Exercises to relieve back pain and maintain good posture

Exercises to relieve back pain and maintain good posture

Care

So many hours sitting in uncomfortable chairs and postures that do not benefit our body excessively harm the lower back and neck. Physiotherapy experts know the ideal position and exercises that alleviate future ailments

Over 50 days of confinement have to manifest in our body in some way, and it is the area from the neck to the end of the back the most affected. As a result of the habit of working from home, one of the most pronounced ailments is back pain, which is exacerbated due to the current lifestyle, in which there is a tendency to abuse body postures harmful to bone and muscle health.

Moreover, 60,8% of Spaniards confessed to suffering back pain before confinement, so that, today, it is expected that the number of people suffering from this ailment will multiply by the lack of exercise, the new workplace and the impossible postures we maintain at home.

Dr. Pablo Olabe, director of Thalasia’s Aquatic Physiotherapy area, says that our spine must be understood as if it were a building with different floors. “Each floor is one of the vertebrae of our body, and if the building is well done, a strong and upright column will be formed. You have to try to keep the spine in the best arrangement and as upright as possible while we are sitting, but in a position in which we do not notice any type of tension. In addition, the knees must be semi-bent and most of the forearms resting on the desk, ”he explains.

Experts warn of the importance of take care of the way we sit, because doing it incorrectly can lead to back problems that in the long run will pose a problem for our health. “Its convenient that every 50 minutes we get up and let’s change the posture so that the activation of the muscles has a greater performance “, says Dr. Pablo Olabe, who among his recommendations are the following guidelines:

Expert tips to avoid back pain

Chair and table height. Pablo Olabe says that once seated, let’s check that the forearms are on the table forming a 90º angle at the elbow, and that the height of the seat allows the feet to rest on the floor.

Screen and keyboard position. The computer screen should be between 60 and 80 cm away. of the eyes (never below 40 cm.). The height of the center of the screen should be slightly below eye level.

Back and neck. “The trunk must be in a vertical position, without twisting, with the screen directly in front of it, and the line of sight parallel to the horizontal plane so as not to lower the chin”, explains the specialist.

Arms. Apparently they should be vertical and the forearms horizontal on the table, forming a right angle at the elbow. The forearms and hands should be aligned on the same axis without bending the wrist. In addition, it is convenient that they are relaxed, without forcing the posture.

Legs. The physiotherapist comments that the thighs on the seat and the legs vertical or slightly extended forward is what should be done. The feet should be resting on the ground. In addition, you should avoid crossing your legs so that strange vascularizations do not occur.

Lighting. One of the most important points. If working with natural light, it is advisable to place the workstation parallel to the window so that the light enters from the side. It is always better that the light comes from the side or from above to avoid glare or glare on the screen. It is convenient to regulate its intensity with the use of blinds and / or curtains.

Free desk. A clear area of ​​unnecessary equipment or accessories encourages concentration. If documents or paper notebooks are used, they will be placed on the sides of the keyboard avoiding sharp turns of the neck or continuous forced postures.

Stand up. It is convenient to get up every half hour to stretch the legs and move the body for approximately 5 minutes, with a short walk around the house and drink some liquid that hydrates us. If more sustained work time is required, do not exceed 45-55 minutes at a time, increasing the rest time to 10-15 minutes. A good method would be to set an alarm.

Move. It is recommended to do mobility exercises before, during and after the day, in order to mobilize the segments of the spine (cervical, dorsal and lumbar) as well as the extremities. They should be exercises aimed at relaxing the neck and the upper motor train (shoulder-arm-wrist-hand), and also the lumbar region and the lower motor train (hip-buttock-leg-foot).

Eye exercises. Eye relaxation exercises are also highly recommended. It is advisable to fix your eyes on a distant point, for about 10 seconds to vary the focus of the eye and relax your muscles. It also helps to cover your eyes with your hands completely for a few seconds to keep out light.

Beware of slouching

We sit upright, and as the minutes go by, our posture takes a much more hunched shape, with the back hunched, the shoulders forward … Dr. Pablo Olabe knows a technique to improve on this: «In the first minutes of work , must be aware of our posture, striving to stand tall. We use this resource to give our body good information and to be more aware of what the initial position was and where we are now. When we notice that we are slouching, we get back as upright as possible but without feeling any pain, “he says.

Exercises to relieve your ailments

For Pablo Olabe, director of the Aquatic Physiotherapy area of ​​Thalasia, in Murcia, there is an exercise that should not be missing in any stretching routine, and that also serves to relieve tension in the neck, legs or back area during teleworking: position of L on the wall and floor or bed.

In a generic way, you should plan stretching between 10 or 15 minutes of the lumbar spine, legs, cervical… A very good position that is advisable is to lie down imagining that we are going to make an L with the body between the wall and the bed or floor. “We will seek that the distance from the butt to the wall is the minimum in order to stretch more, with the legs unbent and the part of the heel next to the wall,” he says. Since the circulation goes to the feet, with the position in L we reverse that circulation taking her to the heart. “You have to notice a slight tension from the heel to the lumbar spine,” he says.

In the vein of his advice is Harriet Griffey, author of «Feel good to feel better». Our body is built for movement, which is why it suffers greatly with a sedentary lifestyle. The long and endless hours we spend sitting, especially now that telecommuting has taken hold in our lives, weaken muscles and affect our posture, causing headaches, digestive disorders and even fatigue. In his book, from the publishing house Libros Cúpula, he shows what would be some easy and simple exercises to improve our ailments and feel better.