Say goodbye to neck, shoulder, back and knee pains with these stretches.
As we get used to this new world order, we’re starting to realise that staying in all day = more time for self-care. Part of that consists of the fun stuff, like binge watching feel-good flicks and having our tenth home facial of the week. But the other side of self-care involves addressing the things we’ve been pushing to the back of our to-do lists.
We’re talking about (finally) beginning our meditation journey, taking time to upskill ourselves, finding the discipline to workout consistently… and properly dealing with those pesky back-of-the-neck pains (sticking on a pain relief patch isn’t enough!). Regardless of which muscles are causing your everyday aches, here are the stretching exercises to kick them to the curb.
For neck and shoulder pain
Ever experienced neck or shoulder pain after waking up? Ease your muscle aches after a less-than-stellar night’s sleep with a quick 10-minute yoga stretch. This one is super relaxing and easy to follow.
If your neck tension is causing numbness or pain all the way down to your arms, you might have a pinched nerve. In case a physical therapy sesh isn’t possible, ease your neck pain while staying home by stretching it out.
Treat your entire upper back area to a serious stretch with these seven exercises. From your lats to your traps, this tutorial hits all the major upper back muscles that could be causing you grief.
For lower back pain
So you’ve been pasting pain relief patches on the reg but your lower back pain has been annoyingly persistent. Lower back stretches are the answer to giving your lower back muscles some TLC. Here are a few super stretches to follow.
For knee pain
Physical therapy for knee pain involves strengthening your quads and glutes to help your knee track properly when you move. If that sounds like a lot of work to you, fret not: just get this handful of pilates exercises down pat!
Often, what you interpret as knee pain is an inflammation of the iliotibial or IT band (a tendon along the outer thigh). This can be caused by repetitive exercises, muscle tightness or other factors. Here are some ways to relax this pesky tendon using a foam roller or with no equipment at all.
For hip pain
Tight hips? Open up your hip flexors and improve your mobility at home. This video tutorial is a great one to follow for anyone as it gives you a range of stretching exercises for different fitness levels.
For leg pain
Maybe you’ve been doing a ton of chores around the house, or maybe you’ve just been on a really tough run. Whichever the case, your legs aren’t feeling all that great. Feel better with some easy yoga exercises from this tutorial that targets your entire leg, from your hamstrings to your feet.
Massage balls, massage guns and foam rollers
Whether its post-workout muscle aches or chronic body pains, roll it out with a foam roller (Decathlon, $25 each) using your own body weight. Or, snag a massage gun (Shopee, $84 each) to ease those problematic knots.
Wanna support local while bagging a stellar massage gun? Check out Hydragun, a new homegrown brand that promises the ideal recovery solution. Its sturdy yet relatively quiet massage gun ($399) comes with six attachments to target sore muscles and tense knots. Rev it up at your desired intensity to bid your aches goodbye. Our experience? Typing away at our laptops for long hours can result in stiff shoulders and pesky back-of-the-neck pains. So we gave this gun a go and it eased our tense muscles in a jiffy!
Need a quick massage? Grab a nifty massage ball. Choose between the smooth ones (Bleiz, $19.90 for two) or those with spikes (Sportsco, $9.90 each via Lazada). Psst: a regular tennis ball works just as well!
