Pain in the lower back is a common symptom worldwide. From bad postures to irritated nerves, there are several reasons for it. There are certain things you should know about the lower back pain.
Know not only about the common causes, but also the suggestion to manage lower back pain with proper postures and exercises.
Why lower back pain?
The lower back is a very complex structure, and lots of different movements happen here. It is the place where the upper body connects to the lower body.
The pain in the lower back can be for various reasons like:
- Muscle stress and tension
- Muscle fatigue
- Bad sitting/working postures
- Pinched nerve
- Injury
- Infection or some underlying medical cause.
Of all these and a few more of the reasons, the most common reason is bad posture and muscle strain.
Lack of physical activities and exercises have weakened our muscles to such an extent that any posture is wrongly adopted goes and hurts the skeletal system.
The performance of some repetitive actions tires the muscles.
Pain relievers do provide relief, but it is temporary and fraught with side effects. A better alternative is to improve our posture and do some exercises to improve the flexibility and strength of the lower back.
Ten things to consider sitting with lower back pain.
When you have lower back pain, maintain proper posture; otherwise, the pain will intensify.
- When you sit in the chair, ensure that you sit on the full seat and do not sit at the edge of the seat.
- Rest your back correctly with the backrest of the chair.
- Do not sit far away from the desk.
- Ensure that you do not sit for a long time in one pose. Not more than 30 minutes at one time.
- Take short breaks to get up from the chair and move around.
- Do not slouch.
- Sit down and get up gently without any jerks.
- Do not bend too much from the waist.
- Do not lift any heavyweights.
- Use an ergonomically designed chair to support your back well.
How to relieve lower back pain?
The stiffness in the back and the pain will reduce if you do some simple stretching exercises. Stretching will loosen the muscles and reduce the stiffness, and this will reduce the pain gradually. Not moving or keeping the back stiff will aggravate the pain.
Exercises to do for lower back pain treatment.
Full backstretch
- Lie down flat, supine, on a comfortable mat or thin mattress.
- Pull both your knees up towards the chest.
- At the same time, flex the head forward a little.
- Hold the position to feel the mid and lower backstretch.
- Gently come back to the starting position.
- Repeat the whole cycle 6- 8 times.
Knee to chest single leg stretch
- Lie down on the mattress in a supine position.
- Bend both the knees to keep the heels flat on the ground, near your butt.
- Bend the right knee towards your chest.
- Hold the bent knee with both your hands to pull the leg as close to the chest as possible.
- Hold for a few moments and slowly release the leg and let it go back to the position in step 2.
- Do the same with the left leg.
- This makes it one set.
- Repeat the set, 6 -8 times.
Piriformis muscle stretch
- Lie down on a mat as in exercise 2 above.
- Keep the ankle of the left foot on the knee of the right leg.
- With your hands, pull the right leg towards your chest.
- You will feel the stretch in the glutes of the left leg.
- Hold the stretch for some time.
- Repeat this with the other leg.
- This makes it one set.
- Repeat the set 6 -8 times.
The bird dog
- Get on the ground on your four like a dog.
- Stretch one arm and one leg straight till a pull and stretch is felt in your back.
- Hold the stretch for a few moments and then gradually return to the start position.
- Repeat it with the other hand and leg.
- Do this set for 6 -8 times.
The arch
- Lie down on your back.
- Keep your hands by your sides.
- Slowly lift your hip supported by the back and hold the arch.
- Feel the stretch nicely.
- Slowly lower your back.
- Repeat the arch stretch for 6 -8 times.
The chest lift
- Lie down flat on your stomach.
- Keep your hands at the side, elbows bent, and palms of the floor.
- Keeping your legs firmly on the ground, slowly raise your chest off the ground.
- Feel the bend and stretch in the lower back.
- Hold for a couple of moments and get back to the starting position.
Kneeling lunge stretch
- Kneel down on the floor.
- Raise your right leg, and keep it one step forward, heel firmly on the ground.
- Place both your hands on the thigh of the forward leg and lunge forward.
- Keep the body weight distributed on both the legs.
- Feel the stretch for few moments.
- Repeat with the other leg.
- Repeat the set 6 -8 times.
All the above stretches will increase the range of movement in the lower back and loosen the muscles and remove the stress.
It will relieve the pain and make you feel at ease. Before doing the exercise, try to take a warm shower so that that the stretch does not hurt.
Lower back pain is quite disturbing, but if you maintain good posture and do the exercises, you should be reasonably good in a few days.
The advantage of these exercises is you can get well without medication and associated side effects.