Tips to Prevent Back Pain

The majority of us have probably suffered from some sort of back pain during our lives. Bad habits are often the primary cause of back pain and by ridding ourselves of these bad habits we can prevent our back pain. Here are some tips on how we can help ourselves:

• Don’t ignore the pain

With the stresses of day to day life we are often guilty of ignoring our bodies when we are in pain. Back pain is often put down to sleeping in an odd position or lifting a heavy object but, persistent back pain should not be ignored. In most cases back pain is not serious and can be treated using none surgical methods such as physiotherapy or pain relief. However, severe back pain that has been ignored and not treated for a long period of time can lead to a serious disability.

• Bend your knees

We know you’ll have heard this time and time again but you should always bend your knees when lifting an object. If you bend at the waist to lift something heavy, think of the strain that this puts on your back. By bending at the knees this gives you better leverage to lift the heavy object with ease. Don’t forget to also bend your knees when you are putting the object down. Try this tip today and you will notice the difference. .

• Stand and Sit Up Straight

Your posture can have an impact on your back. Having bad posture can include slouching your shoulders, hunching over your desk and keeping your head down. All of this can put a great deal of stress onto your back. If you have bad posture my message to you is hold your head high, straighten out that back and walk and sit tall. During every day activities think about your posture. When sat at your desk make sure that your chair is at the right height to enable you to place your feet flat on the floor and have your back against the back rest. Try not to hunch over your desk when typing or writing as this is one of the most common causes of back pain. When walking push your shoulders back, hold your head up high and imagine that you have a steel rod holding you up straight. It may not feel natural at first but this is how we should walk. .

• Regular Exercise

Regular exercise can be great for pain relief. Certain exercises can be given to help deal with back pain. Physiotherapists that treat back pain often give exercises to their patients as home management techniques. We know that it may seem that exercise is the answer to many medical ailments but it really is true. Exercise keeps us fit and healthy and can help to ease aches and pains such as back pain. For those of us who do not like the gym, walking and swimming are excellent exercise methods. .

• Give up Smoking

Last but not least, give up smoking! Smoking clogs up the arteries that impair the supply of blood and oxygen to the lower spine which deteriorates the spinal disks which in turn can lead them to collapse. Heavy smoking leading to chronic coughing also causes back pain. Smoking is also known to slow down the healing process so people with back injuries or who have had back injury will find that they have a much slower healing time than a non-smoker. .

Try following out tips to prevent back pain. If you find that the pain gets worse or is severe you need to seek the help of a medical professional.