Lower back pain is something many of us experience in our lives – especially when we’re stuck in one position for most of the week.
As well as my downloadable rehabilitation videos I’ve put together five tips to help you prevent and / or manage your lower back pain:
Exercise your core.
Strong core muscles are important to provide support for the lower back and avoid injury. This does not mean hundreds of situps! rather stomach exercises which mimic the way we actually move posturally.
Strengthen and gently stretch your hamstrings.
Tight hamstrings are often the cause of lower back pain(these tend to be tight due to weakness from sitting all day rather than because they are short!) Simple hamstring strengthening exercises can help decrease the pressure on your pelvis and provide relief across your low back. Not all hamstring strengthening/stretching approaches are good for certain types of back conditions though, so give me a shout if you have any questions to put your mind at rest.
Travelling
Are you a frequent traveler, or maybe you have a long journey coming up for your holiday?
Traveling in a plane or car can really take a toll on our lower backs, here are some tips to help you have a more comfortable journey.
Lifting
Lifting heavy objects correctly is very important. Even if you’re strong you can still injure your lower back by lifting incorrectly – consider small children too, picking them up can put your back out quite easily.
Bend your knees, squat down and keep your sight focused forward as you rise up.
Posture
Poor posture places pressure on your back. Consider setting a timer on your phone to remind yourself to check your posture as you work throughout the day. Get up and walk around, chat to colleagues and make a cuppa at least once an hour if you sit most of the day. Standup desks are superb if you can use one of these for at least part of the day.
As well as treating people from my home clinic in Swindon, Wiltshire, I have also created downloadable videos to help you manage your own pain within the comfort of your own home. Once downloaded these are yours for life and are already being well received all over the world.