3 Ways To Reduce Low Back Pain

Low back pain is one of the most common musculoskeletal problems. Without adequate treatment, these your back pain may escalate and cause long-term limitations on your work and daily activities. There are ways you can minimize mild or moderate low back pain.

Add Support

Supporting your lumbar spine has several benefits. Since you will restrict your motion, you are less likely to make any movements that will cause pain while performing daily activities. Additionally, back support will force you to have good posture which can improve strength in your back and abdominal muscles. Although it is important to use back support devices that are specifically made for lumbar support, if you need an inexpensive alternative, waist trainers may be useful temporarily. Most are a wide belt-like device that is secured with Velcro so you can adjust the size. More appropriate options for back support are devices recommended by your doctor or physical therapist.

Walk More

Depending on the severity of back pain, you might avoid walking altogether. Start with a leisurely walk. Aim to increase your walking until you can walk for 30 minutes without significant pain. Ideally, you should walk five days per week, even if you have to break up your 30 minutes into several sessions throughout the day. The benefits of walking is it is low-impact and can help you shed excess pounds from inactivity. Losing excess weight, especially if you carry more abdominal fat, can take some stress of your lower back and improve pain.

As you become more comfortable with walking, you might want to increase the intensity to avoid adding minutes to your walk. You can increase the intensity by walking faster, finding routes with inclines, or using ankle/wrist weights. Let your back guide you on what is appropriate. If you have significant pain with an exercise, it is not beneficial.

Incorporate Partial-Crunches

Partial-crunches are a sit-up where you are only raising part of your torso off the floor, approximately from your belly button and above. One benefit of these types of crunches is they reduce strain on your lower back, while strengthening your core muscles. Although you will put your hands behind your neck, do not pull on your neck to help elevate yourself off the ground. This will eventually lead to a neck injury. Your goal is to use your abdominal muscles to pull your upper torso off the ground.

Since back pain can cause any number of limitations, you may not be able to perform partial-crunches by lying on the floor. Perform them from the seated position until you have less pain and feel stronger. An advanced option is to use a stability ball. Your core muscles are important for being able to perform the partial-crunch while keeping yourself balanced on the ball.

When the cause of back pain is not a serious injury, there are usually ways to improve the situation on your own. Increasing your back and abdominal strength is one way to achieve long-lasting relief from back pain. For more information, talk with a provider like ULTIMATE HEALTH- A Complete Wellness Center.