Chiropractor Tips: Activities That Hurt Your Back

In our daily lives, we don’t consider the activities we undertake that might be hurting our back. If you suffer from back pain, like most Americans do, here are some chiropractor tips to help you alleviate and prevent that pain:

• Sitting too long. The typical white-collar worker sits for 8 or more hours per day. The sitting posture puts 40% more spinal pressure on your back than standing. How to alleviate the pain associated with too much sitting? Stretch every 30 minutes.
• Sitting in a bad position in your car.  Not only do office workers sit at their desk to work, they have to sit in a car to get to work! A bad sitting position in your car can just aggravate the situation. The best angle to sit in your car is a 15 degree angle. Make sure you have the seat moved to where reaching the wheel and pedestals aren’t a stretch, so you don’t put unnecessary presure on your upper and lower back.
•  Not exercising.  40% of people skip exercising when they have back pain, when that’s exactly what you should be doing to keep the back pain away! Doing exercises such as walking, stretching and participating in yoga will help relieve back pain as you build your “core” and build muscle.
• Carrying briefcases or purses that are too heavy. When you carry a heavy briefcase or a heavy purse, you are causing your shoulders to be unbalanced- thus putting pressure on your back. To keep this from happening, make sure your briefcase, backpack or purse is only 15% of your weight.
• Eating unhealthy. Did you know that clogged arteries cause back pain? Eating an unhealthy diet causes weight gain or prevents you from losing weight. The extra weight you carry around on your skeletal frame causes back pain.
• Sleeping on an old mattress.  When you sleep on an old mattress, eventually the springs or support will give way on the mattress. This causes the mattress to sag. Sleeping on a mattress without proper support will put pressure on your spine, causing back pain.
• Wearing high heels or unsupportive shoes (like flip flops).  Wearing high heels actually makes your back muscles work harder. If you have to wear unsupportive shoes, make sure you don’t walk long distances and put in a cushioned insole to keep back pain away.
• Being stressed. When you are angry or stressed, it causes muscle tension- which can lead to lower back pain.
• Watching too much TV. This is very similar to sitting in an office chair for too long at work… sitting puts more stress on the spine. If you want to watch the big game and not get lower back pain, stretch during commercial breaks.

If you have persistent back pain, it might be time to see a chiropractor. We can help you develop a wellness plan that will address any spinal alignment you might need, nutrition plan, lifestyle management plan and physical therapy you can do to help management the back pain.