Column Five Stretching Exercises That are Effective for Lumbar Spinal Stenosis

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09.12.2025

What is lumbar spinal stenosis?

Lumbar spinal stenosis is a condition in which the spinal canal (the nerve passage) becomes narrowed, leading to nerve compression.
When instability of the lumbar spine is the cause, pain often aggravate with certain movements.

With lumbar spinal stenosis, patients typically experience numbness and pain in the lower back and legs.
A characteristic symptom is intermittent claudication—pain or numbness in the buttocks and legs that occurs after walking a certain distance and improves with rest, before recurring after resuming the walking.

Effective Stretches for Lumbar Spinal Stenosis

Quad stretch

Stretches the muscles at the front of the thigh. Tightness occurring there can tilt the pelvis forward, leading to excessive lumbar lordosis (arched lower back), which may aggravate the pain.

① Lie face down

② Bend the right knee

③ Grab the right foot with your right hand

④ Feel the front of the thigh stretch

⑤ Repeat the movement with the opposite leg

Pelvic rotation

Rotating the pelvis reduces stress on the lumbar spine.

① Lie on the back with your knees bent

② Align your feet with the width of your shoulders

③ Lower your knees alternately to the right and left

④ Feel your lower back twist

Glute stretch

This stretch helps loosen the hip joints. When done on both sides, it also stretches the lower back and helps prevent pain.

① Lie on your back

② Bend your left leg

③ Tug the left knee toward your chest using both hands

④ Feel your buttocks stretch

⑤ Repeat the movement with the opposite leg

Hip stretch

Stiff hips can aggravate low back pain. Loosening the muscles around the hip joints can help reduce the symptoms.

① Sit on a chair and place the right ankle on top of your left knee

② Gently press the right knee in a downward motion

③ Feel the stretch along the inner thigh and hip

Iliopsoas stretch

Stretches the muscles at the front of the hip. Tight iliopsoas muscles can tilt the pelvis forward, cause lordosis, and aggravate back pain.

① Kneel on the floor

② Place the left foot forward

③ Shift the hips towards the front

④ Feel the stretch in the front of the right hip

⑤ Repeat the movement with the opposite leg

Precautions to take when stretching

Perform all stretches within a comfortable range so as not to feel pain.

Consistency is key: perform the stretches on a daily basis and long term to ease the symptoms.

By incorporating these gentle exercises into your daily life, symptoms will gradually improve.

The treatment options at our clinics: the Florence and Q-Florence Methods

At our clinic, we offer the Florence Method and Q-Florence Method as treatments for lumbar spinal stenosis.

These are minimally invasive, low risk treatments.

Under local anesthesia and sedation, a device is percutaneously inserted to widen the narrowed spinal canal.

The device stabilizes the vertebrae while preserving spinal rotation and flexion, widens the canal, suppresses disc protrusion, and reduces ligamentum flavum thickening. As the canal expands, the pain is relieved.

Both the Florence and Q-Florence methods are minimally invasive and low-risk, and there have been no reported cases of postoperative complications or symptom recurrence.