Lumbar Mobility: How to perform a Lumbar Back Circle

Once you have mastered the Lumbar Front Circle you are ready for the lumbar back circle.

The target for the Lumbar Back Circle are the segments of the lumbar spine from L-1 to L-5 (low back).  

Understanding how to move your lumbar spine (low back) independently of your thoracic spine and your pelvis is essential for the highest quality movement, injury prevention, and to avoid low back pain! If performed well it can also provide great pain relief. 

We have a saying that you should always follow when retraining your brain how to move joints that have pain - never move into pain. This means you can actually perform the drill as long as you are not moving into pain. Start with pain free ranges of motion and slowly train yourself into greater ranges of motion over time. 

Here's how you perform the drill:

• Start in neutral stance, slight bend in knees with tall lengthened spine
• Leading from the crown of your head, move into a side bend position, pulling into end range of motion of lateral flexion
• Keep arms and head relaxed
• When you reach end range of motion, maintain the end range as you circle around the back into back extension and then keep moving into the opposite side bend (lateral flexion)
• While you are moving through the back part of the circle, the pelvis will counter-balance the weight by moving into a slight anterior pelvic tilt (happens naturally, do not add more anterior tilt) 
• Stack yourself back up to the start

Common mistakes:

• Driving the movement with the head, neck, or thoracic spine rather than the low back
• Missing lateral flexion and instead tilting into some flexion
• Compressing the whole spine as they move through the back circle - rather than maintaining a tall lengthened spine through the crown of the head
• Not circling into a full side bend before stacking back up
• Shift the pelvis towards the side or forward rather than side bending
• Building up excessive tension in upper back and shoulders
• Breath holding

Lumbar mobility will never go out of style. Whether you spend a lot of time sitting or are an elite athlete, knowing how to move your lumbar spine independent from your pelvis and thoracic spine will pay great dividends. 

(Education Credit: this drill is part of a series of mobility drills taught by Z-Health Performance Solutions - a leading educational company in neuro-centric training for pain and performance) 

About the Author: 

Taylor Kruse, recently featured in Men's Health, is dedicated to empowering you with the truth and tools for improved health and performance.

His inspiration stems from more than 10 years of education and coaching through systems like Zhealth Performance, The Burdenko Method, and various movement practices.

In 2013, he co-founded KRUSE ELITE with girlfriend, Alisha Hale. Both are dedicated to inspiring people, coaches, and trainers into their best health and performance.