How To Protect Your Back From Pain

Back pain is becoming one of the most common medical problems, affecting people from various backgrounds around the world. I believe it is caused by the growing number of people living comfortable, sedentary lifestyles. A lot of people are spending most of their time sitting on their offices, cars, homes, etc., but almost every one of them has bad posture.

Incorrect movements definitely create bad habits, so the condition will get worse with time. Back pain usually grows from abnormal spinal curves, whether it is at the arch curves (lordosys), the curl curves (kiphosys), or the side-to-side curves (scoliosis) of the spine.

The abnormality of the spine usually worsens from incorrect movement or posture. Problems at one part of the spine will be followed by other problems at another part of the spine because the body will need to compensate. Here are some tips you can apply to protect your back from pain.

1. Correct posture. Keep your head parallel to the ground and centered over your shoulders. Bring your chest up. As you bring your chest up, try to relax your shoulders by rolling them back and down. Tighten your abdominal muscles by slightly pulling your belly button toward your spine (don't let this interfere with your breathing). Align your knees with your second and third toes. Never lock your knees; keep them slightly bent. Stand with your feet spaced comfortably hip-width apart. From the side view, try to put your ears, shoulders, hips, and ankles into one straight line.

2. Perform the "Draw-in Maneuver." This is very simple but effective exercise. First, just kneel on the ground with both knees hip-width apart and directly below the hips. Place your palms on the ground to make a horse stance. Make sure both palms are shoulder width apart and directly below your shoulders. Pinch your shoulder blades together to get a good thorax form and your chest wide open, then extend the whole spine up. Take focus on your belly button and your buttocks; try to pull them in as hard as possible, without changing the spine form. Remember to always breath easily through your lungs. Hold this position for 30 seconds, and repeat it 3 or 4 times. Doing this exercise every day will activate your spinal supporters called the core.

3. Learn to support your body weight correctly. As we know, almost every activity we do is against gravity, so it is very important to properly support our weight. Just like machines, our body moves by a mechanical system called biomechanics. Every weight supporter needs to be placed vertically (or horizontally and obliquely) in line with the weight it supports, then the point of pressure will not shift to other parts of the body that are not meant to do the job. For example, place your body weight on your ankles, at the mid points of your feet, and always put your body weight evenly on your sitting bone and keep your spine straight and long while sitting down.

4. Learn to move correctly. This is a very important matter for protecting your back. By moving correctly the body will use the correct parts and not shift that pressure to incorrect places. A good understanding of biomechanics will help you understand how to move your body correctly. Identify from which direction the pressure is coming, then put it on the right supporting body part. Always remember that every pressure needs to be in-line supported by the correct body part.

5. Avoid sudden, uncontrolled movements, especially the ones that include movements to many directions, as the body might need some time to adjust to the proper movements.

Back problems can be a very dangerous matter that can ruin your life, but it is something that we can prevent. Start to pay more attention to it so you can enjoy your life more.