Best Exercises for Right Side Back Pain Relief at Home

Right side back pain is a common nuisance that many people experience in daily life. The good news is that most general back pain, especially when it’s muscle-related, can improve with gentle movement and time. Health experts encourage you to stay active and avoid long periods of bed rest. Trying some simple exercises at home may ease the aching on your right side and help you heal faster. The key is to move gently and carefully. Gentle movement can help alleviate a sore back. Just be sure to listen to your body and avoid pushing into sharp pain. 

In some cases, weakness in key muscle groups, such as the glutes, can contribute to ongoing discomfort. If you’d like to understand more about this connection, explore our guide on the hip–spine link between weak glutes and back pain.

In this article, we will focus on equipment-free exercises you can do at home to relieve right side back pain. Each exercise is described with step-by-step instructions. Remember to breathe, move within a comfortable range, and stop if the pain worsens (consult a healthcare provider if it does). With a bit of patience and consistency, these exercises can help stretch and strengthen your muscles for lasting relief.

Why Exercise Can Help Right Side Back Pain

When your back hurts, you might be tempted to avoid all movement. However, gentle exercise is often one of the best remedies for back pain. Staying active with appropriate exercises can reduce pain and prevent stiffness. By moving your muscles and joints, you boost blood flow to the area and ease muscle tension. Exercises also build up the supporting muscles around your spine. This added strength gives your back more stability, so daily activities put less strain on any one spot. 

Targeted exercises both stretch tight muscles and strengthen your back’s support system, which can prevent further discomfort. In short, exercise is a safe, drug-free way to manage most mild or moderate back aches. Of course, stick to gentle movements, especially if pain is on one side. You’re aiming to loosen tight muscles and improve flexibility, not to run a marathon or lift heavy weights. Done regularly, the following home exercises can gradually relieve that persistent right-side pain and improve your mobility, helping you get back to the things you love.

If your discomfort tends to flare up when you’ve had a poor night’s rest, you may find it useful to read about how sleep deprivation can make back pain worse.

Best At-Home Exercises for Right Side Back Pain

Below are some of the best exercises to try for right side back pain relief. All of them can be done at home with no special equipment. Do these on a soft carpet or a yoga mat for comfort. Move slowly and mindfully. If an exercise involves one side at a time, remember to do it on both sides, but you can give a little extra attention to your painful right side.

1. Knee-to-Chest Stretch

This simple stretch helps release tension in your lower back and right side hip. It gently lengthens the muscles along your spine and the buttock (glute) area, which can alleviate aching on one side.

How to do it:

1. Lie on your back on a bed or mat. Bend your knees and keep your feet flat on the floor.
2. Bring one knee toward your chest, grasping your knee or shin with both hands. (For right-side pain, you might start with the right leg.)
3. Gently pull the knee toward your chest until you feel a comfortable stretch in your lower back and hip. Keep your opposite leg relaxed, flat on the floor.
4. Hold the stretch for 5–10 seconds, breathing steadily. You should feel a mild, relaxing stretch, not a sharp pain.
5. Lower your leg back down and repeat with the other leg.
6. Finally, you can try pulling both knees to your chest together for another 5–10 seconds, if it feels comfortable.

2. Supine Spinal Twist (Knee Rolls)

A supine twist is a rotation stretch for your spine. It’s great for targeting the muscles on the sides of your low back (such as the quadratus lumborum), which might be causing that one-sided pain.

How to do it:

1. Lie flat on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Keep your legs together. Place your arms out to the sides for support.
2. Slowly drop your knees to one side. Go only as far as is comfortable. Keep both shoulders flat on the floor.
3. Hold for 5–10 seconds in this side position and breathe.
4. Bring your knees back to the centre slowly.
5. Drop your knees to the other side. Hold for 5–10 seconds.
6. Return to centre. Repeat the twist 3–5 times in each direction.

3. Child’s Pose Stretch

Child’s Pose provides a soothing stretch for the entire back. It’s a restorative pose that can especially relieve tension on one side by stretching the muscles along the spine and around the hip.

How to do it:

1. Begin on your hands and knees on a comfortable surface. Keep your knees about hip-width apart.
2. Bring your big toes together and then widen your knees apart.
3. Sink your hips back toward your heels. Let your torso lower down.
4. Reach your arms forward, resting your forehead on the floor or a cushion.
5. Hold for 20–30 seconds, breathing slowly and deeply.
6. To stretch your right side more, walk both hands a little over to the left side and sink back down. Hold for a few breaths, then switch sides.

4. Cat-Cow Stretch

The Cat-Cow stretch mobilises your spine. It involves gently arching and rounding your back in a rhythm, which can help relieve stiffness in both the lower and mid-back.

How to do it:

1. Start on hands and knees. Place your hands under your shoulders and knees under your hips. Keep your back neutral to start.
2. For Cat: Slowly arch your back upward. Tuck your chin toward your chest and tuck your tailbone under.
3. For Cow: Gently lower your back into a sag. Drop your belly toward the floor and lift your head and tailbone.
4. Move smoothly between Cat and Cow: Inhale as you move into Cow, and exhale as you move into Cat.
5. Repeat 5–10 times in a slow, flowing motion.

5. Standing Side Bend Stretch

A side bend stretch targets the muscles running along your sides, including parts of your lower back and waist.

How to do it:

1. Stand up straight with your feet hip-width apart.
2. Raise your arms overhead. Interlace your fingers or reach both arms up.
3. Gently bend to the left side to stretch your right side. Keep your hips stable and do not twist.
4. Hold for about 5 seconds, breathing in and out.
5. Return to the centre slowly.
6. Gently bend to the right side. Hold for 5 seconds.
7. Come back to the centre. Repeat 3–5 times on each side.

6. Glute Bridge

The glute bridge strengthens your gluteal muscles, hamstrings, and lower back.

How to do it:

1. Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart.
2. Tighten your belly muscles slightly and squeeze your buttocks.
3. Lift your hips upward, pressing through your heels, until your body forms a straight line from shoulders to knees.
4. Hold for 3–5 seconds.
5. Lower your hips back down with control.
6. Repeat 5–10 times.

7. Bird-Dog (Opposite Arm and Leg Extension)

The bird-dog exercise strengthens the core and lower back muscles, improving balance and spinal stability.

How to do it:

1. Start on all fours. Position your hands directly under your shoulders and knees under your hips. Keep your back flat and gaze toward the floor.
2. Engage your core.
3. Slowly extend your right leg straight back while reaching your left arm straight forward. Keep your hips level and your back flat.
4. Hold for 2–3 seconds.
5. Lower your right leg and left arm back to the starting position with control.
6. Repeat on the other side.
7. Do 5–10 repetitions per side, alternating sides.

If you're interested in exploring yoga poses, consider our collection of beginner to intermediate poses for lower back pain for a more varied experience.

Bonus Tip: Relax and Repeat

Consistency and a relaxed mindset are essential. Try these exercises once or twice a day in a gentle routine. Pair them with deep, slow breathing. Over time, your back pain should gradually lessen. If an exercise consistently makes your pain sharper, skip it and consult a physiotherapist.

Conclusion

Living with right side back pain can be frustrating, but with these at-home exercises, you have practical tools to find relief. By incorporating gentle stretches and simple strengthening moves, you’re addressing both flexibility and muscle support for your spine. Over time, this balanced approach can ease your current pain and help prevent future flare-ups.

References

1. Mayo Clinic, Back exercises in 15 minutes a day, https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/back-pain/art-20546859
2. NHS, Back pain – Self care, https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/back-pain/treatment/
3. Cleveland Clinic, Lower Back Stretches and Exercises Can Help Relieve Pain, https://health.clevelandclinic.org/lower-back-pain-exercises
4. Hinge Health, How to Do Child’s Pose: A Hinge Health Guide, https://www.hingehealth.com/resources/articles/childs-pose/
5. Cochrane Library, Exercise for treatment of chronic low back pain, https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD009790.pub2/full
6. Verywell Fit, How to Do the Bird Dog Exercise, https://www.verywellfit.com/how-to-do-the-bird-dog-exercise-3120064