How to Prevent Back Pain

Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

According to studies, more than 80% of people suffer from back pain, in some phase of their life. If we consider that sedentary lifestyle has become the prime way of life in many countries, it is no wonder that more and more people are experiencing this annoying pain. Experts say that apart from a sedentary lifestyle, aging, smoking, obesity and even emotional health can cause back pain, especially in women. To them, anxiety and depression impose a greater risk on a person and his or her back. On the other hand, prevention of back pain is simple and easy. Regular walk, exercising, keep an eye on a posture, and adopt a good lifting technique are the things that can prevent back from pain. The article “How to Wreck Your Back” offers some suggestions on exercising and lifting weight.

Back Wrecker #1: Weekend Warfare

“Most often, I see people who injured themselves during a weekend basketball game or a round of golf,” Shamie says. “These people think they’re athletes,
but don’t train like the pros, and as a result, their backs suffer.”

Tackling those “Honey Do” lists at home can also set you up for injury, especially if you were idle for most of the week. Cleaning out the garage, bending
over a workbench, or spending hours in the yard or garden can be just as hard on your back as anything you do on a playing field.

Prevent it: “The only preventive solution I’ve found for back pain is exercise,” says Michael Hisey, MD, orthopedic surgeon and president of the Texas
Back Institute in Denton, Texas. “The fix is to stretch and strengthen your core muscles.”

The obliques — the abdominal muscles on your sides — are especially important for back stability, Hisey tells WebMD.

Hisey’s tip: Get an inflatable exercise ball. Use it in your workouts and sit on it, instead of a chair, to engage your abs.

Back Wrecker #2: Poor Lifting Technique

“Improper bending and lifting causes back injury; that’s all there is to it,” says Dan McMackin, a spokesman for UPS.

Prevent it: Engage your abs to help support your back. Here are the basic principles that UPS uses for safe lifting, according to McMackin:

• Bend your knees and keep your back straight. Don’t bend at your waist.
• Keep the object close to you. The farther away you hold it from your body, the more it stresses your back.
• Never hold an item higher than your armpit or lower than your knees.
• Don’t move something that weighs more than 20% of your body weight.
• Don’t pivot, twist, or turn while lifting. Point your feet at the item you’re lifting and face it as you pick it up. Change direction with your feet, not
your waist.

Pain is always a sign of our body that something in our lifestyle is wrong. Very often, it is a call for change. Sometimes, it is enough to introduce slight changes in our daily routine or just take more care when exercising or lifting weight. However, if pain persists and tends to become chronic, we probably have to make radical steps and change our lifestyle significantly. For someone, it could mean losing a few pounds, and for others – being active. Sport’s activities like swimming, basketball, volleyball, and hiking can bring huge benefits to many people. However, obese people cannot count on these activities. They should, at first, lose weight and help their skin not to carry unnecessary load. According to experts, for every pound on our stomach, our spine strains as dragging 7 pounds. If we manage to apply suggested preventive measures, our spine and back can preserve their strength and flexibility, freeing ourselves from annoying pain on our backs.