10 Tips to Prevent Back Pain

Renton-Chiropractors-BackBack Pain has to be one of the worst and irritating pains a person can have. Your back aligns your entire body, so if your back is in pain and not lined up correctly it can affect everything. Back pain can come from car accidents, sitting in a bad position for long periods of time, working out with the wrong posture, and many other reasons. So, what can we do to prevent back pain as much as we can? Read on.

The Majority of Back Pain is Preventable

Did you know that most back pain is completely preventable? There are certain situations that are tragic, but most pain comes from bad habits. Here are 10 tips to prevent back pain.

  1. Remain Active – The more your body is used to being active, the less chances there are for accidents from physical activity.
  2. Maintain Proper Posture – This point cannot be stressed enough. If you work in an office or if you work sitting down for most of the day (whether it is in front of a compute or driving) you absolutely need to practice proper posture. So many people get knots and get their back out of alignment because of having a horrible habit of slouching or sitting in unhealthy positions.
  3. Make Sure Your Mattress Has Medium Firmness – If your mattress is too soft your spine can curve more during sleep and that can cause pain.
  4. Strive to Hold A Healthy Diet (and Weight) – The healthier you eat, the healthier you will be, and the stronger your back will be. This really is an important point because our diet has so much to do with our overall health.
  5. Make Sure That Your Workspace Is Ergonomically Correct – This point ties in with maintaining proper posture because if your workspace is set up in the healthiest and cleanest way possible you will be forced to sit (or stand) in the most healthy position for you body.
  6. Don’t “Lounge” For Too Long – If you are constantly laying around without actually sleeping your back can be affected. How? Well, when we are lounging we usually are not sitting or laying down in a healthy manner. If we limit lounging, we limit the chances for our back getting out of line.
  7. Wear Comfortable Shoes – This point is especially important if you are walking a lot for work. Having high-heel shoes or uncomfortable shoes in general can affect our back more than we know.
  8. Stop Smoking – Smoking impairs blood flow and results in nutrient deprivation to spinal tissue.
  9. Stretch Before Working Out – Going into a workout without being prepared for it is never a good idea because it is so easy to over-lift and hurt your back.
  10. Lift With Your Knees and Don’t Twist When Lifting – Don’t lift with your back! We are built to lift with our legs by bending down and standing back up. Remember: Your legs are much stronger than your back.

Hopefully these 10 tips can help you prevent any unnecessary back pain. If you have any more questions about how to prevent any back pain please contact us – we want to help!