Lower Back, Sciatica, and Hip Pain: What Actually Works?
This article will show you my favorite glute stretches to get rid of pain in your lower back, hips, sciatica and potentially more places!
The glutes aren’t always the source of pain, but when they are, these stretches will help you get on the path to relief.
Jump ahead to:
Why Your Glutes Are Key to Pain Relief
I’ll make this quick, but it’s worth knowing so you can reduce the negative effects.
The glutes—specifically the gluteus medius, gluteus maximus, and piriformis—are key stabilizers for your hips and spine.
When they’re tight or harboring trigger points, they can pull on your pelvis, compress nerves, and make other muscles hurt as a result.
This is especially common in desk workers, runners, weightlifters, or anyone with sciatica or chronic hip pain.
You can learn more about the differences in targeting the major glute muscles in Trigger Points in the Glutes.
Deep Glute Stretches That Actually Help
Here are the most effective glute stretches for lower back and hip pain, ranked by how well they isolate and release the muscle:
Figure Four Stretch (Lying or Seated)
This is a foundational stretch that targets the glute max and piriformis. It’s accessible to most people!
- Lie on your back, cross one ankle over the opposite thigh.
- Pull the uncrossed leg toward your chest by reaching through your stretched leg to grab your shin.
- Feel the stretch in the outer glute of the crossed leg.
Stretching on its own is not going to fix your glutes. Learn how to pair this stretch with trigger pointing your glutes to get the most out of it.
Deep Lunge
This requires more hamstring mobility to access but will greatly improve your ability to hip hinge and stretch the larger glute muscles that primarily extend the hip.
- Start in a low lunge position with your hands touching the floor or elevated on blocks if you need to.
- Sink deeper to the inside of your front leg while either extending your back leg straight back or placing your knee down to rest.
Variation 1
Simply breathe and sink deeper into the stretch
Variation 2
You can change the angle of the stretch by reaching wide on both sides of your stretched leg.
I love this because it gets your low back involved and will deepen the stretch a ton!
Variation 3
Adding rotation to the stretch targets the deeper hip rotators, helping to release tension in these muscles!
Make sure that you are rotating at the hips. A common mistake is to twist in your back, which will not target the glute and deep hip muscles!
That means you have to activate your core muscles as you use your arms as leverage to twist your body against your leg!
Pigeon Variations
This is the best stretch for your hips period. But it is hard to do well.
I rate myself a B for doing this stretch so bare with me on this one!
1. Half Pigeon (1/2 Pigeon) Stretch
The half pigeon is the easiest and most common variation of the pigeon pose used in yoga and mobility work.
- Begin in a tabletop or plank position.
- Bring your right knee forward and place it behind your right wrist.
- Let your shin angle slightly so your right foot comes near your left hip.
- Slide your left leg straight back, keeping the leg and foot in line.
- Square your hips forward. You can stay upright or fold forward over your front leg.
- Sit back or feel like you are sinking your hip back and down into the floor.
2. Three-Quarter Pigeon (3/4 Pigeon) Stretch
This is a deeper progression from half pigeon that increases the stretch on your hip. It is mostly the same. The only difference is an increased angle of your front leg.
This increases the intensity of the stretch in your hip because the larger knee angle requires further rotation at the hip!
- Start in half pigeon and gently increase the angle from the 1/2 pigeon to around 60 degrees (this doesn’t need to be exact)
- Make sure you are able to stay upright with your back leg tucked into your midline as much as possible.
- Add intensity by sinking further to the ground, hinging at the hip(bringing your chest closer to your leg), or leaning away from the stretched hip!
3. Elevated Full Pigeon Stretch
This variation uses an elevated surface (bench, couch, or table) to allow a deeper and more controlled stretch with less strain on the knees and lower back. Elevation also allows gravity to help deepen the stretch more comfortably.
- Place your front leg on an elevated surface so that your leg is laying flat (this will stop the knee from torquing).
- Keep your hips square and lean forward slowly, hinging at the hips.
- The back leg stays extended behind you on the ground.
To add intensity, squat a little lower while activating the stretched hip as you force it into a stretch.
This is called PNF stretching. Activating your stretched muscle to resist the stretch teaches your body to accept mobility a lot faster.
4. Full Pigeon Stretch
The full pigeon pose is the most intense and traditional version of this stretch.
Try it after you have experience with all of the other versions first.
The front shin is ideally at a 90 degree angle to the femur and parallel to the front edge of the mat you’re stretching on (or as close as your hips allow).
The back leg is extended directly behind with square hips.
Here’s how to do it:
- From a downward dog, bring your right knee forward to your right wrist.
- Angle your right shin so it’s parallel with the front edge of your mat (or aim toward it).
- Slide your left leg back as far as possible with toes pointing straight.
- Square your hips to the front.
- Sit tall using blocks to keep upright balance or use the floor if you are able to.
Increase the intensity by folding forward or leaning to the outside of your range of motion. You can use your arms to reach out, to the side, or pull yourself against your legs!
What About Sciatica?
If your pain radiates down your leg, especially after sitting too long or driving, your sciatic nerve may be irritated — often by a tight piriformis muscle but not always.
Learn how to trigger point the piriformis here and then do the half pigeon stretch (up above) to target the piriformis better.
Learn more about self-release work in my Ultimate Trigger Point Therapy Guide.
What’s Next?
Try trigger pointing and stretching your glutes daily for the next week and see if you have any changes or benefits.
If not, consider exploring other muscle groups in the area that may be contributing to your pain! You can look at my ultimate guide to stretching or guide to trigger pointing to explore more!
As always let me know if you have any questions. Good luck!
-Nick