to show exercises that you do not want to do.
Mike: So we're going to be showing you three stretches and three core exercises that you should be incorporating if you have stenosis, as well as a couple you should avoid for each category. Now Brad, do you want to explain exactly what's happening with stenosis?
Brad: That's right, and also we are going to show one of my favorite treatments at the end. It's not an exercise, but I have great success with it. So hold on until the end for that information. Now let's look at stenosis, and get the concept of what's going on with your back, what makes it hurt, and what relieves the pain. So we're going to look here at the spine. Let's kind of get a good zoom-in of this. So we're talking about the lumbar spine and low back pain in this situation. Can you point out one nerve right there?
Brad: We have one peripheral nerve there. Now with stenosis, when you extend backward or tilt your pelvis back, it starts to pinch the nerve. There's not enough room. Stenosis literally means narrowing. So that gap narrows.
Brad: Now when we flex forward from the trunk, that space is bigger there. Oh, the relief.
Brad: Now you can do it by flexing forward, or you can simply tilt your pelvis forward, which opens the gap. You will know it because it feels good very quickly. Alright, let's go to the exercises. Alright, we're going to go through stretching. First of all, we're going to show you the two worst stretches you can do with lumbar stenosis. One of them is if you're standing, and you do the stretch where you go backward, it can be a healthy exercise for some people, but not with stenosis. You'll find it hurts, and the more you do it, pain will get worse. Mike, what about lying down?
Mike: So if you lay down on your stomach, I am already starting to slightly extend my spine here, and this is probably going to be uncomfortable for people that have stenosis. The more I go up into extension, either on my elbows or even up on my hands, this is commonly known as a prone press-up in the therapy world. This will probably just create more pain and discomfort because we are narrowing that small gap that is already there.
Brad: Not only will it create pain, but the pain will last for a few hours to the next day. I know from experience.
Mike: So now we're going to get into the stretches you should be doing if you have stenosis.
Brad: That's right. Alright, now let's show some stretches that do some good with spinal stenosis. If you're standing or walking, you have pain, sometimes simply just flexing forward like this, you'll feel the relief. We can hold it there and come back up. Do that two or three times, or sit down. Typically just sitting will relieve pain. And then you can stretch forward, and you'll feel some relief. Now, you're not going to hold it here for two minutes, typically 10 to 15 seconds. Repeat it two or three times. Now Mike will show you some things lying on your back.
Mike:knee-to-chest So this is called the double knee-to-chest stretch. So all you're going to do is bring both knees up towards your chest. You can grab it with your hands and put a little bit of over-pressure on there. You can hold this for five to 15 seconds, and then relax. You can perform five reps. If you want to hold it longer because it feels good, certainly go ahead.
Mike: You'll notice I'm flexing my spine again. So that should open up those narrow spots, and get some relief on those nerve endings. So this is a good option if you have a bed available, or you can get on the floor comfortably and do these.
Brad: Yep, I've done it on my front lawn already. Hey, let's go over and show them the next one. All right, the last one, on your hands and knees, like Mike's doing it. This one I still do today as a maintenance exercise, and it always feels good. Go ahead, Mike.
Mike: It's commonly known as a prayer stretch or child's pose. You can keep your legs apart or bring your feet together, whatever is comfortable. Now you're going to sit your butt towards your heels while keeping your hands placed on the mat like this. And you're just going to sit down and relax. I like to do this for 30 seconds. You can go 15, to 30 seconds, and this should feel good on your back. You can have your head tilted down. I am just up so I don't brush my mic and my shirt here.
Mike: So how many repetitions do you normally do with this?
Brad: I usually do about three to five and hold it, about the same as what you mentioned. It's also a nice stretch for those scapula in the shoulders. So you have a bonus, it's a good stretch to do overall. Let's go on to the next ones, Mike. Before we get into the core exercises, I want to talk about something that will confirm you have stenosis. It's so common, that they call it shopping cart syndrome. Now what that is, is if you are in a store getting groceries, and you're using the shopping cart, and you find yourself leaning forward on the shopping cart feels better on your back. I know this from experience, it does feel better. And if you stand up tall and walk, it's not so comfortable. There's probably a good chance that you have stenosis. So we're going to show you three core strengthening exercises that will help this. Alright, let's get into core strengthening. A very important concept for stenosis. Now what we do with core strengthening is you want to strengthen the abdominal muscles, and traditionally, you want to strengthen the back muscles, but with stenosis, you have to be very careful about back muscle strengthening. We're going to show you one exercise you do not want to do with stenosis. Go ahead, Mike.
Mike: So this is commonly known as the Superman. So again, I'm lying on my stomach. This might cause discomfort already. Typically what happens is people lift their arms and legs. This is bringing my spine into more extension, which, for stenosis, is going to be problematic. So this is an exercise you do not want to do. We'll show you an alternative you can do later.
Mike: Okay, the first core exercise you can try is going to be called double knee to chest. It's similar to the stretch but slightly different. To perform, you're going to be laying in a hook-lying position. I'm going to put my hands in the small of my back or lower back between the mat and my lower back here. And I'm going to make sure I'm keeping pressure on my hands the whole time. I'm not flexed like this or arched. I am flat. Then I'm going to bring my knees up to my chest like this, and then go back down slow and controlled the whole time. I'm making sure I have pressure on my fingers here. That way you know you're keeping your core tight while you're doing this strengthening exercise.
Brad: Good job, Mike.
Mike: How many repetitions should we do of this?
Brad: I like 10, up to 15.
Mike: Okay, on to the next one. Once the double knee to chest is an easy exercise for you, you could progress to this one. So again, I'm going to bring my knees up, keeping a flat back. But what we're going to do is I'm crossing my arms like this, touching my shoulders, and I'm going to touch my elbows to my knees. Notice when I'm doing this, my head is still looking up towards the ceiling. I'm not rounding forward, and notice I'm going slow and controlled with keeping a flat back. This is going to engage more of the core muscles, making it more challenging. Again, you can shoot for 10 repetitions, and when you're up top here, you can try to hold it for three seconds for a little bit of an added challenge,
Brad: Right, so just remember flat back is down here, and you want to get the shoulder blades just to leave the floor just a little bit, and you'll do very well.
Mike: And the last core exercise you can try is called the pointer dog. And now to begin, you're going to be on all fours. You don't want to be too extended or arched. Too much arch is going to be uncomfortable. Again, you don't want to be too flexed either, going the opposite way. Just kind of find a nice neutral ground with a flat back here.
Mike: Now what I'm going to do is bring my right arm out, as I'm bringing my left leg out, keeping a nice core strength and balance here. Then I'm going to go back down. You want to work on opposing legs and try to do 10 repetitions on each side. If this seems very challenging for you, you can simply start with one arm out, one leg out, and then alternate. Once you feel like this is too easy, you can progress to doing the full exercise, and you should shoot for 10 repetitions for each side as you tolerate.
Brad: Good, alright, and now we're going to show you the bonus, what I like to do, and the good thing about it is, no real exercise. A nice option that does not take any stretching or strengthening is using a massage gun that reciprocates. And also, another very important part of this particular treatment on the back is to get an airhead.
Brad: They're soft and squishy, they're not near as aggressive, and you can go over some bony areas, and it will not hurt because of that. Mike's got, you can see he's got the ball head on there.
Brad: That's okay, but you really should get a massage gun with the airhead. All the Bob and Brad massage guns do have airheads. Now I'm going to show you how you can use that. You're not going to go on a high intensity, just get it going on the first or low intensity. I like to flex my hip here a little bit, and you can gently work over it, and you'll feel there should be some bony prominences around that low lumbar and SI joint. And if you do have pain that radiates down the buttock and into the pain, you can certainly work those muscles down in the glute area around that SI joint, and then back up in the lower back. I can feel some really nice relief working it gently with that airhead.
Brad: Wow. Alright, that's nice, very good. Alright, for these exercises to be successful, you need to do the ones that feel good to you. It may not be all of them, but probably at least one or two of each different category. Do them daily. They don't take very long. And after a couple to three weeks, you will start to feel relief, if not sooner.
Mike: And if you'd like to check out more videos on lumbar stenosis specifically, we may have a few thousand of them, but here is one you may find helpful, Best 3 Stretches To Quickly Remedy Lumbar Spinal Stenosis & Avoid Surgery!
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