What is Back Pain?
Back pain is a typical problem in adults and is now becoming a severe health problem in adolescents. There are approximately 50-80 percent of individuals in the population that experiences lower back pain in their lifetime. Most of the time, it is relatively minor that resolves in just weeks, regardless of whether you seek treatment or not.
In this article we are going to give you 6 steps to get rid of bad posture and fix back pain once and for all.
What Are the 4 Common Back Pain Culprits?
Among the most common factors of increasing rates of back pain right now is standing upright, inactive lifestyle, go through too much stress, gaining weight, or growing too tall and aging.
1. Standing
Excessive standing may aggravate the present inflammation in your joints, causing lower back pain when standing. The facet joints and disks may begin to wear out over time leading to lower back pain during your regular daily activity.
2. Sedentary Lifestyle
Prolonged inactivity can lead to increased back pain as the back slowly turns stiff and weak. If the pain occurs, experts highly recommend not to rest for more than two to three days as it may cause even worse back pain.
3. Stress
Stress plays a huge role in back pain, and it manifests itself in a lot of ways within the body. Sometimes, pain that keeps you up all night can be a cause of stress too. During the day, it can also be a burdensome as it severely affects daily activities like concentration and energy.
4. Weight
As we age, we may start to feel sudden aches and pains. It is typically common between the ages of 30 to 50. The most common reasons for developing back pain are degenerative changes or loss of moisture on the joints, spinal stenosis, and spondylolisthesis.
What Does Good Posture Look Like?
Excellent and proper posture can improve both the mind and body. But it doesn't mean you should look like a stiff & rigid surfboard to achieve it. A good posture should provide you a relaxed and comfortable appearance.
When our posture is right, the hips, knees, shoulders, ankles, and ears align together in one straight line.
The key to good posture is to keep your head above your shoulders, and the top of your shoulder should be over the hips.
Stretches for Lower Back Pain That Helps Improve Posture
1. Stretching While Sitting
Benefits
If you're suffering from susceptible back pain, doing a little stretching helps, even when you're sitting.
Instructions
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- Begin by attaching a cushion or pillow to your chair. It helps you hit the mid-back, below the shoulder blades.
- Sit back in the chair with your bottom.
- Lean forward from the hips, then tilt your ribcage forward, as if you are doing a mini-crunch.
- Hold the armrests on your chair and, while still tilted forward, press against them to get a gentle stretch in your lower back.
- Lean back from your hips while keeping the stretch, and press your mid-back on to the cushion.
2. Stretching While Lying on Your Back
Benefits
Strengthening and stretching the hamstrings can prevent them from becoming too tight. It also provides extra support for the back and pelvis. It is essential to keep the hamstrings loose as it will lower the chance of straining or tearing the muscle fibers during strenuous physical activities.
Instructions
- Lie on your back with your legs extended and your back straight. Keep your hips level and your lower back down on the floor.
- Bend your right knee towards your chest, keeping your left leg extended on the floor.
- Slowly straighten your right knee, grabbing the back of your leg with both hands.
- Pull your leg towards your gently while keeping both hips on the floor.
- Breathe deeply and hold for 10-30 seconds. Repeat on the opposite side.
3. Stretching While Lying on Your Side
Benefits
Stretching your glutes can help lessen the tension and can relieve the discomfort from back pain. By executing glute stretches, it can help enhance flexibility, improve range of motion, and reduce the risk of injury.
Instructions
- Lie on your back with your legs extended and your back straight. Keep your hips level and your lower back down on the floor.
- Bend your right knee towards your chest, grabbing it with your left hand. Place your right hand out to the side.
- Keep your shoulder blades square on the mat. Use your left hand to guide your right knee across your body and towards the floor on your left side.
- Breathe deeply and hold for 10-30 seconds. Repeat on the opposite side.
4. Tall Standing
Benefits
Tall standing helps strengthen your lower muscles. It also strengthens core and back muscles, corrects posture and bone health with targeted strength training and weight-bearing exercise.
Instructions
- Stand straight up and place your hands on your lower back right above your buttocks.
- Gently drive your hips forward and arch backwards.
- Keep your thighs and buttocks tight and engaged.
- Hold this position for 1 second and then slowly return to the original position.
5. Hip Hinging
Benefits
Hip hinging is an exercise designed to mainly target the posterior chain, otherwise known as your "backside." The muscles that make up the posterior chain include the glutes, hamstrings, and low back. This exercise can help strengthen your core, which may lead to reduced back pain, enhanced balance, and more comprehensive flexion, extension, and rotation of your trunk.
Instructions
- Stand with your feet slightly more than shoulder-width apart; toes pointed lightly outward.
- Place the dowel vertically on your back. Grasp one end with your right hand in the natural curve of your neck and the other end with your left hand in the small of your back.
- Shift your weight to your heels and push your hips back towards the wall behind you while you hinge forward at the hips. As you hinge, the dowel should not lose contact with those three points. If it does, you know you're making a move inaccurately.
- Lower your torso until it's midway between vertical and parallel to the floor. Rest. Keep a slight bend in your knees during the downward and upward phase.
- Reverse the movement by contracting your glutes and pushing your hips forward and upward to return to the starting position.
6. Stack Sitting & Pillow Squeezing
Americans spend nearly eight hours a day sitting (and another four hours watching TV and playing computer games), according to a Harris poll conducted by America On the Move Foundation.
Benefits
Sitting on a wedge is helpful for the muscles and ligaments in the groin area since the hamstring muscles tend to be short and tight. On the other hand, the muscles in the buttocks also tend to be weak and undeveloped.
Instructions
- Sit in a chair with a knee pillow between your knees and your pelvis rolled forward to place an arch in your lower back. You can place a lumbar support vertically or sit on a wedge or edge of the chair, with both your thighs slanted. (Say to it that your spine looks like the letter J from the side.)
- Check to make sure your lower legs are not too far forwards of your knees, or you're likely to collapse back.
- Squeeze and release the knee pillow between your knees. Make sure to keep the arch in your low back and your feet pointed straight ahead.
You can use a folded blanket or towel as your wedge. For optimal results, we recommend our Lumbar Support & Knee Pillow to act as your backrest or wedge for this step. It provides excellent support when sitting and, at the same time, leaving you to feel like you're just sitting in your natural position.
Make sure your lumbar support is positioned not too low as it will hit your buttocks and creates a slouched posture.
Takeaway
Being consciously aware of your posture helps you correct it yourself. By gradually following these stretches for lower back pain and incorporate it into your daily routine, it will progressively replace your old posture. And with proper execution and maintaining regular exercise, these steps will help you move forward to a better and healthier body condition.
