Tips To Avoid Back Pain

Most people know to lift with your knees and to sit up straight, but there is a lot more you can do to aid in avoiding back pain.  Even if you already have back issues, it is possible to avoid further injury and pain by doing a few relatively small things.

• Don’t bend over without supporting your back.
• Do: wear comfortable shoes with proper support.
• Do: Try to control your weight.
• Do: Drink milk or take a calcium supplement (strong bones go a long way for avoiding injuries).
• Don’t: Slouch when sitting or standing.
• Switch sitting positions often.  (Change the way you are crossing your legs, adjust in general).

If you are having problems sitting for extended periods of time, getting up and walking every half hour or so may help.  If you don’t have back problems, you can go for longer and more extended times, but even so- occasionally getting up and walking around can still benefit you.

Another way to prevent back pain is stretching before lifting, and anything else that may potentially cause you to stretch and possibly strain your back. 

It may seem extreme to stretch before doing anything that may require you to use your back, but many people report that their own injuries came from the seemingly easiest and simplest of tasks.  Simply bending over may cause a back injury, just picking up a dropped item for example, may cause a problem.  It is really easy to bend the wrong way, and in the end may be more difficult and time consuming to help the injury heal.  That alone is the primary reason you should take preventative measure to avoid injuries.