How To Manage and Prevent Low Back Pain On Your Own

What if I told you that, more than likely, you were able to cure your back pain by yourself?

Simply put, the vast majority of back pain is caused by sitting on chairs for too long. I know this is unlikely to be headline news for you. However, what is less known are the simple techniques you can use to reverse the problem.

Here's three proven methods to improve the most common types of low back problems.

First of all, whenever possible, stand up and move around for at least thirty seconds for every thirty minutes of being sat down. If you're regularly sitting for periods of one hour or more without a break then you are dramatically increasing the likelihood you will experience back pain at some point. This is for both work, rest and play. Why does this happen? The postural muscles that support the joints in your spine switch-off the longer you sit down. The longer you’re sat without a break, the more the postural muscles disengage and the more stress  gets dumped onto your spine instead. You know this intuitively already. When was the last time you got so engrossed in a film or work project that you ended up not moving from your chair for a few hours? What was it like when you stood back up? Were you stiff, creaky, achey? Maybe you even made a noise a bit like your grandad does when he heaves himself off the couch. That's the immediate impact of prolonged sitting. Multiply this over days, weeks, months, and years and chronic back pain can ensue.

1) Break the cycle. Move for thirty seconds for every thirty minutes of being sat down.

What’s the best movement to do when you do stand up? Raising your arms out to your sides and reaching above your head is your greatest weapon against back pain. Why? Your spine provides the foundation for the movement of your arms and legs. If your spine didn’t stabilise then your limbs would have nothing to move against. Without this automatic stabilising of your spinal muscles every time you went to try and open a door you'd just yank yourself into it instead. Your brain assumes you’re about to do something like push or pull and so activates your postural muscles in preparation. Simply raising your arms to the ceiling engages the muscles that tend to switch-off the longer you sit for. It's like hitting a refresh button for your posture.

Secondly, as you actively reach for the ceiling you're stretching out the joints, ligaments, tendons and muscles that become compressed and tight. A friend of mine who works as a psychotherapist started to develop strong low back pain. On her clinic days she would sit for an hour with each patient and repeat this cycle for up to ten hours a day. She started doing the reaching exercise three to five times between each patient and the result was profound. Not only did her low back pain reduce to a manageable level but she was also pleasantly surprised to feel how much clearer her mind was too. Movement is really good for your brain especially when we’ve been chair-based for long periods.

2) Re-engage your spinal muscles by reaching for the ceiling a few times every hour.

Finally, you are designed to walk for long distances. For the 300,000 years that modern humans have existed we were primarily nomadic and would cover long distances on our feet every day. You've evolved to walk and it's part of your DNA. Walking is fundamental to a healthy spine and also your wellbeing in general. So how many steps is ideal? Somewhere between 10,000 to 20,000 steps a day is what we should all be aiming for. This is around 8-15km per day and equates to around 1.5 hours to 3 hours on your feet. I know that may seem like a lot. But it's important to present these figures as many of us don't even get close, me included sometimes. No wonder back pain is at such epidemic proportions.

If you're nowhere near this then don't worry. Track your steps and try to do a little more each week. If your daily average over the week was 3,000 steps then aim for 3,500 next week. Keep adding a little more each week and you'll be surprised at how quickly you’ll be up to a level that you're proud of and that your back will thank you for too. You will undoubtedly notice the physical, mental and emotional boon this will create for your health.

3) Walk more. Ideally for 90 minutes or more every day.

So that's it.

• Where you can, take a break from sitting for thirty seconds every thirty minutes.

• Stand up and reach your arms out to the side and above your head a few times as often as you can.

• And walk as much as possible, ideally 10,000 steps or more daily.

These simple practices, while not always easy, are achievable for the vast majority of us. If you do the above consistently then over time you will start to feel the difference in just a few weeks. They form the base of the pyramid for a healthy spine and help to ease and prevent the majority of simple back pain returning.

That being said, some back pain does require professional attention. If the previous advice is not possible for you or your pain has got to a point where you fear these changes could make it worse then this is where chiropractic care really shines. We can diagnose the cause of your problem and retrain your spinal joints to be pain-free and healthy again.

If you have any further questions we’d love to hear from you and are always available for complimentary phone consultations and free spine checks if you’d like to learn more.