How to Protect Your Back

If you injure your back you are not going to exercise. This is antithetical to losing weight and keeping fit.

Here are some tips on how to protect your back from injury –

If you stand for long periods of time it is best to stand with knees flexed and if possible try to periodically rest one foot and then another on a small footrest.

You can also prevent back pain by being careful about the way you get out of a chair. Whenever possible be sure to avoid lurching, straining or struggling to get up. It also helps to sit in a chair without arms. This process greatly reduces muscle effort and stress on your arms and legs.

If you remain seated for a long period of time at your job you can also reduce back stress by sitting erectly and place a small cushion behind your lower back… You can also do a standing back stretch with both hands on your hips and bending from the hips a bit backwards. If you stretch frequently that can help prevent tension, stiff neck, muscle spasm, shoulder and arm pain and well as headaches and back pain.

Walking is also good for most people’s backs. Walk with a good posture with your head held high and your chin tucked. Make sure you let your arms swing freely as this is good exercise for the back muscles as well. When you are walking keep your forward motion by propelling the ball and toes of the rear foot forward so your weight is well distributed.

You should also be sure to always wear high quality comfortable walking shoes and wear thick socks when you are walking. Walking inside in bad weather, as in walking in a shopping mall is best.

To protect your back you should also pay special attention to the way you are bending a lifting. Whenever possible be sure to do this from a squatting position and also be sure to use your legs to bear some of the weight of your legs. You should also try to keep the load close to your body and make sure that you bend from the knees and hips only.

Believe it or not you can also hurt your back getting in and out of bed. To prevent this you should enter your bed kneeling on your hands and knees and then set yourself down gently. Before getting out of bed in the morning roll onto your stomach and then back to the edge of the bed in the crawling position. Then place your feet on the floor and give yourself a push off with your hands until you are standing up.