Three essential tips for dealing with back pain
MOST of us will suffer from back pain at least once in our lifetime.
While it is painful and stressful, only 1- 2% is serious, which thankfully means the rest should be fixable.
Our problem is, we allow it to interrupt our lives and happiness before we seek help.
So here are three tips to help ease your back pain. 1) Keep moving: when pain strikes, we avoid moving or change how we move drastically due to fear of causing damage. Over time, this can make the pain worse as muscles are tensed. The back is designed to lift, bend and twist- it is strong and durable so we need to allow it to do its job and decrease any tension by gently reintroducing movement. This can be walking, swimming, cycling, yoga, something which you enjoy. 2) Find your perfect posture – we’ve all heard the saying “sit up straight or your back will hurt”, but this may be making your back pain worse. Sitting or standing for too long in one position causes the muscles to become tired and irritated creating tension. The best advice is to figure out what is most comfortable for you and to change posture regularly: if you’re sitting at a desk during the day, take a few moments to get up, move and readjust into a comfortable posture. 3) Relaxation - Stress, lack of sleep and worry can all influence back pain. If we can reassure you about your pain and manage some of these factors, it will help decrease your pain giving you the confidence to get back doing with you love. So, it’s very important that you make sure you take the time to yourself to switch off. Implement a good sleep routine and spend time outdoors or with friends and family.