"Stretching out your back helps reduce back pain, but it can work against you if you do it first thing in the morning. 'At night when you sleep, the discs in your spine gain water,' says Ted Dreisinger, PhD, FACSM, president of Therapy Advisors, San Diego, CA. This adds pressure on your discs when you first wake up, which causes more stress to them when you bend forward or bend backward.

Do this instead: Before you stretch in the morning, take 10 minutes to with your usual routine: drink coffee, wash your face and brush your teeth. After that, perform a simple stretch: put your hands on the top of your buttocks (palms to skin), as if you were putting your hands in your back pockets, then lean back, looking up and holding for about three seconds. Repeat three to four times."

MSN Health and Fitness