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Back pain is a common problem that affects many people, especially as they get older. It can reduce the quality of life and even lead to disability. To prevent back pain, we need to take care of our spine and the muscles that support it. Here are some simple tips to follow:
1. Keep a good posture when working, avoid slouching or bending too much.
2. Take regular breaks and do some stretching and relaxation exercises to keep our muscles flexible and relaxed.
3. Drink enough water to stay hydrated and support our metabolism.
4. Aim to reach and maintain the ideal body weight to avoid putting extra pressure on our spine.
5. Avoid stressful situations or find some ways to cope with stress, such as meditation, listening to music, hobbies.
6. Strengthen our core muscles, which help stabilize the spine and prevent injuries.
7. Stretch and relax our sore, tense muscles, for example with massage, heating, bathing.
Working in a spine-friendly posture
One of the main reasons why people suffer from spine problems is that they sit too much and move too little. Our bones and joints are designed to support an active lifestyle, not a sedentary one. When we stand upright, our spine has a natural “S” shape, which helps us balance and walk on two legs. However, when we sit for long periods, our spine tends to lose its curves and shift out of alignment. The lordosis and kyphosis, which are the inward and outward curves of the spine, become flattened or misplaced. This can lead to pain, stiffness and other health issues.
Carrying out a few minutes of gymnastics to break the monotony of work
To prevent stiffness and fatigue from sitting too long, it is important to take a few minutes every hour to do some simple gymnastics and stretching exercises. Here are some examples of movements you can do at your desk or in your chair:
• Tilt your head sideways, bringing your ear closer to your left and right shoulder, and hold for a few seconds.
• Rotate your head, bringing your chin closer to your left and right shoulders, and hold for a few seconds.
• Gently pull your head back, aligning your ears with your shoulders, and feel the stretch in the back of your neck.
• Reach up with both arms, as if trying to touch the ceiling, and elongate your spine.
• Place your hands on your shoulders, and pull your elbows back as far as you can, opening your chest.
• Circle your shoulders forward and backward, relaxing your upper back and arms.
• Bend sideways at the waist, reaching with one arm over your head, and switch sides.
• Twist your torso to the left and right, looking over your shoulder, and hold for a few seconds.
• Arch and round your back, moving your pelvis forward and backward, and feel the stretch in your lower back and abdomen.
Drinking adequate amounts of fluids
Drinking enough water or unsweetened tea is important for our health, especially for our spine. The spine is made of bones and cartilage, which are tissues that contain a lot of water. The cartilage helps the bones move smoothly and painlessly. But if we don’t drink enough, the cartilage loses water and becomes smaller and weaker. Then the bones rub against each other and cause discomfort. To prevent this, we should drink about 0.3 liters of water or tea for every 10 kilograms of our body weight. For example, if you weigh 80 kilograms, you should drink 2.4 liters a day. This amount may increase if you exercise, work hard, or sweat a lot. Avoid drinks that have sugar, color, flavor, or alcohol, as they don’t hydrate your body well. Drink pure water, mineral water, or herbal tea instead.
Establishing and maintaining an ideal body weight while protecting the joints and spine
Being overweight is not good for your body, especially your joints. They have to work harder when you have extra weight on them. And if you don’t have enough muscle to support your posture, you can put more stress on your spine.
A study from Munich in 2012 found a link between being overweight and having disc problems. Discs are the cushions between your vertebrae that help your spine move and bend. When they get worn out, they can bulge or rupture and cause pain. This is called disc herniation, and it’s one of the health issues that can happen when you’re overweight, along with diabetes and heart problems. You’re more likely to have disc wear if your BMI is over 25.
Reducing and eliminating stress
Disc herniation is a condition that may have psychological factors as well as physical ones. Some people believe that there are spiritual causes for this disease. Disc herniation is related to stress levels. It happens when we are exposed to too much stress at work for a long time.
Stress is not always bad, it can motivate us and help us cope with challenges. But when stress becomes chronic, it affects our mental and physical well-being. Chronic stress leads to mental strain, which in turn causes muscle tightness. The muscles are connected to the bones, so when they are tight, they put pressure on the bones and the joints. This can damage the discs and cause them to degenerate or bulge. To prevent this, we need to find ways to reduce stress and relax our muscles, such as doing stretching exercises. The longer we ignore the problem, the worse it will get. So let’s not accept stress and problems as normal, let’s take action to protect our health!
Strengthening trunk muscles to protect the discs
To improve your posture, you need to work on the muscles in your trunk. These muscles support your spine and help you stand or sit upright. When you do activities that involve bending forward, such as cooking, reading, or gardening, you shorten your chest muscles and stretch your back muscles. This makes your back muscles weaker and less able to hold your spine in the right position. Your chest muscles also pull your shoulders forward and make your posture worse. When your spine is not aligned properly, it puts more stress on your joints and can lead to problems over time.
Stretching and relaxing tired, crampy muscles
As I mentioned before, stress is a major factor that affects the muscles, so it is important to fight it and strengthen the muscles. But until we achieve this, we can still benefit from stretching and relaxing the muscles with different methods.
Stretching is a kind of exercise that complements any workout. It should be done properly and under the guidance of an expert to avoid mistakes.
There are many ways to relax the muscles. One of the simplest is to take a hot bath, steam or sauna. These not only help the body but also the mind, as they reduce stress and ease muscle tightness.
Another option is to visit a professional masseur or manual therapist, who can use their skills and knowledge to massage away the tension you feel.
And since I am also writing this article after sitting for hours in front of a computer, I will end it here and do something good for my discs. your spine. Here is some good exercise for your spine. Be old and happy.
