At work and in the tasks of daily life, our backs are often damaged, which promotes the onset of back pain. Adopting the right postures according to our activity and avoiding sudden gestures are the essential bases to protect our back from the tensions that it supports daily. Here are some tips to preserve it and promote muscle relaxation.

What are the triggers for back pain?

Whatever our profession or our lifestyle, many of us abuse our backs without realizing it. Carrying too heavy loads, unsuitable bedding or very intense physical activity or manual work, we subject our back to multiple shocks and “false movements” which can lead to back strain. This is why it is necessary to adapt our posture according to our activity.

What if we changed these bad postural habits …

A habit by definition is a repetition. To fight bad habits, it is therefore essential to repeat the following advice daily:

• Adopt good posture: Good posture is important to protect the back. It also allows you to breathe better, to refine your silhouette and to move more easily. To do this, make sure you align your neck with your spine. It is necessary to move every 30 minutes or so, in order to avoid prolonged static positions which can lead to a misalignment of the spine with additional pressure on the lumbar curvature. 

• Sleep well: Indeed a good bedding will actively participate in preserving the back. A firm mattress is preferable. The fetal position is to be preferred because in this position the natural curvatures of the spine are respected and avoid cervical tensions which arise during the prone position. Sleeping on the sofa should be avoided, as it causes an imbalance in the natural alignment of the back. 

• Adapt your workspace:

— In a sitting posture, be sure to sit well back in the seat to best balance the weight of the body on the thighs. It is preferable not to cross your legs, to avoid any muscle tension. If you are working in front of a screen, place your forearms on the desk to allow the shoulders to relax. This will prevent tension in the cervical area.

— In standing up position, it is imperative to stand up straight. Well-aligned shoulders, straight head and well-distributed body weight are the basis of good posture. Indeed, if you stay leaning forward too long, it increases the pressure on the spine. A little tip if you have to stand for a long time, put one foot on a stool. This will allow you to keep the alignment of the curvatures and reduce the pressure on the spine.

• Think about stretching: it is recommended to stretch at the end of the day, this helps prevent and relieve pain. A few minutes a day is enough. Stretching is done gently and smoothly. Household chores, for example, participate in physical activity and promote stretching. You might as well take advantage of this activity to build muscle, as we remind you, good muscle cladding is essential to protect the back from the tensions that it regularly supports.

All these small gestures, repeated day after day, will improve your comfort. By modifying your bad postural habits you will protect yourself from back pain which today affects around 80% of the population!

The PasseportSante.net team