It is estimated that eight out of 10 adults will experience low back pain at some point in their lives. Common preventable causes include being overweight, improper lifting, excessive sitting or standing and overly tight or overly weak muscles.
Tips To Reduce The Risk Of Low Back Pain:
- Avoid sudden, drastic changes in activity levels- such as sitting at a desk for hours on end then going straight into a high-intensity workout. Just as problematic is putting off exercising entirely.
- Your body is meant to move and adapt gradually, so give it regular doses of your chosen activity, like walking daily or climbing stairs.
- Engaging regular strength training exercises two to three times a week provides support for the back and improves posture
- When attempting to lift, get as close to the object as you possibly can. Focus on maintaining the natural curvature of the spinal column as you squat, lowering hips rather than moving the torso to far forward.
- With back issues, it’s best to avoid high-impact aerobic activities. The combination of impact, repetitive motion and long distance/duration can make a pre-existing problem worse, or create new issues.
- Low-impact activities include walking, rowing, biking, hiking and elliptical machines. Swimming is a great no-impact workout.
- Back pain can be related to problems with the spinal bones and discs, nerves, ligaments and tendons. If you already have pain, it is best to check with a physician to obtain a diagnosis and guidelines on which exercises and stretches are appropriate for your situation, as this can vary widely.