For anyone who has experienced back pain, he knows how painful and debilitating it can be. Whether the pain is from a herniated disc, a sprained ligament, muscle spasms, or sciatica, most would do anything to prevent it. The National Institute of Health Statistics recently reported that the most common type of pain is back pain and for people under the age of 45 years, it is the leading cause of disability.
Unfortunately, there has not been much success with managing back pain. The best step people can take is to prevent it from happening in the first place. Here are some tips to do just that. For those who already have back pain, these tips can also help, but only when the cause of the pain is determined, the pain is managed and the patient is under a doctor’s care.
Be Careful When Lifting
Always bend at the knees and tighten your stomach muscles when you are lifting something. Use your leg muscles instead of your back to lift the object. If an object is too heavy, ask someone to help you. It isn’t worth months of back pain to move an object.
Support Your Back When Sitting
It is really easy to get comfortable when you are sitting and lose correct posture. Try not to do this! When sitting try to keep the back straight, but in a slightly arched position, with the head and shoulders straight. As often as possible (at least every hour), get up and walk around and stretch the muscles.
Strengthen the Core Muscles
In order to support the back, all of the muscles in the torso need to be strengthened. This means all of muscles in the stomach, the back, and on the sides of the torso. There are some excellent exercises described at UW Medicine that show exactly what exercises to do to strengthen the core muscles. What is exciting about this site is that they also include clips of each exercise, such as the neutral spine, abdominal bracing, the basic and advanced curl ups, side bridges, and bird dog exercises. Do each exercise every day to appropriately strengthen the muscles. Once they are strong enough, posture should be improved as well. Even when there isn't any pain, continue doing the exercises to keep the back supported to prevent pain in the future.
Do Cardio
Doing cardio can be tough when a person is worried about back pain. Jogging, tennis, and other activities may not be the best cardio to begin with. Try walking at a fast pace for at least 30 to 45 minutes per day, as it is great for the body and can help loosen up some of the joints and muscles in the body. This exercise can also help people to lose weight and help strengthen some of the important muscles in the body.
Eat Right and Lose Weight
Lower back pain is often more common for people who are carrying extra weight and being overweight can make back pain a whole lot worse, as there is a lot more stress on the back. When there is more weight found in the stomach area, this can cause even more stress on the lower back. Therefore, it is critically important to eat right and lose weight to prevent back pain. Talk to a doctor about a diet that may right for your specific build. Remember that every bite that is taken can have some sort of impact on back pain. This is a great incentive to help lose some weight!
Once these tips are followed carefully, back pain may be prevented. If pain continues, of course, please seek the help of a doctor to determine the cause of the pain and other treatment options.
