Manipulate My Back Part I

Lately, I have been experiencing intolerable lower back pain. On some days, I suffer excruciating pain that shoots from my back all the way through my hips and down on my right leg; I have to lie down every 15 minutes to ease the pain. Even simple daily activities like getting out of a chair and bending over to pick up my child becomes difficult and frustrating. Many years back, my mother had corticosteroid injected into her back area for some relief but the pain soon return when the effects of medication wear off. Not wanting to suffer the same fate, I decided on a non-invasive, holistic approach to minimise my chronic back pain...

After an initial consultation with a Chiropractor, I am pretty convinced that my lower back pain is self inflicted through cumulative effects of bad lifestyle habits, mainly improper sitting posture, incorrect lifting techniques and I must agree, lack of abdominal and back strengthening exercises. If you are facing back pain, I want to share this with you..

Poor posture whether sitting, standing or lying down creates extra stress on the spine. Do you remember being told 'Stand up straight' or 'Don't slouch' when you were a child? We slouch throughout the day, at work or at home, in front of the television and computer, curled up in comfy sofas and lazy boys, and even more when we are tired. Bad posture makes us vulnerable to a wide variety of back ailments... What can you do to improve your posture?

When standing, the centre of your head, your shoulders, center of your body, knees and feet should line up vertically. It is advised that we avoid prolonged standing. However, if your job requires you to stand for a long period of time, use these correct techniques to minimise back pain:

When you stand, balance most of your body weight just in front of your heels and do not lock or push back your knees. Try to move around as much as possible and switch your feet every few minutes to evenly distribute your body weight.

Keep your chest out, your shoulder blades back,let go of the tension in your shoulders and your stomach tucked in. Also, take time out to stretch and breathe deeply for a few seconds throughout the day to make yourself more aware of your standing posture.

Your shoes should be flat and comfortable. Sure, high heels are fashionable and make women feel sexy but these killer-heels can throw your body out of alignment and further strain your back. Also, avoid heavy backpacks, haversacks and briefcases that are too heavy.

I probably need to stop now, my back needs a good S-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g....Talk to you soon!