Healthy Back Tips

Back and neck pain are the most common health problems experienced by most people, at some point of their lives. People with back pain or neck pain may have trouble in performing daily routine activities.

There are several things that you can do to relieve stress and lessen your back and neck pain. Some of the preventive measures which can help include:

• Posture: Ensure that you maintain a proper posture while sitting and standing.

If you require sitting for a long time, try to move around every 20 minutes. In addition, anything that supports your back – such as a rolled-up towel can be used to relieve the stress on the back. When standing, keep one foot forward of the other with knees slightly bent, this position relives pressure off your back.

• Bending: If possible, avoid bending straight from the waist.
• Lifting: Ensure that you use correct lifting techniques such as squatting to lift a heavy object. Always lift objects with your leg muscles and not with your lower back and keep the objects close to the body.
• Weight control: If you are overweight or obese, it can strain the back muscles. Hence it is advised that you lose some weight and maintain a healthy diet.
• Quit smoking: Smoking reduces blood flow to the spinal discs and causes back pain. So, quitting smoking can help you keep your back healthy and strong.
• Exercise: Exercise everyday as it improves spine stability and prevents extra stress on your back. Do warm up exercises before the start of any physical activity or sports and take short breaks in between the activity.