Beat Back Pain-Our Top 5 Tips!

on August 3, 2020

Whilst the back can be classed as a complicated structure with many possible issues, we also feel that there is a lot of unnecessary fears around the back. See our five top tips to beat back pain and some of the common misconceptions about back pain.

People often think…

“It probably requires surgery”

“It’s just because of my age”

“It’s going to require large periods of rest”

“I’ll just have to live with it”

This is most often not the case. Here are our five top tips to beat back pain:

HEAT

Heat can be helpful to loosen tight muscle structures surrounding the back. Try applying heat for five to ten minutes to the sore area. A hot water bottle can be a good piece of equipment to apply heat.

STRETCH

A lack of flexibility in a variety of muscles can cause back pain, with the most common being tight hamstrings, glutes and hip flexors. Stretching is vital when dealing with back pain. Click here to see some videos of common stretches. We recommend you complete stretches of the Glutes, Hamstrings, Thighs, Hip Flexors and Lower Back.

MOVEMENT

Keep moving! Whilst we appreciate that it can be difficult, long term rest can often slow the healing process. As soon as possible, light movement will help – we are not designed to be static. Start with non-weight bearing movements (movements whilst sitting or lying), and progress to weight bearing movement.

IMPROVE YOUR CORE

A commonly used, but misunderstood term, the core is a set of muscle structures that help to protect the spine. The recruitment of the core muscles should be done at a low intensity, as over working the core can be detrimental. Avoid exercises such as the plank until the core has been developed to an appropriate level.

Keep your eyes peeled for our detailed blog on core stability-coming soon.

SUPPORT

If you must be static (e.g. working at a desk or sleeping), make sure you have supported appropriately. Take a rolled-up towel for your office chair, place a cushion behind you when sitting on the sofa. This will allow you to be supported in your comfortable posture. But don’t forget… there is no substitute to movement.

Hear Jon discuss the back