5 Tips To Prevent Back Pain
Wear Comfortable, Low Heel Shoes
Your feet serve as the based of your entire body. When your feet are comfortable and in alignment, your legs and spine are then in better alignment. Wearing uncomfortable and very high heeled shoes can cause that alignment to fall out of alignment. It can also cause injury to your feet, ankles, etc.
Stretch
We hear this all the time… you need to stretch. But sometimes knowing why can help us commit to this good habit. Your body is made up of many systems, including the musculoskeletal system. The muscles and skeleton work in tandem to help you move your body. When you warm up your muscles, you are helping your body to more easily move. You body can rely on these warmed up muscles to aid in the movement of your various joints. When your body is not warmed up, you are more rigid and your body is moving more rigidly, causing pain and injury.
Exercise
Do you remember learning Isaac Newton’s First Law of Motion? "A body at rest will remain at rest, and a body in motion will remain in ..."
Although Newton was using the word “body” to refer to objects, you can apply this same principle to our bodies. When we are active, our bodies are able to move easier. When we are not active, it is harder for our bodies to move easily.
Think of your body like a machine. If the machine is being maintained properly, it continues to work. When the machine is neglected and is not maintained, it begins to rust and at some point may stop working complete.
So your body isn’t going to rust, but the longer you body goes without proper maintenance (exercise, movement, stretching, proper diet) it will stop working properly.
Stop Smoking
Wait, doesn’t smoking just effect the lungs? NO! Smoking restricts the flow of nutrient-containing blood to spinal discs, so smokers are especially vulnerable to back pain. (1)
Lighten Your Load
We carry purses, laptop bags… the list goes one. But sometimes we forget that these heavy loads can hurt our bodies.
When you go on vacation, you do your best to keep you bag under 50 pounds as to not get slammed with a “heavy baggage fee” by the airline.
We need to do the same thing with our daily “luggage” or our bodies will charge us with a fine in the form of back, neck, and shoulder pain.
Go through your bag on a regular basis and remove anything that you don’t need.
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