Stop Hurting, Start Living: 6 Tips for Managing Lower Back Pain

Are you dealing with lower back pain that just won’t go away?

Back pain is one of the most common things plaguing American adults. It can come out of nowhere, at first feeling like a mild inconvenience, but when left to get worse, it can start to dominate your life.

If you don’t want your back pain to prevent you from doing the active things that you love doing, you need to know how to manage it. In this post, we’re going to give you 6 tips for managing lower back pain. Follow them and you’ll be able to continue enjoying the finer things in life.

1. Be Mindful of Posture

Among the biggest reasons for most peoples’ back issues is bad posture. If you’ve been guilty of slouching throughout your life, chances are that this is going to create problems for you down the road. 

Be mindful of your posture as you sit in front of the computer or when you’re exercising to make sure that you’re keeping your back straight.

2. Stretch Your Muscles

Stretching is crucial before and after a workout, but also to avoid problems throughout the day. There are many yoga poses that you can try which are meant specifically for those suffering from back pain. 

3. Exercise and Movement

By exercising, you can specifically work out the muscles in your lower back to strengthen them and avoid the worst of back pain. The thing with lower back pain is that it’ll continue to get worse as you get older if you don’t do anything about it. Stretching, improving posture, and working out will all help to relieve problems moving forward.

4. Maintain a Healthy Diet and Weight

Another reason why back pain might crop up has to do with weight. When you’re carrying a little too much weight for a long period of time, of course, it’s going to start having an effect on your back. 

Exercise and a healthy, balanced diet will help you lose weight and keep the strain off of your back muscles.

5. Getting Restorative Sleep

It’s easy for us to tell you to get more sleep. But when you’re suffering from back pain, it’s not necessarily that simple. It might feel like the pain is what’s keeping you up, but your sleep position can fix this.

Sleeping on your stomach will not do anything to help back pain. Try to stay on your back on your side and if you need to, you can use pillows or cushions to keep you in place.

6. Ice and Heat Use

When you’re in the throes of lower back pain, one of the best things you can do to decrease inflammation is to apply ice to the sore area within 24-72 hours. Afterward, applying heat will help to release tension and relax the tightened muscles.

Managing Lower Back Pain So It Doesn’t Manage You

Lower back pain management doesn’t have to run your life, but if you let the back pain get worse, you’ll find yourself avoiding certain activities and situations. Follow these 6 tips and you’ll start to notice your chronic back pain diminishing. It might not be overnight, but a little bit of back pain management per day will start to make a huge difference.

If you found this post helpful, come back again for more health and fitness tips.