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Chronic pain affects approximately 100 million people each year. Chronic pain is classified as pain that persists for 30 to 60 days or more.
Lower back pain is the most common kind of chronic pain complaint. When the body’s pain signals keep firing in the nervous system for this length of time, it can have a draining effect on a person’s quality of life – physically, mentally and spiritually.
Here are the 7 Steps To Reduce Your Back Pain:
Step 1: Stop Slouching!
- Cut the bad habits of slouching or leaning to one side, even if these positions make the pain subside.
- An upholstered chair with a seat cushion can help decrease any pressure in your low back or hip. Un-upholstered, straight-backed chairs can also be helpful because they force you to sit with better posture and monitor your weight distribution, as well as letting the ischial bones (the “sitting bones”) protect the large nerves that travel through the buttocks.
- If you work at a computer all day, check your ergonomics and make sure your office chair is adjustable
Step 2: Check Your Bed
- I’ve had countless clients who come in saying that they woke up feeling stiff and achy, probably from “sleeping wrong”.
- Replace your current mattress, if it’s over 10 years old. Getting a medium hard mattress layered with memory foam might be the best choice.
- Stretching before you go to bed sometimes does the trick.
Step 3: If The Shoe Doesn’t Fit, Don’t Wear It
- Ill-fitting shoes lead to poor posture, foot abnormalities and back pain. Like an old mattress, shoes can get worn down and overused. It’s important to change them often.
- High-heeled shoes without a question bring the weight forward, accentuating the low back curve leading to back aches, bunions and blisters. A better alternative would be a platform with a roomy toe box. (No, I’m not a fashionista).
- As for men, shoes must be comfortable and fit well, or your tight hamstrings will be complaining. Check out orthaheel
Step 4: Strong To The Core of Your Being
- It’s no secret. If your back is sore and achy, you have to strengthen your core, the abdominal and pelvic muscles that encircle and support the spine.
Step 5: McKenzie Back Exercises (Sorry, no witty title)
- The McKenzie Method is an comprehensive approach to rehabing the spine through a series of exercises developed by a physical therapist over 50 years ago. The exercises are designed to ‘centralize’ the patient’s pain by moving it away from the extremities (leg or arm) to the back.
- Check out the book, Treat Your Own Back.
Step 6: Some Like it Hot!
- Heat therapy can help relieve pain from the muscle spasm and related tightness in the lower back. It increases circulation and the flow of oxygen and nutrients to the muscles, helping to heal the damaged tissue (same benefits as massage).
- Heat therapy is also easy to do on your own. Two simple ways are relaxing in a warm bath or using a moist heat pad.
Step 7: The Magic Touch
- Massage has been proven to be more effective at relieving chronic low back pain than pain medication and physical therapy. It’s all natural, and everybody’s doing it- your doctor, your lawyer and even your plumber.
- Low back pain study reveals Massage may relieve back pain more effectively than drugs and therapy. Read the Washington Post article here.
