At our office, we may provide a therapy called lumbar decompression, where you are lying down on the table and we gently move your lower back through different ranges of motion. At the same time, we apply light pressure to your back to create a decompression-type effect.

This is a great low-force treatment that we provide at the beginning of care to help reduce pain, promote mobility, and help decrease tension as we continue care.

A lot of patients ask how they can reproduce this sensation at home, and here are a couple of different approaches and techniques that you can do to help achieve the same therapeutic feeling!

With these three methods, as you are trying them out, make sure that you are performing these on a stable structure and in a safe environment where you won’t fall over and hurt yourself.

A few key points with each option: for option 1 and option 2, just remember to think about sinking your chest to the floor. Along with focusing on your breathing in a nice, slow manner. Hold each position for 15-30 seconds.

For option 3, make sure that your feet are planted down on the ground, stool, or chair to help control the intensity of the stretch that you feel. The pulling sensation that you should be going for is about a 3/10, and you should also not feel any pain with these stretches.