Cat and cow is a gentle moving stretch for a stiff back after an injury: on your hands and knees, slowly round your back up, then let it sag a little, 10 times with no holding.
Not every exercise is for every patient. The ones meant for you carry a check mark on the home sheet your physician fills out; stick to those, morning and evening, every day, unless the sheet gives you a different schedule.
What are the steps for the cat and cow?
- Get set: Start on all fours. Hands go under your shoulders, knees under your hips.
- Move: Round your spine upward, the way a cat stretches. Then let your belly lower gently toward the floor.
- How many: Keep it slow and steady with no pause. Do 10.
How does the cat and cow help you recover?
It takes each level of the spine through a short, safe range of movement. Gentle motion loosens a back that has been stiff since the injury and helps blood flow to the area.
If you have spinal stenosis, the sagging half bends your back in the direction that can bring on leg symptoms, and our list of spinal stenosis exercises to avoid explains why. Your physician may have you do only the rounding half.
Which mistakes should you watch for?
- Rushing or jerking through it.
- Forcing the belly down at the low point.
- Locking your elbows straight.
When should you stop and call us?
Feeling a stretch, a bit of ache, or next-day stiffness is expected and fine. Stop the exercise and call us if you notice any of these:
- Sharp or stabbing pain
- Pain that jumps 2 or more points above your usual and lasts over an hour
- New numbness, tingling or weakness
- Dizziness or a change in your vision
Call 911 right away for chest pain, fainting or trouble breathing.
Why does your exercise log matter?
Each time you finish your exercises, tick the box on your log, and jot your pain number down once a day. The log rides along to every visit. Your technician adds up your days, has you demonstrate one exercise so form can be checked, and enters that tally in the visit note, right beside the treatments.
What to remember
- Slow, smooth and no holding.
- Never force the sag.
- Soft elbows.
Show us you have it: Show us three slow rounds on the mat. If any part is unclear, ask us to go over it again; there is no limit on that.
Other low back exercises in the program
This page belongs to the Gateway Midwest physician-directed physiotherapy program. On Natural Bridge Road, the physician who examined you signs each order, and no treatment runs without a physician on site.
Hurt in an accident? Start here.
You do not need a lawyer, a police report or a referral to be seen. Bring your symptoms and we will work out the rest.
Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Same-day appointments are often available for new accident and injury patients.