When your back is out of proper alignment, this can lead to numerous problems. A misaligned spine may contribute to a limited range of motion, ongoing back pain, headaches, joint pain, fatigue, and various other symptoms that affect your quality of life.
In many cases, making lifestyle changes and sticking to them can help to align the back’s vertebrae. This can include exercising, performing targeted stretches, and using tools that support the back, such as a foam roller. Try incorporating these five align spine foam roller exercises into your routine to see if they help your back misalignment symptoms.
5 Foam Roller Exercises to Align Your Spine
1. Thoracic Spine Stretch Exercise
This thoracic spine stretch exercise helps the posture and tension of the upper back and can help with full back alignment. To perform this exercise, lie on the floor with a large foam roller positioned vertically under you from your head to your tailbone. Have your knees bent with your feet on the floor and your arms along the floor perpendicular to your body, palms up. All this exercise requires is lying in this position for 30 seconds and breathing as you feel the stretch. Repeat this stretch three times within a routine.
2. Spinal Alignment Exercise
Use a foam roller with this spinal alignment exercise to work on misaligned vertebrae as well as muscle release. To carry out the exercise, lie on the floor with the foam roller placed horizontally underneath your upper back, with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Lift your arms, bend them at your elbows and bring your hands under your head, with your fingers interlaced, supporting the weight of your head within this exercise. Lift your hips and move your body to slide your upper back over the foam roller. Roll up and down over the roller to massage and stretch different parts of the upper back and shoulders, going down to the mid-back and up again to the shoulders. Perform the rolling on tense or sensitive areas for 20 seconds or more, and repeat the rolling from the shoulders to the mid-back and up again up to five times in a routine.
3. Core Strengthening Exercise
Using a foam roller for this core strengthening exercise helps support back alignment in addition to posture and muscle strength for stability. To perform this exercise, lie on the ground with the foam roller placed underneath you vertically from your head to your tailbone. Have your knees bent and your feet on the floor, with your arms resting along your body. Tighten the muscles of your core (the abs and around the sides, lower back and pelvis) while simultaneously raising your right hand and left knee upward. Bring them back down and switch to lifting the left hand and right knee. Performing both sides completes one repetition. For a routine, carry out a set of eight to 16 of these repetitions up to three times.
4. Upper Back Release Exercise
Foam rolling can release tightness in back muscles, which helps create improved alignment. One of the ways to target this tightness is through this upper back release foam roller exercise, which focuses on the top of the spine. To carry it out, lie on the ground with the foam roller placed horizontally under your upper back. Position yourself with your knees bent and your feet on the floor. Bring your arms up, bend at the elbows and bring your hands together under your head to support it. Then, move slowly to bring your head down toward the ground, which lifts your upper back and chest on the roller to stretch that area. Perform this stretch up to five times. Then, move the roller to the middle and lower parts of that top section of your spine and perform the same stretch on those areas.
5. Upper Back and Shoulder Exercise
You can improve posture in the upper back, which often gets hunched over and impacts spinal alignment. A foam roller can help with that upper back and shoulder posture when you perform this exercise. To carry it out, start by lying on the ground with the foam roller vertically underneath you from your head to your tailbone. Have your knees bent with your feet on the floor. Then, lift your arms straight in front of your body and then lower them to spread them perpendicular to your body along the floor, palms up. Leave them down as you breathe and release tension in this position. Stay in it for as long as a minute at a time, and perform it three times within a routine.
A foam roller is one of the tools that can help you align your back from home. If you need additional support on top of the foam roller exercises, try the innovative Spine Aligner tool, which helps relieve pain and improve alignment in the lower back. The complete align spine program includes this tool along with a muscle roller and more, giving you multiple ways to support and improve your back.
