by Amanda Ines

Created on: September 19, 2010

Back pain is probably the number one cause of missed days at work and also the number one cause of pain and discomfort suffered in people below the age of 45.

In the majority of cases, back pain is caused by bad posture or inappropriate movements while lifting heavy objects, because although the spine is able to cope with lifting weights it is only able to do so when in the right position ! So below are some rules and postures which should be applied to your back if you want to prevent back pain:

1. If you read in bed you should make sure that your back remains straight and does not curve forward.

2. When ever you have to lift weight bend your knees and not your back so that your legs take the strain rather than your back.

3. Sitting on chairs or sofas that don't give your back the right support will end up causing a problem to your back. Make sure that there is no gap between your back and and the back of your chair. Remember to sit well back in any seat and it is usually a very good idea to use a small foot stool as having your feet raised off the ground will ensure that the base of your spine is pushed right up against the back of the chair.

4. When you make the bed try not leaning across the bed but instead bend at your knees again.

5. While ironing put the height of the ironing board so that you can iron while maintaining a straight back and not have to bend over at any moment.

6. When having to stand for long periods of time try to walk around and when still alternate on which leg you place all your weight. The same applies when having to be seated for a long time such as when working in an office - get up and walk around the office stretching your legs and thus your back as well.

7. If while seated and working in an office your back starts to ache you can also grab onto the top of a door frame with your hands and try to let the whole of your body hang from it. This will help to stretch out all your vertebrae and relieve your back quite a lot.

8. Try to maintain some sort of daily exercise routine in your life because this will help to keep your muscles in good condition, and good strong muscles hold a back and its vertebrae nicely in place!   (the causes of slipped discs are nearly always weak muscles that can no longer hold the discs in the place that they should be)

9. Make sure that the screen of your computer is at eye level (without any need for having to lower or raise your head) as this will avoid putting any pressure on the vertebrae around your neck and shoulders.

10. And finally while your children's backs are young and nice and healthy make sure you keep them that way by not overloading their back packs. Also make sure that their back pack hangs from both shoulders and not just one, that it hangs close to the body and that it lies low down in the area of the hips.

11. If you think you are going to place some strain on your back such as an afternoon's session of weeding your lawn, put on a back support. This is usually just a wide leather belt with about three or four buckles in the front which when secured firmly will help to support all your back muscles and spare them from any sprains.

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