6 Easy Tips to Prevent a Sore Back

A sore back is no fun, especially when you’ve signed up for some fun activities, sports and play time. Trust me, I know the feeling. I’ve suffered with a sore back many times in my life and often had to get professional help to get it fixed.

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Treat a Sore Back

Rest assured that no matter how your chronic lower back pain is, solutions are available. Look up different treatment options to find something that works for you such as:

• physiotherapy
• chiropractor
• massage

Solutions for Back Pain

Back pain is a common problem as it affects almost everyone. Chronic lower back pain increases  as we get older, that’s of no surprise of course but there are ways to minimize it. Preventing a sore back is the best way to avoid the problem all together.

Lift Properly

Start by bending your knees when lifting heavy objects. This way, the pressure is on your legs rather than your back. We have strong quad muscles that can support this type movement, so use them.

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If you lift it using your back muscles, then you could have a massive strain as they may not be able to manage the weight. This is the same concept as when squatting or dead-lifting. your back should be in check to support but not bear the brunt of the lifting.

Start Exercising

Or adjust your exercises if you’re already doing it. One of the best exercises to improve strength in that area is swimming. Swimming uses all the muscles in your body, engaging your core to pull and push your body with power.

If you do not have access to a pool, do some simple stretches on your living room floor. Don’t stop there, if you want to take it a step further to ensure you reduce back pain to a nil, improving your overall fitness is a great way. You can sign up for a gym membership or if you prefer to do it on your own terms in your own space, Freeletics makes it happen.

Check Your Mattress

There is also a method of checking your bed to see the real status of your mattress. If the mattress is floppy you can get a piece of board and place it between the mattress and the springs to get better back support.

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The most vital is if you are feeling severe back pains, then you should take a good rest for a couple of days. Avoid resting for too long to resurface, there’s a reason as to why doctors tell us to start walking a couple of days after surgery —the more you rest, the weaker you become, and this will extend the recovery period for you.

Apply Hot/Cold Packs

Last but not least is try hot and ice packs to relieve the pain. Heat and ice can relieve pain, similar to when you injure yourself. An ice pack on your back for 10 to 20 minutes reduces nerve activity, pain, and swelling.

Heat pads provide short-term pain relief by relaxing tense muscles and reducing inflammation.

Wear Supportive Footwear

When you want to participate actively in sports and other activities during the summer, get the right footwear. When you have the right footwear, they provide mechanical support and the basic protection for your feet. This will help to keep your entire body balanced and aligned.

You need to understand the fact that when there is an imbalance in your feet, then it will eventually have a domino effect on your entire body. When your body goes off balance, it then tries to redistribute your weight, and this may put pressure on your spine or your back muscles. This is why the selection of the right footwear is so important.

Plan Your Activities

This one sounds kind of lame but essential. Just like a burnout from over-burdening your physical and mental abilities, you can also hurt your back if you over use it. Plan your activities, especially in the summer when you may be more active to prevent injuries. Take a gradual approach, and you should not get over enthusiastic about indulging in several activities back to back (no pun intended).

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Giving your body and back a break in between activities, especially if you’re into hard core ones that may be physically demanding, is a good idea.

The Gist of it

Avoiding a sore back is possible by applying the right tactics, such as exercising, ensuring you have a good mattress, choosing supportive footwear and spacing out your activities. Remember to keep a positive attitude so you can ensure that your back gets the care it needs. Just like taking care of any illnesses, mental health (good read here), headaches, your back deserves time to be looked after, even when it’s not hurting. We often take it for granted it and treat it like a mule when we should be gentler towards it.

What tips do you have for taking care of a sore back?

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