Tackle your Low Back Pain!

 Low Back Pain, almost everybody has had it at least once in their life. Sometimes, it gets better on its own like a cold, sometimes it does not go away and becomes your worst nightmare.

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Just some facts about Low Back Pain (LBP):

• LBP is the second most common reason for visits at doctors' offices
• Experts estimate that as much as 80% of the population will experience a back problem at some time in their lives
• Most cases of back pain are mechanical or non-organic—meaning they are not caused by serious conditions, such as inflammatory arthritis, infection, fracture or cancer.

So first of all, how do we prevent having LBP?

1. Don't stay in one position for too long. When you stand or sit for an extended period of time, some of your back/core muscles are constantly in tension and metabolic wastes build up as a result; meanwhile, other muscles that are not being activated will in turn lose strength and flexibility. Guess what, both these two groups of muscles tend to get hurt.
2. Maintain a good posture whether you are standing or sitting. Your spine is constantly under pressure of your body weight, a balance is maintained by collaboration of the muscles, ligaments and joints around the spine. A poor posture can double or even triple the loads applied onto your spine and LBP would be an inevitable result after a certain time.

3. Beware of the wear and tear from your work. If your job involves repetitive lifting, push/pulling heavy objects, twisting of your low back, then your back muscles, ligaments continuously undergo micro-tears and then form scar tissues which in turn make the structure more vulnerable. It is a vicious cycle, and it is the reason people have Chronic LBP. To prevent it: try to warm-up before exertion, use good body mechanics (Ex: bend your knees to lift something heavy from floor), or switch to other duties if you can.

4. Avoid sedentary lifestyle or over-exercising. Weekend warriors are prone to injuries, that's a fact. Why? Because your muscles are not accustomed to the intensity of your sports if you don't maintain a certain level of exercising during the week, especially for the sports involving twisting of the low back such as golf, tennis. Try squeeze in 2-3 times of 30 minutes exercise session throughout your week and you can minimize your chance of injury.

Source of the article: http://belcourtphysio.com/3/post/2016/07/things-to-consider-if-you-have-low-back-pain.html?