Lower back pain - Lifting injuries and poor posture

Lower Back Pain – Lifting injuries and “Poor posture”

Chances are you have experienced some low back pain in one form another.

The two most common causes of back pain often being:

-        Lifting injuries

AND

-        “Poor Posture”

 Lifting Injuries:

Ever injure yourself lifting something heavy? Maybe you did so too quickly? Or even at an odd angle?
Here are a few tips to help you protect your back when lifting:

-        Keep a wide base of support (feet wide)

-        Maintain a neutral spine

-        Keep load close to your body (as much as possible, don’t hold/carry load away from your body/at an arm’s length)

-        If you’re carrying something from one side or another, use your feet to turn your whole body rather than just twist with you upper body

You ALSO need to keep in mind that injuries and pain are a result of two main factors:

-        Load Intensity  and  Time Under Load

Lifting injuries therefore don’t always just happen because we lift something heavy or at an awkward angle. They can also happen with low loads done repetitively.

Here are some tips for when you know you’ll need to be constantly having to lift things (e.g. Spring cleans, moving houses etc):

-        Take regular breaks (try not to rush)

-        Stretch regularly

-        If possible, break up your tasks so that your doing some lifting and then switch to something else

 “Poor Posture”:

Now let me preface this by saying that “THERE IS NO SUCH A THING AS A BAD POSTURE”. Like we said before injuries and pain result from:

-        Load Intensity  and  Time Under Load

So it stands to reason that even a low load activity like sitting/slouching for a long period of time can also lead to pain and injury.

Your “bad posture” isn’t causing you pain, but your lack of movement and staying in that same position is!!

Tips:

-        If you have to sit for a long period of time, trying changing positions regularly (minimum every 30mins): slouch, shift to one side of your seat, lean back in your chair (try EVERYTHING, don’t just settle in one spot)

-        Get up at regular intervals out of your chair to avoid being static

-        Options like a standing desk can allow you to change positions as you like

To sum up, avoiding staying in the same positions will go a long way in keeping your back healthy and pain-free!!!

  Of course factors like fatigue, stress, illness etc can also impact your chances of developing pain and injury.

 But if you give these tips and tricks a go, then you’ll be sure to thank us later!