How to Give a Lower Back Massage

Just like how the upper back and shoulders tend to gather a lot of tension, our lower back tends to get stressed too. Improper posture, bad habits, and lack of exercise are responsible for lower back pain. Also, due to our hectic lifestyles, lower back pain is a common complaint. Lower back pain is often a common complaint among women. It has an important muscle which helps in bending forward and backward hence, one should take care of the lower and upper back well. One of the easiest ways to relieve tension from the lower back is through a massage.

Tips on Lower Back Massage
You can give a lower back massage to your partner or to a friend to ease off their lower back pain. When giving a massage it is important that you maintain good hygiene. So, wash your hands before you start with the massage and keep some sesame oil or olive oil besides you. You can use an oil in case you find difficulty in gliding your hand over the person's back.

• Ask the person you are giving a lower back massage to, to lie down on their stomach, and keep their hands at their sides. You can ask the person to lie down on the floor or on a bed.
• Make sure they are comfortable. Ask them to remove their upper body clothing. If they are not comfortable then just take the upper body clothing up and tuck it up till the chest, so that it doesn't disturb you when you are giving the massage. Ask the person to relax now.
• Turn off the lights and use a soft light or a candle for light. Then apply few drops of oil on your palms and apply it on the lower back.
• Now, start massaging slowly using small circular motions. Start by massaging on the sides of the lower spine, and then work your way towards the sides of the back. Keep using this technique for a few minutes. Ask if the pressure you are applying is right, if not change the pressure.
• Once you are done with the above step, start with another massage technique. Start spreading your finger in an upward and outward direction. Do this step similar to the above technique, first do it around both sides of the spine, and then work towards the sides. Keep doing this for a few minutes.
• Now, work on the hard areas on the lower back. These are the areas where there is too much stress. To relieve these areas and improve blood circulation, perform circular motions with your fingers or thumbs on these regions. Keep doing this for few minutes, till you feel these knots have loosened.
• In this step work on the lower spine of the person, for this use the heel of your hands. Again perform circular motions with the heel of your hand on the spine, but avoid putting too much pressure. Do this slowly for 2 minutes.
• Then use your thumbs and press along the lower spine. Start from top and end by pressing the lowermost spine area a bit harder. Do this 5-6 times.
• Finally, end by light finger tapping of the whole lower back region. Do this a couple of times.
• Then take a tissue, and wipe off the excess oil from the lower back.

Remember, that a back massage is good practice to relieve tension from the back. However, to keep your back in good shape, do some strengthening exercises. You can do them at the gym or do yoga at home. Take care.