Tips for Addressing Back Pain

Do you experience nagging back pain? Do you squirm in your office chair to find a comfortable position, but to no avail?

Back pain is a problem for many people, especially those who have desk-based jobs. It can also be caused by lifestyle factors such as weight gain, poor diet or heavy lifting.  

The good news is that there are a lot of things you can do to alleviate back pain, and some of these can be done at home.

If you suffer from back pain or are starting to feel back pain, then keep reading! Below are some things you can do to alleviate the pain and take your life back.

Maintain Good Posture When Seated 

Do you have hunched shoulders, a slouched stance, or do you sit in an unbalanced potion?

If so, your posture may be contributing to your back problems. Correcting your posture while seated may help relieve stress on your joints, restore your balance and help relieve your back pain.

If you have an office job and spend hours staring at a monitor, there are a few things you can do to improve your posture including:

• * Sit at a 90-degree angle 
• * Position your monitor at eye level 
• * Sit with your back against the backrest
• * Ensure your feet touch the ground 
• * Use ergonomically designed keyboards and mouses
• * Consider using a standing desk
• * Avoid staring down or tilting your neck down to read documents 

Consider Chiropractic Care

Instead of ignoring your back pain or masking your discomfort with medication, another alternative for addressing back pain is chiropractic care.

Chiropractic care is a natural, drug-less form of health care that focuses on the diagnosis and remedy of musculoskeletal problems, especially back pain. Chiropractors, such as Chiropractor Concord, focus on determining the root cause of a patient's pain instead of just treating the symptoms. 

Chiropractors use a combination of hands-on techniques and lifestyle advice to help people achieve and maintain good health, relieve back pain, restore balance and correct poor posture.

Stretching  

While you may not want to move when you are in pain, stretching out your muscles can be a good way to relieve tension and release pressure.

If you sit for long periods, it is recommended to get up and stretch every hour throughout your workday. Changing your seated position and getting up and stretching every hour may help relieve back pain and reduce stress on certain joints. 

Use Heat or Ice 

Heat and ice therapy is another way of addressing common back pain problems.

If you have experienced sudden lower back injury from a sudden sprain, sports injury or fall, applying ice may be useful within the first few hours and days.  

This may help reduce swelling, muscle inflammation and minimise the pain. After a few days, you could then switch to heat therapy.

Heat therapy may help increase mobility, promote blood circulation and aid tissue healing. 

Assess Your Sleep Position 

If you have ever woken up with back pain or your back pain is worse in the morning, your sleep position, mattress or pillows may be to blame.

Poor sleep positions and old lumpy pillows can negatively affect sleep quality, which may contribute to your back pain. 

If you sleep on your back, it is recommended that you avoid using multiple allowances or a high pillow that forces your neck and neck to tilt upwards. Instead, it is advised that you only use one pillow that supports the natural curve of your neck.

It is not advised to sleep on your stomach as this causes you to strain your neck to one side, which may add unnecessary stress on your joints and contribute to neck pain. 

Additionally, if your mattress is more than ten years old, you may need to consider investing in a new one

Other Tips for Addressing Back Pain 

If you have back pain, it can be very uncomfortable and disruptive to daily life.

Along with the above tips, other options to address back pain include: 

• * Massages therapy
• * Acupuncture 
• * Maintain good posture 
• * Maintain a good diet and weight 
• * Exercise regularly 
• * Wear supportive footwear or consider orthotics
• * Don't sit in the same position for too long

More than four million Australians suffer from back pain at some point in their lives, but it's not something that should be ignored. Back pain can be an indication of a serious problem, from disk issues to muscle strains, and ignoring the issue could lead to worse problems in the future.

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