Maintaining a Healthy Back

Back pain seems to be a fact of life, but by taking care of your back can either prevent or significantly reduce the severity of an episode. Maintenance that you can practice falls into four major categories.

Eat well, drink plenty of water and rest – These are three common sense steps that we have all heard before regarding many different issues. If you eat well, the vitamins and minerals from the food will give your bones and muscles the nutrients needed to properly function and stay strong. Eating well will also help to keep you close to your body’s ideal weight, which means less pressure and stress on the back. Drinking several large glasses of water a day keeps everything hydrated. Invertebral disks will stay padded, joints well lubricated, and muscles supple. Resting (in a spine-friendly position) can give ligaments, muscles and joints time to recover from stress and overuse. Resting between heavy lifting, bending and twisting, and getting a good night’s sleep regularly is crucial to a healthy back.

Exercises and fitness – Keeping muscles strong enough to support the body’s weight is the main goal in back maintenance. Exercising and staying at an ideal weight helps ease the strain on the back, which takes a lot of abuse in a person’s lifetime. Some basics specifically concerning the back are:

  • Warm up. Don’t shock your system by going from sitting to sprinting.
  • Work the back and stomach muscles equally. The whole core is supporting the spine.
  • Stretch. Exercise is great, but an easy stretch of the back and legs can really make a difference. Many people try yoga and Pilates.
  • Keep your legs strong. Legs have large muscles that are meant to take a lot of weight. Keeping them toned can help ease the burden on the back.

Know how your body works and using it correctly – What is good posture? How does my spine work? Is my workplace set up in a way to aid the function of my back? These are questions that you should ask. Proper posture keeps the spine and neck aligned so that no undo strain is occurring anywhere along the spinal column. When standing or sitting correctly, the muscles and ligaments are supporting the vertebrae, which are stacked so that the spinal cord and nerves aren’t pinched. Think about good posture often. An ergonomically correct workstation or desk is imperative with the amount of time now spent spend at computers. Set up your desk so that your spine is receiving the least amount of pressure and stress possible and take frequent breaks to walk around or stretch. Reduce or alter the heavy lifting you do. If you do have to lift something, bend at the knees, keep your back straight and don’t strain.

Treat your body well – The better you are to your body, the better it is going to treat you. Shock-absorbing shoes reduce the amount of vertical impact the spine receives; wear them whenever possible. Make sure your mattress supports you properly and if it has a sway in it, just think about what it is doing to your back while you sleep. Pamper your back: there are professionals out there whose job it is to keep your back healthy. Chiropractors, massage therapists, physical therapists and acupuncturists all practice techniques to help the back. Sitting in a jaccuzi or hot tub is very relaxing and can help temporarily ease the pressure on the back.

A healthy spine allows us to be active and do the things we want to do on a daily basis. Taking care of it pays off in the long run.

Preventing Back Injuries

Preventing back injuries is a big concern to many people. Back pain either slows down or temporarily incapacitates almost two-thirds of all Americans at some point in their lifetime. A healthy spine allows you to be active on your terms. Taking care of your spine pays off in the long run. Injury prevention is possible (and will also save money and time in doctor’s visits) by regularly practicing a few easy-to-learn steps.

Essential Prevention Measure #1: Exercise and fitness – Stay fit by exercising and stretching. Long lean muscles support the body’s weight much more efficiently. Muscles and ligaments are less likely to strain or sprain, joints will stay well-lubricated and soft tissues in between vertebrae cushion properly and will stay in alignment.

Some basic ideas for back exercise include:

  • Warm up. Get the muscles ready for running or heavy lifting.
  • Stretch before and after exercise. Exercise is great, but an easy stretch of the back and legs can really make a difference.
  • Strengthen the stomach and back muscles equally. Give the spine support from all sides.
  • Keep your legs strong; keeping legs toned can help ease the burden on the back.

Essential Prevention Measure #2: Proper posture and knowing how your body works – When standing or sitting correctly, the muscles and ligaments are supporting the vertebrae, which are stacked so that the spinal cord and nerves aren’t pinched. An ergonomically correct workstation or desk is imperative with the amount of time now spent spend at computers. Set up your desk so that your spine rarely twisting, bending or straining. When lifting or pushing something heavy into place, slow down, plan ahead and make sure your footing is secure.

Essential Prevention Measure #3: Body positions – Be sure to change positions often. If you must stand for a long time, crouch down occasionally to give your lower back muscles a rest. If you are sitting for long periods of time make sure that your chair has proper lumbar support and take frequent breaks.

Essential Prevention Measure #4: Repetition and weight – Reduce the number of heavy objects that you have to lift, push or pull, and alter the way that you maneuver them. If you have to lift something heavy and don’t have anyone to help you, lift properly; bend at the knees, keep your back straight and don’t strain. Push a heavy object; don’t pull it if you don’t have to since you have more leverage if you are pushing. If you know you have a full day of lifting, be sure to take breaks every so often to give your back muscles time to recover. Ask for help.

Essential Prevention Measure #5 – Eat, drink (water) and rest – These are three common sense steps that we have all heard before regarding many different issues. If you eat well, the vitamins and minerals from the food will give your bones and muscles the nutrients needed to properly function and stay strong. Eating well will also help to keep you close to your body’s ideal weight, which means less pressure and stress on the back. Drinking several large glasses of water a day keeps everything hydrated. Invertebral disks will stay padded, joints well lubricated, and muscles supple. Resting (in a spine-friendly position) can give ligaments, muscles and joints time to recover from stress and overuse. Getting a regular good night’s sleep is crucial to a healthy back.

All in all, treating your body well will pay you back in the long run.

Proper Lifting Techniques

Many a day lying in bed groaning in pain and taking muscle-relaxants could be spared if people followed some basic techniques in lifting objects. Lifting objects that are awkward, heavy, or too far away can cause immediate extreme pain from which recovery takes weeks (and in some cases might trigger a longer term problem). Avoid back pain by following some basic guidelines.

With the object closely in front of you, stand with your feet about shoulder width apart but generally facing forward. As you bend your knees, keep your back straight and in line with your neck, and keep your shoulders and neck loose. Your pelvis should not be tucked in as this means that your lower back is rounded. Tighten your abdominal muscles – this will give your lower back some extra support. Grab the object. Your hands should be in a place that secures your hold as much as possible. Lift slowly and steadily keeping the object close to you. Do not twist while you are holding the weight; instead turn with your legs. When setting the object down reverse the steps. Stop with your legs shoulder width apart and slowly, but steadily bend your knees and bring the object to the ground all the while keeping your back and neck straight. You’ve done it!

Some tips to keep in mind when lifting:

  • Leverage, leverage, leverage. If you can use a cart or dolly to move things, do. Keep the weight close to you so that your larger muscle groups are taking the brunt of the work. (Don’t let your impatience write checks that your back can’t cash!) Don’t lift something (especially if you don’t know its weight) when you have to reach away from you to get it.  Before you lift, clear your path; secure your footing and balance. Don’t jerk – even if you are a power lifter, which you are probably not – lift steadily.
  • Rest your back between loads and give yourself a chance to relax. Maybe do some light stretches or complete another task while your muscles recover.
  • Many of these same guidelines apply when sitting in a chair. Don’t twist from the lower back to grab something behind you. Turn your chair when you can. Twisting from the waist and bending while sitting puts a great deal of strain on the lower back.
  • Ask someone too help you. If you think your pride is hurt when you say something is too heavy, just think about how silly you’ll feel when that same person has to bring you your sippy-cup while you are in traction. You’ve heard it before; it is much better to be safe than sorry.

Proper Posture

Proper posture is the training of the body to put the least amount of strain on the back’s various parts when standing, sitting and lying down. Practicing good posture will help prevent sprains, muscle strains or more difficult conditions to heal, such as a herniated disk. Lifelong good posture also reduces the chance (or even severity) of chronic ailments such as Spinal Stenosis.

Consistently being in proper alignment (or being “Neutrally Aligned”) can help to prevent arthritis, back pain, unnecessary wear on joints, and will promote a healthier outward appearance and the ability to perform physical activity without pain. Many times a day a person should check in with their posture; whether it is while sitting, standing, walking or lying down, good alignment is important.

While standing, imagine that your ears are parallel to your shoulders, hips, knees and ankles and they are all in line with the horizon. Check the neck and head. Is it hanging forward? Pull your shoulders down and back and your chest up and out. The lower spine’s curve shouldn’t be either too far forward or too far back, so make sure the pelvis isn’t tilted in either direction. Abdominal muscles should be engaged, but not tense.

Sleeping and lying down is tricky. You might start out in a spine-friendly position, but when you wake up, who knows what your spine might be doing (and who knows how many hours it was like that!). Stomach sleeping is usually a bad idea for people with back pain since it doesn’t allow for the natural curvature of the spine, which is the main goal. Try sleeping on your back with a pillow under your knees. This alleviates pressure on the lower back. If you sleep on your side, keep your knees slightly bent, but not all the way up in the fetal position. Again, you’re trying to encourage the natural curve of the spine. Pillows should be under your neck and not your shoulders.

Neutral alignment while sitting is more an idea of support. A lot of pressure is being put on your lower back when sitting. Lumbar support at your back is crucial. For a makeshift lumbar support, roll up a towel and place it behind the lumbar curve in your lower back. Engaged abdominal muscles can also add support for not only the lower back but also for the upper back. If the abdominals are engaged, it is more difficult to slouch or curve your shoulders forward. Shoulders should be back which will in turn support the neck and head so that they are easily balancing on top of your pulled back shoulders.

If you are doing a lot of sitting at your place of work, make sure your desk it set up in the most ergonomically correct setting. Neutral alignment in your spine is important, but making sure your extremities are aligned can also save many hours in a doctor or chiropractor’s office.

The more pressure being put on the various parts of the spine, the harder muscles have to work to stay in alignment, so keeping physically fit with evenly strengthened stomach and back muscles will also help to keep the spine healthy.