{"id":897449,"date":"2026-09-16T04:06:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T04:06:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/897449\/"},"modified":"2026-09-16T04:06:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T04:06:12","slug":"do-this-simple-lower-body-exercise-daily-to-ease-back-pain-pt-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/897449\/","title":{"rendered":"Do This Simple Lower Body Exercise Daily to Ease Back Pain, PT Says"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019ve got lower back pain, you\u2019re not alone. It\u2019s the leading cause of disability around the world, TODAY.com previously reported.<\/a> In fact, in 2023, 619 million people were dealing with the ailment. That number is expected to rise to 843 million by 2050, according to a recent study<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While you might be tempted to address your back muscles directly, that\u2019s not your only solution. The muscles that will help to relieve your lower back pain is further down your body than you might have expected. <\/p>\n

Fitness Tip of the Day: Prioritize Ankle Mobility To Ease Back Pain<\/p>\n

\u201cMaking sure the joints or the bones of the ankle are moving appropriately can actually help your balance, and it can also help with low back tightness,\u201d Karena Wu<\/a>, doctor of physical therapy and Start TODAY trainer<\/a>, tells TODAY.com. <\/p>\n

Her go-to involves standing in a lung position while keeping both heels on the ground.<\/p>\n

Why It Matters<\/p>\n

If your back is aching, you\u2019re likely experiencing stiffness all the way down your leg, says Wu. Mobilizing your ankle, she adds, loosens the joints and promotes flexibility in the surrounding soft tissues. That better supports your muscles that extend upward from the ankle and can improve your posture.<\/p>\n

This is essential because lower back pain is often the result of tight or weak muscles, TODAY.com previously reported<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Those muscles are positioned around your spine, of course, but weakness in your glutes, hips, hamstrings and ankles can also contribute to lower back pain.<\/p>\n

How to Get Started<\/p>\n

To release tension and encourage elasticity in your muscles, try an ankle mobility exercise<\/a>, Wu suggests.<\/p>\n

She recommends standing with one foot extended in front of the other, hip-width apart. From this position, bend your front knee to slightly lunge forward. When Wu performs this move with her clients, she encourages them to try and push their front knee over their toes while keeping their heel on the ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cI should really be able to bring my knee about 4 inches in front of my toes,\u201d says Wu. \u201cJust mobilizing like this gets the bones of the ankle joint moving.\u201d <\/p>\n

Over time, as your ankle muscles get more flexible, you may also notice you\u2019re less likely to fall \u2014 and your lower back will reap the benefits, too. <\/p>\n

TODAY\u2019s Expert Tip of the Day<\/a> series is all about simple strategies to make life a little easier. Every Monday through Friday, different qualified experts share their best advice on diet, fitness, heart health, mental wellness and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you\u2019ve got lower back pain, you\u2019re not alone. It\u2019s the leading cause of disability around the world,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":897450,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[49,48,407,84],"class_list":["post-897449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-fitness","tag-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/897449","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=897449"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/897449\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/897450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=897449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=897449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=897449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}