Getting a massage every week sounds amazing — if we could only afford it. Fortunately, there are stretches you can do at home to loosen up all your tight muscles and feel as good as if you’d had an actual massage. (OK, almost as good.

Stretching after an ab workout eases soreness in the lower abs and prepares your body for your next workout.

If you find yourself slouching a lot, you probably have tightness in your upper- and mid-back muscles. Stretches improve flexibility in these muscles.

An area of fat on the upper back, between the shoulder blades and just below the base of the neck, is referred to as a buffalo hump. An accumulation of fat in this area can be indicative of excess weight or a symptom of a disease.

Your hips are just one of the areas of your body that are prone to tightness and injury if you are a runner. Every stride that you make requires your hip joint to pull forward, and every time that you plant your foot on the pavement, your hips feel the impact.

Low back stretches improve flexibility when performed regularly. Stretch every day for best results.

To gain back flexibility, you need to stretch your obliques, abdominal muscles, hip flexors and obliques, as well as your back muscles.

Fortunately, most people can restore or improve their skeletal alignment by stretching and strengthening key muscles.

Whether your neck and shoulder muscles are tight from stress or from working too hard, exercises can help them relax.

A few simple stretches can help provide relief from painful lower back spasms and restore lumbar mobility.

In order to stretch your lats you need to raise your arms and turn them out. The bench lat stretch, band lat stretch, and squat lat stretch are great examples.

A static stretch is a slow and constant stretch, with the end position held for 30 seconds or more. Static stretching is safe, easy to learn and can help improve range of motion. Static back stretches are effective for everyday use to relieve backaches and pains and to keep your back healthy and flexible.