5 Quick And Easy Tips To Help Your Back Pain
Are These 5 Ways Actually Quick and Easy?
Yes – you can begin to help your back today by following these five quick and easy tips.
These are important for low back pain, neck pain and pelvic pain, as well as other joint pains and muscle pain.
These are also important to follow even if you don’t have back pain, as they will help prevent you getting problems.
Some of the following are actually trying to counter act what we do every day as part of modern life. As an cranial therapist in Hove, this is part of the advice I often give out to patients who come and see me.
- Don’t slump
- Hold Your Phone up
- Move around
- Squat to pick things up
- Drink Water
- Don’t Slump
I know you’ve probably heard this one before, but it really does make a huge difference to your spinal health and back pain.
Nowadays we all tend to spend a long time sitting in front of computers, unless we have a physical job.
Then in the evenings, we can often end up in front of the TV on the sofa.
When you slump, it squashes the cushions (discs) between your bony blocks of the spine (vertebrae).
If you slump on a sofa leaning back, it then strains your ligaments and the joints of the pelvis and can lead to pain.
What To Do – Make sure you sit up straight, and sit on your ‘sitting bones’ (called ischial tuberosities).
If you have back problems, it’s best to sit on a hard backed chair if possible. Try and avoid deep sofas – these chairs instantly make you slump. If you do have a deep sofa, put cushions behind your back to give you support.
- Hold Your Phone Up
This is vital, especially if you have a history of neck pain or neck stiffness.
If you look at pretty much anybody looking at their smart phones nowadays you will see them hold it low down, and they bend their neck to look at it.
This puts a lot of strain and tension on your neck muscles, as your head is comparatively heavy. I have seen this create a lot of problems for people coming to see me with neck pain and back pain.
What To Do – simply hold your phone up in front of your face, instead of bringing your head down to the phone. Your body will thank you for this!
- Move Around
As mentioned above we are all tending to spend longer in sitting positions, and this squashes your vertebral discs, which act as cushions for your spine. This can be a contributing factor in back pain.
What To Do – Set an alarm on your phone/computer to go off every 30 minutes. When it goes off, get up from your sitting position and move around.
Just spend a couple of minutes standing and gently strolling around e.g. make yourself a drink.
People who have followed this easy piece of advice, saw an instant improvement not only in their backs, but also their performance at work, because they were less achey and tired.
- Squat to Pick Things Up
You most probably will have heard the phrase “lift with your legs”. You may even think you are doing it.
However what I have seen with people over the years is they think they are bending their knees to pick something up, but in reality they are only bending their knees a little bit, and then fully bending over with their back to pick up stuff.
This puts all the strain through the joints of your low back, which can lead to back pain.
What To Do – When you pick something up from the floor (even if it’s just a pen dropped onto the floor), make sure you squat down. Then get up using the muscles of your legs.
This will help protect the muscles and joints of your back, as your leg muscles are stronger.
- Drink Water
Your body is made up of approximately 65% water. Water is found everywhere in the body’s tissues, meaning that if you don’t drink enough water then you will be dehydrated.
This in turn makes it harder for joints and muscles to function, which could contribute to back aches and back pain.
What To Do – Make sure you drink enough water for your body and activity levels each day. If you are exercising or are hot you will need to drink more water.
Different articles will state different amounts of water, but a good rule of thumb is to drink enough water so you are not thirsty and that your urine is a pale clear colour (these are indicators you are not dehydrated).
Thank You For Reading My Blog
I hope you have enjoyed this blog. If you know someone who may benefit from it, please do pass it on.
I have written it as I am a cranial therapist helping people in Hove and Brighton and surrounding areas, and love to share my passion and fascination for the human body and how it works.
