Does lower back pain have you bound up with poor posture? That’s a lot of people around the world! With millions of individuals dealing with pain in their lower backs each day, daily functioning can be compromised and the quality of life affected.
However, hope is alive! You can put an end to your pain in as little as 12 minutes with our guide. We will cover 12 different tactics that can be used for relieving lower back pain, definitively putting you back in the driver’s seat of your comfort. Read on to learn more.
Table of Contents
1. Maintain Proper Posture
So, let’s start with the fundamentals, and something many of you may be familiar with: posture. Bending can result in restrictions and tensions that influence the functioning of certain muscles.
If you slouch, you are unlikely to be lengthening or releasing the correct muscles, which will put more strain on your spine and cause irritation and discomfort in the region. Try to practise good posture and you will ensure less strain on your lower back – and that it is more in alignment.
2. Stay Active
A big tip is to get some exercise, and when you exercise, be sure you’re exercising not just your arms and legs, but also your core and your back.
Walking, swimming or cycling are great activities to help build core muscle strength, and therefore act as a support to your lumbar spine. Exercise also helps reduce stiffness by increasing overall flexibility of all your structures.
3. Try Cold Therapy
Unlike heat therapy, cold therapy acts as a natural anesthetic by reducing swelling and numbing pain in the lower back. A cold pack or ice pack can constrict blood vessels and therefore decrease swelling and numb the area to reduce pain. Cold therapy tends to be particularly effective on acute injuries and flare-ups of chronic conditions.
4. Apply Heat Therapy
The simplest way to relieve lower back pain is to use Heat Therapy. Placing a heating pad against the back or taking a warm bath will relax tight muscles, increase blood flow to the back area, and soothe the area. Warmth is the most effective way to relieve muscle spasms, as well as any chronic pain.
5. Stretch Regularly
Adding a few gentle stretching exercises into your daily life could provide some relief for your lower back. Regular stretching improves flexibility, reduces muscle tension and soothes stiffness, making your movements easier and reducing the chances of strain when you need to lift things or perform ordinary activities without discomfort. Pay special attention to hamstring, hip and lower back stretches.
6. Practice Yoga or Pilates
If your lower back is troubling you, try doing some yoga or a Pilates class. These mind-body exercises will increase your core strength and flexibility, and they can help you to improve your body alignment, thereby releasing tension and presuring off the spine. The relaxation techniques used in yoga and Pilates can assist in reducing stress as well.
7. Use Proper Lifting Techniques
With poor lifting techniques, you can hurt your lower back (your lower back can become strained or sprained) especially when lifting weighty objects at work or when at home.
Ensure you lift objects properly by bending your knees and ensuring that your back staid and core muscles contracted. This will assist your spine to avert damage.
8. Maintain a Healthy Weight
Maintaining a healthy BMI and avoiding being overweight also protects your back from the daily stress of carrying around extra weight. Being overweight puts a lot more pressure on the whole body, including your lower back, which explains why extra weight also triggers our alarm bells by upping the risk for injury.
So if you’re overweight, take a step back, reach for a salad, and see if you can make some changes to reduce your load. Keeping your BMI within a healthy range will also post a petition against chronic back pain.
9. Get Quality Sleep
Good sleep is important for your overall health, including the health of your back. Choosing a quality mattress and pillow provides support to help you maintain good posture and reduces pressure on your lower back when you sleep. Keeping a regular sleep-wake schedule and practising good sleep hygiene can keep back pain away and promote better sleep.
10. Stay Hydrated
You will be surprised to learn that hydration is an important factor in the health of your spine. Spinal discs are vitally important and act as shock absorbers between the spines.
As such, getting enough water will help to keep them well hydrated to ensure that they do not degenerate as you age and that they do not refer this pain onto your nerve circulation, and hence to you.
11. Consider Acupuncture or Massage Therapy
For those of us interested in alternative treatments for lower back pain, acupuncture and massage therapy are well established. The long, thin needles of acupuncture are inserted into parts of the body that are believed to store and move an invisible energy called qi.
Bodywork through massage also stimulates circulation and reduces pain by manipulating the tissue covering bones, and the muscle itself. Both are effective ways to manage lower back pain and feel good.🧑⚕️
12. Use Ergonomic Seat Cushions
Students and professionals alike can benefit from Ergonomic Seat Cushions when they’re sitting at their desks all day. For those riding in their cars every single day, having a Seat Cushion for your office chair can make a world of difference.
A Memory Foam Seat Cushion can provide you with the proper tailbone and lower back support for optimum comfort. Our Seat Cushion lets you sit on High-Dense Memory Foam that naturally contours to your body so that it can provide you with the proper support where you need it.
Our Engineered Designed Seat Cushion can provide your tailbone and lower back with the support needed for pain relief. By properly supporting your spine and evenly distributing your weight, you can sit with a proper posture that helps reduce pain in your lower back or tailbone and really take the pressure off for pain-free sessions. You can take it with you anywhere you may need it thanks to its portable design.
Lower back pain doesn’t have to control your life. Use these 12 clinically proven tips to lower your lower back pain, reduce stiffness, and get a better grip on your life. Try good posture. Use Ergonomic Seat Cushions.
Hurry, don’t stress. See an acupuncturist or a massage therapist. Do yoga. Have a nice cup of tea. And remember, lower back pain ends.
Remember you can check out our ‘Knowledge Centre Page’ for more articles on how to feel great and live pain free. The start of your pain free journey is only a click away!
