How to Relieve Lower Back Pain
Eight out of ten adults experience lower
back pain at least once in their lifetime. There’s nothing worse than
getting out of bed in the morning and barely being able to stick your
socks on. Having lower back pain sucks, but what’s even worse is that
nine out of ten adults don’t even know the primary cause of their back
pain.
Back Pain? Blame our Evolution
Once upon a time, our ancestors decided to
stand up and leave our quadruped neighbors behind. Habitual bipedalism, a
fancy word for walking on two legs, came with many advantages. With two
rear limbs instead of four, we were able to use our hands more
efficiently.
Sadly, advantages are always closely followed by some disadvantages. For
example, our spine had four supporting pillars previously, but now it
only has two. Therefore, the back is now one of the weak links of human
anatomy. Our spine needs constant support from its supporting muscles to
minimize the load. Without these muscles, the back can only bear loads
of up to 5 pounds without collapsing. With well-developed torso muscles,
the spine can take loads of up to 2000 pounds – that’s a 400-fold
increase.
Most people with a history of a herniated
disc talk about their pain being triggered by picking up a small,
everyday object such as a pencil. This tells us that damage in your back
adds up over time, it’s a so-called cumulative trauma disorder –
meaning that back pain is a result of your daily habits.
Sitting is the New Smoking
54% of Americans who experience lower back pain spend the majority of
their day sitting down. But isn’t sitting something that should reduce
back stress? No, it’s just the opposite.
The joints between the bones of the spine aren’t directly linked to the
blood supply. These joints instead get nourished through a process known
as diffusion. Diffusion works because molecules, such as oxygen, are
constantly moving and try to get as much space for themselves as they
can. A key element for diffusion is a pressure difference.
During diffusion, molecules move from an area of high concentration to
an area of low concentration. This way nutrition gets transformed into
the joints, whereas toxins are transported out of the joints.
Sitting down puts a lot of pressure on your spinal cord. Therefore, the
diffusion process cannot function as efficiently and nutrients and
toxins cannot be transported properly, resulting in damaged joints.
Sit Properly
If sitting down can play such a big part in
the creation of your lower back pain, how do you sit properly?
Is it better to sit with a straight back or should you lay back in your
chair? Can you cross your legs while you’re sitting or should you have a
symmetrical position with your feet? Well, according to recent science,
all of them are right. This is because the best sitting position is an
ever-changing one. This helps to minimize the pressure on certain points
of your spine and spreads it all over.
Stand up More
Even better than a sitting position is a standing position. This
dramatically reduces the pressure on your spine. However, if you’re
forced to work at a desk the whole day, you have two options.
Take a Break Every Hour for about 2-3 Minutes
Set an alarm on your phone that goes off every hour. When it does, stand
up, stand on your tip toes and raise your arms to the ceiling. Do this
for roughly 20 seconds, inhaling all the time. Afterward, take a walk
through the office for a few minutes. Grab yourself a healthy snack or a
glass of water. The exercise helps to relieve the pressure on your
spine, while the walking makes sure that the joints on your spine are
properly hydrated.
Get a Standing Desk
Autonomous is one of the best companies on the market at the moment for
standing desks. They offer cheap desks, with the ability to change the
height. This allows you to start the day standing and switch to sitting
if you’re tired.
Exercise for Lower Back Pain
Your joints are made to move and therefore they need movement to
function properly. If you’re moving, all moving parts (joints, muscles,
and bones) get strengthened. If you’re in a rested position for too
long, your tissues will start to deteriorate.
Therefore, it’s vital that you get the right amount of activity in.
Don’t overdo it though! There’s a chance that going to the gym may
increase your risk of lower back pain. Having huge muscles doesn’t
prevent you from getting back pain. In your training, you should focus
on building up the muscles that are stabilizing your back. Squatting
with 400 pounds might look impressive, but it doesn’t do the trick.
The more weight that you’re carrying around, the more weight your spinal
cord has to bear on a regular basis. This is one of the reasons why
huge, muscular guys can suffer from back pain too. Therefore, one of the
most important goals of your exercise regimen should be weight loss.
Below are some important tips to consider when starting an exercise
regimen:
Make Sure You Implement Cardiovascular Training in Your Workout Routine
This will not only help you to lose weight,
but it will also make sure that your arteries, which flow to the tissue
next to your spinal discs, are free of plaque and can, therefore,
transport nutrients efficiently.
Note: If you have strong back pain, don’t run on a treadmill. Running is
a high-impact exercise, which means that there’s continuous,
reoccurring high pressure being put on your spine. Your endurance
training should therefore either be fast-paced walking or some training
on the elliptical trainer as both have little to no stressful impact on
your backbone.
Focus on Developing Your Whole Core if You
Want to Minimize Your Pain
There are some people that do hundreds of sits ups each day. While these
are good for your abdomen, they also put a lot of pressure on your
spine due to the bending movement. Six-pack workout routines are
extremely one-sided. This means that over time, your abs will become
overdeveloped in relation to your back muscles. A great way to train
your abdominal muscles and back muscles at the same time is by holding
the plank position.
Stretch Only if You Have Tight Muscles
Contrary to popular belief, stretching is only partially beneficial to
treating lower back pain. Stretching makes a lot of sense if tight
muscles (such as the hamstrings) are forcing you to constantly bend your
back. Stretching to treat pain doesn’t make much sense if you’re
already on a good level of flexibility.
If you have tight muscles that need to be stretched, try to stretch them
at least three times a week. Don’t stretch your muscles right after you
wake up in the morning as your spinal discs soak up fluid during the
night. Every bend puts more pressure on your spine in that soaked-up
state. Only stretch 2-3 hours after you have woken up.
Where to Start
The key to improving your bad habits is
awareness. Try to become aware of your back when you’re sitting down,
laying down, or lifting an object. This awareness of your body is called
proprioception. For example, you need to be aware whether your back is
bent or straight at the very second. It’s a lot harder than it sounds.
The change that this awareness can make to your back pain is
fascinating. The consciousness of your body is one of the most important
things in your recovery or prevention.
Below are a few behavioral tactics that you need to be considering:
If You’re Leaning Forward More Than 30
Degrees with Your Upper Body, Support Your Spine with Your Arms
Ever tried to show a colleague of yours a complex issue and found
yourself leaning awkwardly forward on their desk, pointing with your
fingers to his/her paper? If that happens again, make sure that you’re
not using the non-pointing arm to support yourself.
Keep a Straight Back
Be it while standing, exercising, or stretching, always keep a straight
back. If you’re bending your back you’re putting stress on small areas
of your spinal cord. A straight back redistributes the force to a bigger
area, helping to minimize the pressure.
Put Symmetrical Loads on Your Spine
If you have to carry heavy objects, carry them with both arms. Put the
object in the middle of your body and keep it as close to your mass of
gravity as possible. If this isn’t possible, try to carry the same
amount on the left side as you do on the right. This puts the stress
vertically on as fully extended spine.