How to Prevent Back Pain

Cut Your Risk of Back Pain Right from the Start!

As with any health condition or disease, preventing back pain is better than trying to cure it after it has set in, and may be too late. So even if you’re not experiencing back pain symptoms, I would recommend you follow these simple tips:

1. Always stretch before any strenuous physical activity. In fact, I strongly advise you to engage in a regular stretching program. My favorite is active isolated stretching (AIS), developed by Aaron Mattes. It's completely different from the traditional type of stretching, and is a great way to get flexibility back into your system.
2. Do not slouch when standing or sitting.
3. If you spend most of your time sitting, pay careful attention to consciously sucking in your belly and rotating your pelvis slightly up. At the same time, you should keep your head back, with your ears over your shoulders and your shoulder blades pinched. This posture will keep your spine in proper alignment. Do this every hour you’re sitting, holding the muscles tight for several minutes.
4. Sit in chairs or car seats with good lumbar support.
5. Switch your sitting positions often. I would also recommend periodically walking around or gently stretching your muscles to relieve tension.
6. Avoid bending over without supporting your back.
7. Wear comfortable, low-heeled shoes. Women should also refrain from wearing heels all the time.
8. Sleep on your side to reduce any curve in your spine. You should also sleep on a firm surface.
9. When weight-lifting using your legs, always keep your back straight.
10. Maintain an optimal weight.
11. Quit smoking. Smoking reduces blood flow to your lower spine, causing the spinal discs to degenerate.
12. Get enough vitamin D from sun exposure daily, as vitamin D helps keep your bones, including your spine, strong.
13. Drink plenty of water to enhance the height of your intervertebral disks. Since your body is composed mostly of water, staying hydrated will keep you fluid and reduce stiffness.

How to Relieve Back Pain Naturally

If you are already suffering from chronic back pain or pain of any kind, you should understand that there are many safe and effective alternatives to prescription and over-the-counter painkillers, though they may require some patience. Here are some strategies I highly recommend:

Chiropractic Care

One of the best tactics to help treat back pain is to see a qualified chiropractor. I am an avid supporter of the chiropractic philosophy, which puts great emphasis on your body's innate healing wisdom and does not rely on “Band-Aids” like drugs and surgery.

The problem is that a lot of people ignore chiropractic care, thinking that it’s just “pushing bones into place.” However, there’s a whole lot more to chiropractic care. In fact, one of the basic foundations of this health system is “vitalism” – recognizing that the human body has an innate healing intelligence or ‘life force’ that guides and directs your body's healing process.

Qualified chiropractic, osteopathic, and naturopathic physicians are reliable, as they have received extensive training in the management of musculoskeletal disorders during their course of graduate healthcare training, which lasts between four to six years. These health experts have comprehensive training in musculoskeletal management.

Many studies have confirmed that chiropractic management is much safer and less expensive than allopathic medical treatments, especially when used for low-back pain treatment.

What’s more, researchers have also found that chiropractic adjustments may affect the chemistry of biological processes on a cellular level. Chiropractic care can affect the basic physiological processes that profoundly influence oxidative stress, immune function and DNA repair. This means that aside from addressing any immediate spinal misalignment that might cause back pain, chiropractic care can also help address, prevent and treat deeper dysfunctions in your body.

           Interrupt Your Sitting… Or Better Yet, Sit As Little As Possible

I’ve previously recommended standing up and doing some exercises at your desk to counteract the negative effects of sitting. But after my discussion with Dr. James Levine, author of Get Up!: Why Your Chair Is Killing You and What You Can Do About It, I’m convinced that standing for 10 minutes for every hour of sitting is really the bare minimum, BUT it’s still far from ideal. What I was doing wasn’t enough; In fact, I really believe the answer is to stand up as much as possible.

Now I have implemented a new modification to my lifestyle, and that is to sit as little as possible, at least less than an hour a day.

I recently went on a coast to coast, 6,000 mile tour, and decided to try an experiment: I avoided sitting as much as I could. For example, in one room, I placed the mini fridge on the desk to make a modified standing desk. In the other room, I used a waste paper basket on another desk. By doing this, I was able to reduce my 12 to 14 hours of daily sitting to just under an hour.

I noticed one incredible effect after doing this experiment: the back pain I’ve struggled with for many years simply disappeared! Normally, it would start after I’d walk or stand for more than 30 minutes, but after I reduced my sitting, the pain vanished.

I have also incorporated walking at least 10,000 steps a day, in addition to my regular fitness regime. I encourage you to get a reliable fitness tracker that would help you track how much you walk every day. Some fitness trackers also record how much sleep you’re getting, and can help motivate you to get to bed earlier so you can get eight hours of sleep.