4 Tips to Reduce Back Pain Today

Four Things You Can Do Today to Reduce Back Pain

We see tons of people with low back pain for physical therapy at SSOR.  There’s a myriad of reasons people hurt their backs, but perhaps no other body part is injured with more benign activities than the low back.  People come in here with low back pain from picking up their purse to shaving their legs to even just well, bending over!  Much of these things can be avoided however by doing four simple things.
1. Bend with your hips, not your back.  No, you don’t have to stoop down like a pregnant lady to pick things up.  However, you should use your hips to bend and not round out your back.  Bending with your hips makes you use your hips and thighs more to avoid beating up your back.
2. Don’t lift and twist.  Lifting and twisting is a major cause of low back pain.  When you do lift something, pick up your feet and square yourself to the target.  This keeps your back in proper alignment and avoids “positions of no return.”
3.  Make sure you have good work station ergonomics.  It’s amazing how simple this is and how much people hear about it, but it’s more amazing how so few do it.  The picture below shows good workstation ergonomics.

4.  Get up!  Sitting too long is like a “physical therapy virus.”  It’s spread throughout the country.  Everybody is sitting at computers at work and it’s terrible for your back.  Try and get up every 15 minutes or so and move around.  Your back (and your bank account) will thank you for not having to come see the physical therapists at SSOR!
Back pain can be easily avoided by taking some things into careful consideration and being mindful as to how you move throughout the day.  If you do injure your back however, look no further than the physical therapists at SSOR.   Give us a call, it would be a privilege to serve you.