The 7 Best Lower Back Exercises for Better Mobility

Do you have a stiff and sore lower back? Increasing your mobility with these lower back exercises can help ease some of that strain.

Lower back pack pain can be short-term (acute) or long-term (chronic), and can be caused by anything from injury to disc degeneration to sciatica. However, one of the biggest contributors to these conditions, and lower back pain in general, is a sedentary lifestyle.

When you spend much of your day sitting, it results in hip tightness and core weakness – both of which can lead to lower back pain. When the hips are tight and the muscles of the core are weak, there is little support for the lower vertebrae of the spine or its surrounding muscles, and stiffness can result.

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Performing lower back exercises that focus on mobility can help to rebalance your body by reversing the negative effects of a sedentary lifestyle. If done regularly, these moves will re-strengthen the core and open the hips back up, alleviating some or all of the pain and stiffness that occurs in both acute and chronic lower back pain cases.

For maximum results, practice these lower back exercises for pain relief and improved mobility every single day. They are best performed first thing in the morning and can be done from anywhere.

Table Top Wag | 8 reps per side

This easy move warms up the muscles around the lower spine and opens up tight hips.

1. Start in a tabletop position on your hands and knees. Lower your hips towards the floor to make a straight line from your shoulders to your knees and then pick your feet up off the floor.
2. Lower both feet to the right on an exhale. Hold for a moment, and then inhale your feet back up to center. Exhale to lower both feet to the left, then inhale them back up to center.
3. Continue swaying your feet side-to-side for a total of eight reps per side.

Spinal Wave | 8 reps

Open up your chest and belly and strengthen your lower back with this mobility exercise.

1. Begin in child’s pose with your knees wide, your hips resting on your heels, and your arms extended forward. Make fists with both hands and turn your thumbs to face up.
2. Press through your fists and forearms as you lift your hips off your heels and slide your body forward.
3. Once your legs are straight and your belly is on the floor, press into the back of your fists and straighten your arms to lift your belly and chest off the ground, coming into a backbend. Keep your shoulders down and out of your ears.
4. Lower back down and slide back into a child’s pose.
5. Repeat for eight reps.

King Cobra | 8 reps

Loosen up your lower back and hips with this lower back exercise for pain relief.

1. Begin in child’s pose with your palms flat on the ground.
2. Lift your hips off your heels and shift your weight into your hands.
3. Keep your big toes together as you lower your hips towards the floor and lift your chest up towards the sky to come into a backbend. Take a deep inhale to feel a stretch through the front of your body, then exhale to return to child’s pose.
4. Repeat for eight reps.

Child’s Pose Clock | 5 reps per side

This mobility exercise simultaneously opens up and strengthens the lower back and the sides of the body.

1. Begin in child’s pose.
2. Lift your head up and walk your hands to the right for 3 “steps.” Pause for three seconds here to feel a stretch through your left side.
3. Walk your hands back to the center and then repeat on the left side.
4. Continue moving back and forth for a total of five times per side.

Scorpion Roll | 5 reps per side

Increase your hip, lower back, and shoulder mobility with this simple exercise.

1. Lie face down with your arms extended out to the sides and your palms facing down.
2. Press through your left palm and roll onto your right shoulder. At the same time, bend your left knee and step your left foot back behind your right leg. Hold for three seconds, then roll back to your belly.
3. Switch sides, then repeat for a total of five reps per side.

Crossed-Leg Clocks | 2 reps per side

This dynamic exercise improves mobility in the lower back and hips.

1. Sit cross-legged, with your right shin in front of your left. Lengthen your spine and fold forward over your legs, reaching your arms out in front of you.
2. Walk your hands to the right for 3 “steps” and then hold for three seconds to feel a stretch in the left lower back and side.
3. Walk your hands back to over to the left and hold for three seconds.
4. Come back to the center, then switch the crossing over your legs and repeat the cycle once more.

Jefferson Curl | 8 reps

This is perhaps the best of all the lower back exercises. You’ll forget all about your back and hip tightness after practicing this dynamic exercise.

1. Stand up with your feet hip-width distance apart. On an inhale, reach your arms up and back over your head to come into a backbend.
2. Bring your arms down and place your palms on your thighs. Lower your chin towards your chest and curl your spine forwards.
3. Keep that curled shape as you slide your hands down your legs as far as you can while keeping your legs straight. You should feel a nice stretch throughout your entire back.
4. Slowly reverse the movement, rolling back up all the way and uncurling your spine until you reach your arms above your head to come back into your backbend at the top.
5. Repeat for eight reps.

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