5 Tips For Reducing Severe Back Pain

There are thousands, if not millions of people around the world who suffer from severe back pain, it affects everyone at some time in our lives. Back pain in its most severe forms it would seem is becoming a very common problem with a great increase in lost working days in recent times. We all lead stress filled lives these days and this is one of the main contributory factors. Once the damage has been done to your back it can mean constantly trying to find relief using one remedy or another or even worse having to use pain killing medication all the time. As with any medical compliant prevention is far better than any cure available. Below are 5 of the main causes of severe back pain, by avoiding these you should remain free from back problems.

1. One of the most common causes of back pain is poor posture. Our spines are designed to hold the back straight and sitting or standing for long periods of time with the back curved and shoulders bent will cause painful stiffening of the muscles and spine. Work often dictates that we spend long hours sitting or standing in the same position so it is very important that you try to have short, regular stretch breaks throughout the day.

2. Serious back conditions such as a slipped disc,spinal stenos, sciatic or spondylolishesis can be caused by a number of factors such as a road traffic accident which causes whiplash or even back surgery which has not been successful.

3. Physical Activity can be a no win situation. Too little - spending our days sitting in front of computers which are not properly aligned with the body on chairs which do not offer sufficient back support can cause painful back sprain. Too much - manual workers run the risk of back pain if heavy objects are not lifted in the correct manner. This emphasises the importance of manual handling training which employers should ensure all employees receive.

4. Diet plays an important role in preventing back problems. Increased use of ready meals and fast food has also increased the instances of obesity. This means that the spine has to support a massive amount of extra weight thus putting it under immense pressure and causing more problems with severe back pain. The extra weight carried by women in the latter stages of pregnancy has the same effect which is why many suffer back problems, fortunately these usually disappear fairly quickly after the baby is born.

5. The stresses and strains of everyday life can also contribute to back pain by putting added pressure on our backs. The effects are often seen in our health in general too. We are constantly trying to out do others be it at work or in our leisure activities and eventually we end up paying a high price.

The only way to avoid running into severe back problems which can be very debilitating is to ensure that you take great care and ensure that you live a healthy life with a proper diet and the correct type of exercise.