Dr. Pratiksha Bhati

Back pain is difficult to treat and easy to prevent. Preventing back pain may be the simplest way to deal with it. In this article, you can find tips for helping to prevent back pain.

1. Exercises and physiotherapy
This is the mainstay of non-surgical treatment of low back pain. Exercises help you prevent as well as cure the back pain. Regular dedicated exercises at home or under the supervision of a physiotherapist help strengthen your muscles and reduced the load on the bones of the spine thus help to reduce degeneration of the spine.

2. Minimize and avoid twisting motions

The use of twisting motions should be carefully monitored, and scaled back or eliminated as appropriate. When lifting heavy objects, twisting should be avoided. When doing heavy work, such as housework, try to keep twisting to a minimum. In other activities, pay close attention to how you are moving your spine, as well as any warning signs such as pain or tightness, that may indicate trouble. Scale back on the twisting according to the warning signs your body gives you.

3. Drink plenty of water

Our bodies are comprised of approximately 70% water. Enough water keeps us fluidic, rather than stiff. Drinking plenty of water enhances the height of intervertebral disks, keeping them the healthy shock absorbers they are. Water is necessary for nearly every bodily process so is good to have in generous supply, at least, 8 glasses per day. It is almost impossible to drink too much water.

4. Live an active life and strengthen your abs

Exercise and activity keep the muscles of the spine strong. The most important muscles to strengthen to avoid back pain are the abdominals. Include stretching in your fitness program to avoid stiffness, which causes pain. Another reason to stay flexible is that stiff muscles are a precursor to injury.

5. Maintain a healthy weight

Maintaining a healthy weight is generally an excellent way to prevent all kinds of diseases and discomforts. For the spine, it avoids compression and loading of the intervertebral disks, prevents postural abnormalities, such as anterior pelvic tilt, and interrupts a sedentary lifestyle, with its accompanying stiff and/or weak muscles.

6. Find the best sleeping positions

Finding a sleeping position that works for you can help you avoid placing unnecessary strains on your back or neck. Doctors tend to vary when recommending ideal sleep positions, so being guided by your comfort levels and using your own judgement are a good accompaniment to his or her advice.

7. Warm up

For those who exercise, and that should be everyone, warm ups are a must. Warm up means 5-10 minutes of light aerobic activity just prior to the exercise session. The purpose of a warm-up is to acclimate the muscles to a more intense activity level gradually enough to prevent injury, and therefore, pain. Recommendations by experts vary as to whether the warm-up period should include stretching.

8. Cool down

The cool down period after an exercise period must include stretching. During cool down, your muscles are still warm from exercising and are very receptive to stretching. Stretching will be less painful during cool down, as well. Stretching relieves muscle tightness, which is one cause of back pain. Stretching also helps to balance the action of muscles, enhancing ideal alignment, and relieving joint strain.

9. Purposely interrupt long periods of sitting

If you sit for long periods of time, force yourself to get up from your chair as much as your work environment will permit. Sitting loads the spine and compresses the disks, leading to disk problems. Slaving over a computer for long periods of time can also cause posture problems, such as kyphosis, and neck problems.
 

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