BackCare Awareness Week – Three easy steps to prevent back pain

17th October 2019

It’s BackCare Awareness Week (7th-11th October), and we believe that it is always a good time to learn to protect yourself from back pain and restore natural everyday movement to your life.

It often seems as though everyone suffers from back trouble these days, from injuries to simply feeling like you carry all of life’s stresses in your shoulders or lower back. When it is estimated that office workers spend 75% of the work-day sitting down, it is especially important to understand how the way you sit and the time you spend sitting still can affect your back.

Sitting in the same position for long periods can reduce the flexibility and mobility of your hips and lower back, leading to tightness, stiffness, and even pain in your body. The discomfort of a tricky back might even keep you from taking part in hobbies and activities that you enjoy.

It is never too late to revitalise your body and move with comfort and confidence.

The good news? It’s easy to add some small changes in your day to help you on the way to moving freely and feeling at ease with your body.

Here’s a few quick and simple tips:

  1. Sit well: You can give yourself a significantly more natural and restful experience when sitting for hours at a time by simply tweaking your sitting position to erase the pressure on your hips and back. The best way is to sit with your hips slightly higher than your knees; an angle of just around 10 degrees should do it!. There are specialist chairs that you can buy that are designed with this posture in mind, but any chair can be modified using cushions for even more comfort.
  2. Stay flexible: If you often find yourself sitting for lengthy periods of time, take a moment to reconnect your mind and body. Remind yourself once an hour to practise this simple extension exercise:
    • Sit upright in the position above with your chin slightly dropped, eyes level with the horizon. Take a deep breath in as you lift your chest up and arch it backwards looking up to the ceiling. Exhale, and slouch forwards into a rounded shoulder posture. Repeat this 10 times.
  3. Reset your body: ‘Baby rocking’ is a great way to re-activate mobility, flexibility and stability in your entire body, and it’s easy!
    • A couple of times a day, find a soft surface and position yourself on your hands and knees. Place your knees directly underneath your hips, and hands directly underneath your shoulders. At your own pace, sit back as far as you feel comfortable then rock forwards to return to the starting position.
    • Take care to only rock forwards to the starting position, as pushing further could upset your lower back.
    • Repeat until your body feels light and free to move easily, which will usually only take between 30 seconds and 1 minute.

It is never too late to revitalise your body and move with comfort and confidence. We can help you take good care of your mobility and wellbeing through a restorative exercise programme that is personal to you and what you want to achieve.

Enjoy moments with family and friends without discomfort or concern, and gift yourself the feeling of freedom and ability.

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