Back Pain Prevention

80 percent of Americans will suffer from some form of back pain and among these ninety percent will be caused by some form of sprain or strain placed on the core muscles of the back or ligaments. It is important to note that there are three things that you can incorporate into your daily routine to reduce the risk of you becoming a statistic like the one above.

Good Posture:

You parents didn't hassle you about poor posture just to keep you looking sharp! Proper posture can help you avoid serious back injury by keeping your spine in proper alignment and not pulling it in unnatural directions. When muscles and the spine become weakened by improper posture over the years, your spinal stability starts to degrade.

Posture Check:

The list below consists of the dos when posture is concerned

-Try not to slouch when you are standing or sitting. When you slouch or round your shoulders you are over extending your spine pulling out of its natural curvature.

-Allowing your head to fall to far forward. Again this will lead to pulling your spine in an unnatural direction that it was not designed for.

-Proper abdominal structure is very important. If you allow your stomach to pull forward, it also pulls your spine along with it. This again manipulates you spine in a non healthy direction. You can combat the effect of stomach slouch by trying to hold your stomach in. This will stop the excessive force being applied to your spine.

-The average person will spend seven to eight hours of the day lying down in their bed. Many people completely ignore this fact and suffer from poor sleeping posture. The healthiest mattress to sleep on is a medium firm one. Sleeping on your stomach can place unwanted strain on your spine, try to sleep on your back with a pillow directly under your knees or on your side with a pillow placed between your knees. This will align your back to its natural state and could even make you feel more rested and relaxed to face a new day.

TIP If you are forced to stand for extended amounts of time try to keep your knees slightly bent.

Don't Ignore Your Core:

One of the ways to think of your body is to consider it a machine. If a machine doesn't see regular maintenance eventually it will break down. Some machines break down faster than others, but eventually all neglected machines suffer from the rust of abuse. Strong core muscles combined with a healthy cardiovascular system will help you avoid back pain in the future. Strong core muscles help to provide stability to your spine, while a healthy cardiovascular system helps stimulate increased blood flow to the spine. There have been studies performed recently that have linked cigarette smoking with higher incidents of back pain or injury. Some of the best ways to strengthen your core muscles are to participate regularly in activities such as swimming, water walking, land walking, and cycling. These activities will also help you develop your cardiovascular endurance.

Body Mechanics -Not for Your Car!

Using tested body mechanics means incorporating proven techniques in your day to day routines to help prevent injury to your back. A few examples of body mechanics would be to use proper lifting techniques, warming your muscles before strenuous activities or quite simply finding the easiest way to complete a task.