Your Back Hurts Because of How You Stand, Sit, Sleep and Bend Over, Here’s How to FIX It

The older we get the more painful our joints become and the most common form of pain involves the back. All those years of bending wrong, lifting heavy and spending countless hours on our feet really take a toll on our backs and so many of us live with linger back pain.

Our back is comprised of our spine which consists of 24 vertebrae and 23 disks which allow us to move and be stable. Nearly 80 percent of Americans suffer from back pain and many experts agree that poor posture is to blame. We’re sitting wrong, we’re sitting wrong, we slouch and we sink into couches. All of this poor posture is contributing to our back pain, but there are things you can do to prevent it.

Below are four main causes of back pain along with solutions you can use to ease that annoying pain and have you moving once more.

4 tips to improve back pain

Improve how you sit

If you’re like majority of the population you probably spend countless hours sitting, whether do to work or even being retired. Unfortunately how you sit plays a large role in the pain you feel and so it’s important to be mindful of your sitting and improve it as to prevent back pain.

The correct way to sit is by straightening yourself up. Your feet should be flat on the floor along with your mid-back and neck should be straight as well. Many of us curl our tailbones which makes us curl. Shoulders should be rolled back and not tensed up to your ears. For added support tighten your core muscles.

If you find yourself slouching in front of a computer screen ensure your screen is slightly below eye levels and that your elbows are bent at a 90 degree angle.

Fix how you stand

Believe it or not many of us stand incorrectly and if you spend countless hours in a poor standing position that can harm your back and therefore lead to pain. To stand correctly ensure your weight is being distributed evenly on both feet and have your knees slightly flexed. Weight should also be put more so on your heels along with straightening your back similar to how you would if sitting.

Bend for success

From time to time you may find yourself bending over – to tie your shoes, take out the garbage or even picking up your grandchild. Bending puts a lot of strain on your back and if done incorrectly can lead to pain.

As always keep your feet flat when bending which you can achieve by bending your hips slightly forward. Don’t lock your knees but instead bend them as well to reach down and grasp the object and lift it up carefully.

Sleep well

Back pain can begin as early as the moment you wake up and that is due to the fact you probably didn’t sleep in a back-friendly position. In order to prevent morning back pain, focus on improving your sleeping posture.

Lay on your back with a pillow beneath your knees. Prop yourself up with your elbows and place your hands on your hips. Slowly roll back down one vertebra at a time while pushing your shoulders away from your hips which lengthens the spine. Spending at least 15 minutes in this position will help reset your spine from the day’s events. This technique will help stretch the spine, but for optimal sleeping positions to prevent back pain numerous studies recommend anything close to a fetal position, preferably with a pillow between the knees will work best.

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