According to a recent study from the Australian Bureau of Statistics National Health Survey, at least 16% of all Australians—or nearly 4 million individuals—suffer some form of back pain. More surprisingly, it’s estimated that around 70% to 90% of all people experience lower back pain for some period at least once in their lives.
Simply put, back pain is a major issue not only in Australia, but around the world. One of the major reasons so many of us suffer back pain is the wide variety of different activities that can cause injury to the spine. Everything from lifting weights to bending down to pick up coins can potentially cause damage to our backs.
Thankfully, there are some easy ways you can ease back pain on your own, without the need for medication or surgery.
Here are some ways you can relieve your back pain today:
1. Keep Up Your Posture
As we grow older, it can get more and more difficult to maintain consistently good posture. But bad posture isn’t entirely your own fault; sitting at a desk all day and doing work on your computer can naturally lead to you slouching and showcasing harmful posture. This puts added pressure to your back (up to 50% more) for every second that you spend bending forward the wrong way.
By simply being aware of your bad posture and reminding yourself to sit up, you can relieve the strain pressed against your nerves and start to ease your back pain.
2. Don’t Rely on a Brace
While it might feel like a brace can help your back, it actually does more harm than good over the long-term. By relying on a brace to help the muscles in your back, your back muscles will begin to atrophy. They will slowly weaken, making it more difficult for you to keep your back straight without the brace.
At most, you can wear a brace for 15 minutes at a time. Any longer than that might be too long.
3. Sleep Properly
There are two ways that we ruin our back with our sleeping: by not sleeping enough, and by sleeping in a harmful position. If you feel back pain, it’s crucial that you make sure that you are getting the right amount of sleep. You also need to check your mattress—does it have the right amount of support to keep you mostly flat during the night, or does your body sink into the bed overnight?
Here are some other helpful tips when it comes to proper sleeping:
- Stomach Sleeping: Not recommended, because it causes you to keep your head and neck twisted all night, adding extra stress on your spine.
- Side Sleeping: This is recommended, but it will help your spine if you slide a pillow between your knees.
- Black Sleeping: Slide a pillow underneath your knees for that extra support on your spine.
4. Try To Relax
There are times when the road to ease back pain begins with easing your own mind. If you find yourself stressed out, depressed, or filled with anxiety, it can help to partake in activities that are aimed towards clearing the mind. These include practices like yoga, deep breathing, and meditation—anything that revolves around finding your inner peace.
5. Exercise and Stretch
You might have been incredibly flexible like a kid, but if you’re like most adults, adulthood robbed you of most of that flexibility, leaving you with aches and pains instead. Improve your flexibility by performing various stretching practices, helping you return to your natural positions.
And of course, exercise. In many cases, back pain is caused by having weak core strength. By building up your core strength, you give your body another way to carry your back and reduce pressure on your spine.
6. Stop Smoking
Do you smoke? If you do, it might be a huge factor in your back pain. Smoking is widely known for adding to back pain, as nicotine slows down the amount of blood that travels to the soft tissue of your back. Quitting smoking might be all you need to avoid back pain for the rest of your life.
Still In Pain? Your Solution: First Choice Chiropractic
Good posture, proper sleeping, yoga—while these practices are proven to help ease back pain, sometimes they’re just not enough. With First Choice Chiropractic, we give you that expert-level professional care that your back needs today.
If you want to start your path towards a painless existence, give us a call at First Choice Chiropractic today. Call us as soon as possible to make the most of our New Patient Chiropractic Offer—your taste of the full-scale treatment for a fraction of the price.
