Unfortunately, there is no universal prescription for it, nor can there be, because low back and back pain have the most diverse causes. However, the annoying discomfort that can be caused by the normal wear and tear of the spine is in most cases preventable or can be remedied if we adopt healthy lifestyle habits.
Unhealthy lifestyle brings back pain
The annoying discomfort that can result from normal wear and tear on the spine is, in most cases, preventable or can be remedied if we adopt healthy lifestyle habits. This will not just be talking about alcohol and nicotine, as a healthy lifestyle encompasses much more. In order to keep the spine itself and the abdominal and back muscles healthy and active, it is necessary above all to have an appropriate hygiene of life and work. In this respect in particular, a lot is still missed out due to ignorance of the correlations – but often also due to a certain laziness. Here are just a few of the many bad examples:
On the train, at work, in front of the TV, everywhere you can observe people who are about to slouch and slump due to their casual sitting posture. Riding a bicycle with low handlebars and a high seat also leads to incorrect stress on the spinal joints. The spine is particularly stressed by sudden and unexpected jolts in the longitudinal axis when riding a motorcycle, but also in a car, and therefore requires short rest breaks, which is why car drivers should interrupt their journey more often. The continuous standers and sitters in the so-called standing and sitting professions, such as hairdressers, bakers, teachers, factory workers, salesmen, etc., could in many cases avoid the usually very one-sided overload of the postural and locomotor system by switching to a more alternating (sitting, walking, standing, bending) activity.
Back pain due to excess weight
But also an increase in body weight means not only a strain on the heart and circulation, but at the same time an increased demand on the spine, its ligaments and muscles. Therefore, getting rid of useless ballast is not only a cosmetic issue, but much more still an important factor of preventive health care. Of course, the slim line is rarely regained by slimming pills or teas, but only by following a strict diet, which is best determined by the doctor according to individual criteria. In general, however, eating less and exercising more will lead to weight loss, especially if alcohol, fatty foods and the famous cream cakes and chocolates are avoided. Starvation diets and fasting, on the other hand, are not necessary, and in fact are often harmful.
Back pain when the weather changes
Back pain and low back pain are sometimes also triggered by climatic influences, especially by a cold stimulus. This usually affects people whose vascular system has lost the ability to react against cold and heat, against wind and rain. Staying in over-warm, centrally heated rooms also prevents the natural exercise of the skin vessels, whose activity supports blood circulation and thus nourishes and helps purify the muscles. Therefore, in order to counteract the signs of fatigue and wear and tear on the spine, it is also necessary to increase the ability to adapt to climatic influences. Suitable hardening measures include, for example, alternating baths and showers, swimming, gradual acclimatization to wind and weather on hikes or regular walks, even in frost, in fog and rain.
Back pain as a modern civilization disease
We must counteract the deficiencies in the rhythm of movement if we want to keep the spine, back and muscles healthy and efficient. But who among us today still exposes himself, voluntarily and regularly, to these so important skin stimuli? The question leads us to the very serious problem of modern man’s lack of movement. Technology has not only given us more free time, but has also relieved us of many a nuisance at work and at home. As a result, in many professions today there is no longer an overload due to overexertion, as was often the case in the past.However, the automation of many production processes has meant that our organism is often only subjected to very one-sided and monotonous stresses for many hours of the working day, such as in drilling, punching, turning and assembly line work. On the other hand, the mechanization of daily life tempts us into a lack of movement. Lifting, carrying, walking and running have often been replaced by technical aids such as elevators, suburban trains and cars. We have to counteract these deficiencies in the rhythm of movement if we want to keep our spine, back and muscles healthy and efficient. Everyone has probably experienced for themselves that back pain and muscle cramps disappear more quickly and sustainably through gymnastic exercises than through resting alone. Involuntarily, one twists and bends the trunk to get rid of low back and back pain. But one should avoid discomfort in the first place, if possible.
Back pain due to lack of exercise
The lack of movement and the often one-sided strain on the organism urgently require regular body training, either in the form of compensatory sports or gymnastics at home- How much work, sports and general well-being complement each other and are not opposites, is also evident from the fact that many companies have introduced work gymnastics with good success. The relaxing effect of back gymnastics on muscles, ligaments and the spine is thus possible. Staying flexible is one of the great secrets of all youthfulness. However, it cannot be achieved by a mostly expensive miracle promise of some dubious companies or loudly advertised drugs. Cheaper and better are a few minutes of gymnastics regularly inserted into the busy workday. Regularly, because the increasing muscle strength cannot be conserved, but is lost again immediately if the strengthening stimulus through gymnastics is missing. Admittedly – in the first time the fulfillment of this requirement is uncomfortable. The temptation to stop exercising just once is too great. However, once you have moved from “I must” to “I will”, daily gymnastics soon becomes a habit that you no longer want to do without.
Tips for self-help against back pain
Of course, there are special exercises for every age and for men and women. Your health insurance company or doctor can help them find individual health programs. Health insurance companies usually even pay 80% of a course. Finally, another tip: Those who suffer a lot from low back pain and backache, but also those who have not yet experienced it, should give their spine a rest at night. This is absurd, many will say, because during the night rest the body relaxes anyway. However, this is only partly true, because on a soft surface the back is curved by the body weight and individual spinal column sections are thereby particularly strongly loaded. A real rest can only be achieved on a firm, non-sprung base, which can be created by placing a board between the mattress and the sprung base. For persistent back pain, pressure-relieving positioning of the back has also proven effective: Supine position on firm support, head on a flat pillow, hip and knee joints bent at right angles, lower legs supported on a firm pad. We hope to have given you a little insight into why back pain and low back pain occur and what you can do about them in general. Nevertheless, in the case of existing back pain, a medical examination should always be performed in order to diagnose the exact factors that trigger the complaints. Nevertheless, however, already everyone, whether young or old, can do a lot themselves to keep the spine healthy.
