The cat-camel moves your whole spine slowly between rounding and arching while you are on hands and knees. It is for mobility, so think smooth movement, not force.

How to do the cat-camel stretch

Start on hands and knees, hands under shoulders and knees under hips, back flat.
Lead with your head. Tuck your chin toward your chest, then let your upper back, middle back and lower back follow, tucking your tailbone last so your back rounds up toward the ceiling. Breathe out as you go.
Come back to a flat back, again leading with your head.
Lift your head to look slightly forward and let your chest sink between your shoulder blades. Your lower back dips gently and your tailbone tips up at the end. Breathe in as you go.
Move only as far as feels comfortable and keep the rhythm slow.

What you should feel

Easy movement through the spine, with a gentle stretch at each end.

Common mistakes

Forcing the end positions.
Moving only the neck or only the lower back instead of the whole spine.
Going too fast.

How often

Often 5 to 10 slow cycles, once or more a day, and especially when your back feels stiff. Your physio may change this.

Stop and check with your physio if

Rounding or arching gives you sharp pain. Go back to the range that feels easy.
Pain travels down your leg, or you feel numbness or tingling.
Moving your head makes you dizzy. Keep it in line with your back instead. If you faint while exercising, call emergency services, even if you feel fine again quickly.
Kneeling hurts your knees or leaning on your hands hurts your wrists. Your physio can suggest a padded surface or a different position.
An electric shock feeling runs down your back or into your arms or legs as your head bends forward. Stop and get medical advice the same day.
You are pregnant and notice bleeding or fluid leaking from your vagina, regular painful tightenings, tummy pain that does not settle when you rest or comes with lower back pain, or a change in your baby's usual movements, such as moving less than usual. Stop and contact your midwife or maternity unit straight away. Do the same for a severe headache, problems with your vision such as blurring or flashing lights, pain just below your ribs, or sudden swelling of your face, hands or feet, which can be signs of pre-eclampsia. Call emergency services if the bleeding is heavy, the tummy pain is severe, bleeding or tummy pain comes with pain in your shoulder or feeling sick, faint or dizzy, or a headache comes on suddenly and is very severe.

From the clinic

Plenty of patients like this one first thing in the morning, when the back feels stiffest. If you are pregnant, check with your midwife or physio before you start.

Osteoporosis, or a past fracture in your spine? Keep the rounding small and check the range with your physio. If arching your back tends to bring on pain, keep the dip small too. That is common when the spinal canal has narrowed (spinal stenosis).

Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-09-28.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. If you have pain, an injury or a health condition, see a physiotherapist or doctor before starting new exercises.

Cat-camel stretch