TOP 5 TIPS TO RELIEVE BACK PAIN

Back pain. Not only is it frustrating, inconvenient and sometimes debilitating, but it is also startlingly common. According to statistics, eight out of ten of you reading this article will experience back pain to some degree during your lifetime. In fact, according to the Health and Safety Executive*, 8.9 million working days are lost due to work-related musculoskeletal disorders every year, accounting for 30% of all work-related health cases.

Here we give our top 5 everyday tips to help relieve your back:

1. Maintain a dynamic posture
Spending prolonged hours in one position or slouching are unfortunate consequences of our modern and sedentary lifestyles. They are also at the root of many back pain issues. Any health professional worth their salt will tell you that maintaining healthy movement in your spine is essential to keep backache at bay.

What does this mean? You should be alternating between varying degrees of a healthy posture. Start by sitting with your back straight and form an ‘S” shape with your spine (you should feel a slight dip in your lower back). Your elbows should be at right angles and your shoulders relaxed. Keep your feet flat on the ground and your thighs flat on the chair. To avoid remaining static, every so often remember to move your shoulders and your arms, or better yet, stand up and stretch.
ADVICE FROM JONATHAN SABAH, OSTEOPATH AND WORKPLACE ERGONOMIST
It can be challenging to keep up this behaviour throughout the day. PERCKO’s T-shirts provide a practical and discreet solution to give you a helping hand. Jonathan Sabah, Osteopath and Workplace Ergonomist is a specialist in musculoskeletal disorders. He explained:

“PERCKO products help to promote spinal mobility. The tensors serve as a reminder to move if the wearer adopts an unhealthy posture. This means the onus is placed on the wearer to adjust their posture which in turn helps strengthen their muscular system”
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2. Get a good night’s sleep
The key to achieving a restful night’s sleep lies in drinking plenty of water and reducing your coffee consumption where possible. Next on the list, as unnatural as it may seem, is to change your sleeping position. There are two spine-friendly positions you should be trying. Either you can try lying on your side in a semi-crouched position (not in a ball, that’s how you end up at the wrong end of the bed) with a cushion between your legs for more comfort. You could also try lying on your back with a cushion under your knees to keep your legs bent, with your head flat on the mattress.
3. Move, move, move!
You’ve heard it a million times before, get moving. You should try to avoid spending longer than two hours sitting down. Physical activity stretches and strengthens muscles, mobilises joints and prevents back pain from setting in. Remember to start at your own pace, any extra movement, no matter how simple, can be hugely beneficial. Whether it’s choosing to take the stairs, clean the house or set a new record for doing a lap of the garden, it all helps.
Products to relieve your back, no matter what you’re up to
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Claire Webster, Osteopath, Chelmsford.
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4. Stability is key
A bag that’s a bit too heavy, awkward to carry, maybe heavier on one side. All these things can have a big effect on your alignment and centre of gravity. As a consequence, your muscles may spasm and cause your back to hurt. If this does happen, make sure to use a backpack or travel light until everything is back to normal.

Wearing high heels causes all the muscles in the posterior chain to contract. This muscle chain (an interconnection of multiple muscles) extends from the feet right up to the base of the skull. If your back already feels tense or uncomfortable, you should avoid wearing heels for a few days.
5. Ever thought of Yoga?
Yoga is not just a great way to relieve stress. It is also a really helpful way to reduce back pain and strengthen your muscles. Yoga will help you mobilise your joints, as well as stretch and strengthen all your stabilising muscles. Try it for yourself, it’s far more challenging than it may appear.