A common question I get asked is what’s the best pilates exercise I can do for low back pain relief?

And whilst there are lots I’d recommend, all for different back pain relieving reasons, if I HAD to pick only one pilates exercise for low back pain relief, it would be the Pilates Spine Curl, sometimes referred to as the pelvic curl.

And today I’m sharing a simple How To video that breaks down the exercise, helping you to get the most out of it.

Joseph Pilates once famously said:

a quote graphic from Joseph pilates that describes the flexibility of the spine.

The spine curl then, is THE pilates exercise to build flexibilty in your spine at all ages and stages of life!

It’s an exercise that ticks all the boxes when it comes to your back because:

When I had my chronic low back pain, this was a pilates exercise that I did daily to get mobility into my back after a long day of sitting.

julie doing a pilates exercise to help with low back pain relief.


And the good news is, you only need to do a few of them to feel the benefit – remember at Ostara we advocate for a less is more approach to our health and wellbeing.


The video is less than 10 minutes, so an easy one to sneak into your day.

That said, this is one where it really does pay off to focus on the quality of the exercise, especially if you’re in that low back pain camp, like I was! So watch this as many times as you need to help you get the most out of this tension freeing exercise.


New to pilates? I also share some beginner tips as you work towards building that strength in your body.

A short exercise breakdown on the Pilates Spine Curl


Pilates Pro Tip: Holding the spine curl and taking it into single leg toe taps, will help strengthen those glutes even faster! This is often called the Pilates Shoulder Bridge.

Hit PLAY on your Pilates Spine Curl How To video now and feel for yourself the difference it makes.

Don’t forget to leave a comment and let me know if it helps to get your back moving.

See you on your mat!

Love Julie

P.S. Ready to put what you’ve learned into practice and get that back moving? Then use this link to try my short 10 minute Healthy Backs pilates workout from my 21 Day Pilates Challenge. If you enjoy it, then you can sign up for the full 21 days below!