In this video, I'm going to
show you how to fix quadratus lumborum pain for good. Stay
tuned. Hey, everyone. Doctor Rowe coming
to you from SpineCare in St. Joseph, Michigan. In this
video, we're going to focus on getting quick and long-lasting
pain relief for the quadratus lumborum, commonly known as the
QL muscle. If you're unfamiliar with it, it's a muscle that
originates at the top of the pelvis, connects to the side of
the lumbar spine, the lower back, and attaches at your
bottom rib. When this muscle becomes inflamed, tight, and
achy, you can get a lot of one-sided deep lower back pain
that runs through the pelvis even into the hips. So, to make
getting relief easy, I'm going to break this video up into
three separate parts. We're going to focus on knocking out
muscle tightness with a easy self massage then actively
lengthening the muscle and then strengthening it to hopefully
get rid of that pain for good. As a bonus, all of these
exercises can be done at home and you may find get quick pain
relief even within 30 seconds. So, with that being said, let's
get rid of that QL muscle pain for good right now. So, in the
first part, we're going to focus on releasing a lot of
muscle tightness in that quadratus lumborum. For this
one, we just need something round and soft. A tennis ball
works perfectly. You can also use a lacrosse ball or a
racquet ball. So, what I'm going to do is start off lying
flat on my back on a floor. Whatever side that you're
having pain, let's say it's my right side. What I'm going to
do is put this over the QL muscle and to find it, what you
want to do is pretty much go right above the hip off to the
side of the spine, don't put this over the spine right here, it can
cause irritation, and then right below the rib cage. You can
just take your tennis ball and just kind of press in that area
too. Once you find the spot that just feels pinpoint and
tight, what you're going to do is then roll up on that painful
side just like this. If that muscle is pretty painful even a
slight amount of pressure is going to cause a really deep
massage in there. So, you can control this by rolling up on
it and then lifting your hips up and down. So, what I would
do is press into that muscle just until you find that
comfortable amount of self massage once you feel that what
you want to do is use your body to roll forward a couple times
do this for about 10 seconds relax and then repeat this a
couple more times and with each repetition press into it just a
little bit more to target that muscle you can also go up and
down do circular motions really explore the area and then after
that you can just move the ball over different spots as needed.
If you want to take this one to the next level, let's focus on
activating that quadratus lumborum muscle. So, what I'm
going to do is roll over, press down with my hip as much as I
can and then I'm going to lift my chest upward. What we're
focusing on doing is trying to take the bottom of the ribs
here away from the hip by coming up like this and you'll
feel a deep activation of that QL muscle. So, again, you can
do rolling motions in there to help massage that out just a
little bit more. If you want to take this one to even the next
level, let's throw in some dynamic movement in there to
really focus on activating that quadratus limborum. So, what
I'm going to do is roll over, press down, lift up like this,
and then I'm going to take my leg up like this, almost like a
knee to the chest. You'll feel that muscle start to activate.
We're going to hold this for about a second or two and then
we're going to straighten our leg and then turn our foot
inward and try to reach away from our body as much as we can
with our toes. Hold this for a couple of seconds and then
you're just going to repeat this process. Essentialy, what we're
doing is flossing the muscle and it usually feels really
really good but try to do this for about 10 to 15 repetitions
relax if you feel like you need another set or two throw some
in but afterwards just switch the ball over different spots
and target any achiness that needs it and from there you can
switch to the other side and repeat. So in this part, we're
going to focus on lengthening the quadratus lumborum, knock
out a lot of muscle tightness and hopefully get some quick
pain relief. This first exercise is known as the 90-90 QL
opener. It gets its name because we're going to have one
leg straight in front of us, knee bent at 90 degrees, the
other leg is going to be off to the side, knee also bent at 90
degrees. Whatever side that you're having pain is going to
be this back side. So, in this case, I'd have a lot of
left-sided quadratus lumborum pain. To get into position, we
want to have as much good upright posture as possible.
Take this back hip here and press it down towards the floor
as much as you can during this exercise. So, once we're in
position, I'm going to take the arm on the painful side,
straighten my elbow, and then reach over towards the
non-painful side. So, my left arm is reaching over towards
the right as much as I can. The goal is to stretch these bottom
ribs right here away from the hip as much as possible. That
will help activate that quadratus lumborum muscle and you
know you're doing it right because you're going to feel a
deep stretch on the one side of the lower back right here into
that hip. Once you feel that, hold this one comfortably for
about 30 seconds. You're just going to relax and then you can
repeat this one up to five times and with each repetition
try to build into it just a little bit more if you want to
take this one to the next level what we can do is then rotate
our chest downward towards the floor as we do this you'll feel
a much deeper activation of that QL muscle. Again, a 30
second hold, just relax, and then try to build into it for about
three to five repetitions and then from there I do recommend
doing it on both sides to keep everything in balance. So here's a
really good one that you can do throughout the day to really
help keep the QL muscle nice and loose it's known as the
ballerina. I'm going to start standing with very good upright
posture whatever side that you're having pain let's say
it's my right side I'm going to take the painful side's leg put
it over the non-painful side my feet and my toes are going to
be pointed straight ahead from there I'm going to take the
hand on the non-painful side put it on that side's hip so in
this case my left hand is on my left hip. I'm going to take the
painful side's arm, bend my elbow at 90 degrees, put it overhead.
So, for obvious reasons, it looks like a ballerina. The
movement from here is pretty easy. What I'm going to do is
drive my hip towards the painful side right here while
leaning through my waist towards the non-painful side.
When you do this, you're going to feel a deep stretch forming
on that painful side. What we want to focus on doing is
opening up that area from the bottom of the rib cage going
into the lower back into the hip. So, tilt as much as you can
until you start to feel that. It usually feels really really
good. I try to hold this one for about 30 seconds. I just
relax and then I can repeat this one up to five times and
with each repetition, try to build into it just a little bit
more and again, I do recommend doing this on both sides to
keep them imbalance. So, if your goal is to get rid of
quadratus lumborum pain for good, your focus needs to be on
building strength and stability into that muscle. So, out of
all three of these parts, concentrate on these exercises the most. This first one is known as a hip hiker. It's best
done at the edge of a staircase. So, every time that
you go up and down stairs, throw in a couple reps. It will
definitely add up. I'm going to start off by just putting one
foot up at the edge of a stair. The other one is going to go
off and you can definitely grab off to the side of the wall
right here too if you need a little bit more support or if
you have balance issues. So, I'm going to keep both of my
legs straight at my knees. I'm going to allow one leg to go
off the side of the stair right here. I'm going to put my hand on
my hip and the movement, I'm driving the hip upward towards
the ceiling as much as I can. So, I'm not really trying to
bend my leg at all. All the movement needs to be through
the hip through the pelvis and lower back going upward as much
as you can. You're really going to feel a ton of muscles start
to fire including the glutes and that quadratus lumborum. I
like to hold this one for about 5 seconds. I just relax and
then I repeat this one 10 to fifteen times, just nice and
slowly. Build into it as much as you can. From there, if you
have a little bit more energy, throw in another set or two. To
take this one to the next level, what you can do is not
only go up with it like this but then slowly lower that leg
and that foot downward towards the floor but don't let the
foot touch. Just let it hover slightly above the floor.
You'll feel a lot of muscles on the other side activate. So,
you kind of get a nice twofer with it, but again, try to do
this one for about 10 to 15 repetitions and then from
there, switch to the other side to keep them both in balance. So,
here's a strengthening exercise fittingly called the butt walk.
This one is really going to target the glutes and that
quadratus lumbarum. I'm going to start seated on a
floor. The movement is pretty easy. What I want to do is take
one glute right here and lift my hip and that glute off the
floor as much as we can until you feel those muscles start to
fire on that side. From there, we're going to drive our body
forward, so kind of like taking our foot forward as much as
possible, putting our heel down and then you're just going to
do the same thing on the other side. As you do this, you're going to notice that you're going to start to walk with your butt.
But I try to do this one nice and slowly for about 10 to 15
repetitions on both sides to take this one to the next level
just simply go in reverse you're going to notice the
muscles get hit just a little bit differently so try to do
this again for 10 to 15 repetitions in both directions
if you feel like you have a little bit more energy throw in
another set or two if the exercises help please support
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