You’ve always been the kind of person who gets things done. Whether it’s keeping up your business, taking care of your family, or showing up for your doubles match, you’ve been there—reliable, capable, active. But lately? Just bending down to tie your shoes feels like a gamble. Squatting to pull weeds in the garden is out of the question. And you’ve had to skip more than a few practices or games because of your back.
It’s not just inconvenient—it’s frustrating. You don’t want to feel like you have to slow down. You miss being part of the action, and you hate feeling like you’re letting your teammates, your family, and yourself down.
Take Mike, for example. He works in sales and plays pickleball a few times a week. One morning, while tying his shoes, he felt a sudden “pop” in his back—and couldn’t get off the floor. When he came to see us at Twin Cities Movement, we used the comprehensive assessment that’s part of our Movement Method, and found tightness in his right hip and stiffness in his lower back. We started with breathing work to help him stabilize his spine, then built a routine to improve his hip mobility and spinal control. A few weeks later, he was back on the pickleball court—not just playing, but using the game to network for his career again.
Here’s the thing—it’s not just Mike. Over 80% of adults in the U.S. will deal with back pain at some point in their lives. Our modern routines—hours spent sitting in the car, at work, or even standing in one place—change how our bodies move and feel. Tight hips, stiff spines, and even altered breathing patterns add up over time, making everyday tasks harder and your favorite activities more painful.
The good news? You can get back to living without that constant fear of pain stopping you. You can garden, tie your shoes, carry your laundry, and still have the energy and ability to keep playing tennis, pickleball, or even jiu jitsu if that’s what you love.
In this post, we’ll cover three techniques to help you limber up your spine, mobilize your hips, and improve your joint health—so you can feel confident and capable in your daily life and in your favorite activities.
Technique 1: Diaphragmatic Breathing with Spinal Stabilization (Dead Bug)
How to start:
Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart. Place one hand on your belly—just below your ribcage—and the other hand on your sternum. Take a slow, deep breath in through your nose, directing the air down toward your belly so that only your belly hand rises. Your sternum hand should stay completely still—this ensures you’re breathing with your diaphragm, not just your chest.
Once you can control your breath this way, add the stabilization piece: exhale slowly through your mouth and gently brace your abdominal muscles, keeping that belly hand “lifted” with muscle tension even after the air is gone. Think of it like tightening a belt one notch—not holding your breath or sucking your stomach in, but creating a steady, firm support for your spine. Relax fully before repeating.
When that becomes comfortable, increase the challenge by moving your arms and/or legs in a slow, controlled pattern—like extending one leg straight out while reaching the opposite arm overhead—while keeping your core braced and your lower back stable. This is the “dead bug” portion, and it teaches your body to maintain spinal support during real-world movement.
Why this works:
When your core can activate on demand and maintain gentle, steady pressure around your spine, it’s like giving your back a built-in safety harness. That means less irritation during everyday activities like bending over to pick something up, twisting to load the dishwasher, or carrying groceries. Over time, this combination of breathing and bracing trains your body to move with better control, which reduces pain flare-ups and builds resilience so you can get back to sports and hobbies without fear.
How we help in the office:
This technique is a cornerstone of Twin Cities Movement’s Movement Method because it does two critical things: it calms the nervous system while teaching your body the foundational skill of spinal support. We usually introduce it early in care—sometimes in the very first session—because it immediately gives patients a safe, controlled way to reconnect with their core and relieve tension in the back.
In the office, we don’t just tell you to “breathe into your belly.” We coach you through exactly where your breath should go, how much to brace, and how to avoid common mistakes like tensing your neck or holding your breath. We also customize the dead bug variations based on your current ability—starting with supported positions if you’re in pain, and gradually adding complexity so you can handle more challenging movements without strain. This attention to detail ensures you’re not just doing the exercise, but doing it in a way that actually builds lasting strength and protection for your spine.
Technique 2: 90-90 Hip Stretch
How to start:
Sit on the floor with one leg bent in front of you—shin parallel to your torso, knee bent about 90 degrees, and the outside of your leg resting on the ground. Your other leg is bent behind you at roughly a 90-degree angle, with the inside of your knee and ankle resting on the floor. This is your starting “90-90” position.
From here, sit tall with your spine straight—no side-bending in your spine. If you have to lean out and post your hand to keep your spine straight, that’s fine. Lean forward over your front leg until you feel a gentle stretch in your hip and glute area. Keep your trunk stable and avoid rounding your back. Then, slowly rotate your torso toward your back leg so your chest is facing it. Lean away from that leg to open up a completely different set of hip muscles.
Once you’ve explored both directions, switch sides and notice the difference between your hips. Most people find one side feels significantly tighter or more restricted than the other—this asymmetry is important to recognize because it often tells us which hip is doing extra “protective” work or which is limiting your movement the most.
Why this works:
Your hips are designed to be the powerhouse of your lower body—taking on a lot of the work when you walk, squat, run, or twist. But when they get tight and lose range of motion, that work doesn’t just disappear. Instead, your lower back and knees are forced to compensate, absorbing extra stress they were never meant to handle. That’s when irritation, strain, and overuse injuries show up.
By improving hip mobility, you allow your hips to take on their fair share of movement again, which relieves pressure from the spine and knees. The 90-90 position is especially effective because it opens the hips in multiple planes—improving flexibility where you’re tight and giving you more freedom of movement for sports, daily tasks, and even simple things like sitting cross-legged or getting down to the floor comfortably.
How we help in the office:
When you come in, we don’t just put you in a stretch and leave you there. We first assess which hip is most restricted and how that’s affecting your movement patterns. Sometimes one hip is holding you back from squatting, lunging, or even walking without pain. Once we know exactly what’s limited, we guide you through targeted mobility work and advanced techniques like PAILs/RAILs—a proven method of using muscle contractions at specific points in the stretch to “teach” your nervous system to allow more movement.
We’ll also make sure you’re in the right position for your body, adjusting angles and support so you can target the tightest tissues safely. As you progress, we’ll integrate this stretch with strength work so you’re not only gaining flexibility but also the control to use that new range without injury. By the time you leave, you’ll know exactly how to keep your hips mobile, balanced, and strong—making your back feel lighter and your movements more effortless.
Technique 3: Cat/Cow Spinal Movement
How to start:
Begin on your hands and knees, with your hands directly under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. Spread your fingers wide and press your palms firmly into the floor to create a stable base.
From here, start at your pelvis and slowly tilt it forward, allowing your belly to drop toward the floor. Gradually let this movement ripple upward through your spine—first your lower back, then your mid-back, and finally your neck—until you’re gently looking forward and up. This is the “Cow” position.
Next, reverse the movement. Start again at the pelvis, tucking it under and slowly rounding your lower back. Let the rounding travel up through your spine until your upper back domes toward the ceiling and your chin tucks to your chest. This is the “Cat” position.
Move slowly—each direction should take about 30 seconds. Instead of rushing through it, focus on feeling each section, or vertebrae, of your spine move independently. You might notice certain areas feel stiff or that a whole chunk of your spine moves as one piece. That’s completely normal, and with practice, you’ll gain more control and smoothness in each segment.
Why this works:
Your spine is meant to move—forward, backward, and everything in between. But injuries, long periods of sitting or standing, and even well-meaning but outdated advice to “avoid bending your back” can cause your spinal muscles to lose coordination. Over time, the back stiffens and movement becomes less precise, making it easier to overload certain joints or muscles.
Cat/Cow is one of the best ways to restore this segmental control. By moving slowly and intentionally, you teach your nervous system how to use all the small muscles along your spine in a coordinated way. This not only reduces the strain on any one part of your back, but also improves your posture, body awareness, and overall movement quality. The result? Less pain and more confidence bending, twisting, or reaching—whether that’s in daily life or on the field.
How we help in the office:
When someone comes in with back pain, this is often one of the first movement patterns we assess. We look for areas where the spine moves too much, not enough, or not at all—and then coach you to restore balance.
In our Movement Method, we don’t just say “arch and round your back.” We guide you to initiate the movement from the right places, slow it down so your brain and body can reconnect, and adjust your position so you’re targeting the exact areas that need improvement. If certain sections are stubborn, we might pair Cat/Cow with gentle mobilization techniques, breathing work, or stability drills to help your spine learn to move freely and safely again.
By the time you’ve practiced this under our supervision, you’ll not only feel looser but also more in control of your back. That control is key—it means you can bend to tie your shoes, twist to grab something from the back seat, or rotate to hit a ball without worrying your back will “catch” on you.
“But I’ve Tried These Before…”
Maybe you’ve seen these on YouTube, or even given them a go yourself. The truth is, if they didn’t work, it might be because you needed the right variations, more consistency, or professional guidance to adapt them to your body. Real change takes time, repetition, and proper progression.
In our clinic, we don’t just hand you a list of exercises—we evaluate your movement, tailor the techniques to you, and keep you accountable until you see results.
Bringing It All Together
We’ve covered:
- Core stability with diaphragmatic breathing and the dead bug
- Hip mobility with the 90-90 stretch
- Spinal control with Cat/Cow
Do two or three of these movements three to four times a week. The more often you do them, the quicker you’ll see improvement—and the longer those results will last.
Adaptation takes time, but it’s the only way to create lasting change. And that change is what will keep you strong enough to manage your daily life and keep doing the sports and activities you love.
Ready to Take the Next Step?
Maybe you feel like you’re taking a risk when you try to get help for your low back pain. We get it. In fact, our best patients are often the ones no one else could help.
We use the Movement Method to get to the root cause of your pain, then help you do the work and stay accountable—so you can get back to the things you love.
Schedule your FREE Discovery Call today and take the first step toward living (and playing) without fear of pain.