Five Unexpected Ways to Relieve Back Pain
Back pain is one of the most common injuries seen by physiotherapists. It can affect all people for a variety of reasons, whether it be structural or functional.
1. Strengthen Core Muscles
Strengthening your core doesn’t just help you to get abs and look great, it assists with your posture and helps to relieve back pain by taking stress off the back muscles. The body is a complex structure consisting of bones, muscles, ligaments and tendons. Particularly in the spinal region, the deep local muscles play a crucial role in protecting and stabilising your back during movement.
When these muscles are weak, they are unable to provide optimal support to our spinal structure. This means the spine is under additional stress, which in turn will have an increased risk of pain and injury.
Exercising core muscles to strengthen this support system is essential to providing a solid foundation during movement. A simple way to exercise core muscles could be at home whether it be crunches, bicycles or planks, or you could head down to your local gym and participate in Pilates or other gym classes that focus on core stability.
2. Correct your Posture
It may be a surprise to some, but not all back injuries are made when a person is active. In fact, you can injure your back just from sitting still, in the incorrect position.
The phrase “sit up straight” or “stop slouching” is one you have most likely heard several times as a child from your parents or teachers. A slouched posture can place unnecessary stress on some vertebral joints than others, which can cause significant back pain overtime.
If you spend ample time sitting whether it be at a desk or in front of a steering wheel, make sure the chair you are in is seated upright, looking straight ahead. This will assist you to maintain the correct posture. If you are sitting for a prolonged period of time, make sure you take some little breaks to stretch and move around. This will help to reduce any stiffness and correct your posture. If you are suffering from bad posture, check out online what Pivotal Motion Physiotherapist recommend for altering posture.
3. Yoga Yoga Yoga
The downward dog or cobra may not exactly be your forte, but your back will love you for it! Yoga combines strength, flexibility and breathing/ meditation to assist in improving mental and physical health. Regular sessions have shown to improve one’s back pain/ injury, flexibility and strength and assist in relaxation.
4. Travel Light
- When we travel we usually have a very heavy bag as we do not want to forget a thing; however, it is important we carry our bags correctly to ensure safety for our backs.
- A heavy back pack carried over the shoulder will rotate the spine and induce an asymmetrical posture. Due to the imbalance of posture, the muscles on the opposite side will have to much harder to maintain the equilibrium. This puts your back at much greater risk of injury (fatigue etc.). One way to avoid this is to consider if you need to pack everything in your bag, if you don’t really need it leave it behind! Distributing your weigh evenly will help to minimize chance of injury or pain, which is the one thing you do not want on your holiday!
- Use both straps!!
- If you need to pack loads – try a different more supportive bag.
5. Breathing Exercises
- There are many everyday things in life that can cause stress, from family to financial.
- Back pain in an unnecessary stress that can be avoided! Can make you feel tense and in turn, bring your mood down!
- When your mood is down, you are less likely to want to get out of the house and do activities.
- Learning and using breathing techniques can help to relax you, bringing your mood up and pain down?
- Staying active – endorphins (mood up).
- Pain medication if required
If you need assistance with back related pain, Pivotal Motion Physiotherapy are here to help. Our qualified physiotherapists can assist with injuries, rehabilitation, exercise technique and prevention strategies. Call 07 3352 5116 or book an appointment online today.
