Almost 80 percent of Americans battle back pain at some point in their lives, and if you spend most of your day sitting, you’re at risk. One thing that can help: stretching. “It lengthens and strengthens muscles, reducing pressure on [spine] disks and joints to ease and prevent pain,” says Kristian Berg, DN, an anatomy expert and author of Prescriptive Stretching. In fact, research has shown that back-pain patients who stretch as part of their treatment fare better than those who rely solely on anti-inflammatory medication. Berg suggests doing these three stretches once a day to prevent or relieve discomfort. Hold each one for 10 seconds, then tense the muscles being stretched for 5 seconds before releasing into another 10-second stretch. (This technique of squeezing the muscles helps give you a deeper stretch.)
