Dos and don’ts for back pain treatment

by Trina Remedios

black-woman stressed

 

The height of the chair is important to maintain a healthy spine. The doctor resonates the same, “Adjust your chair according to your height.” For starters, you must sit straight with your back straight and your shoulders perfectly stable.

Strain:

“Avoid postural strain,” says the doctor, is associated with neck pain, headaches, shortness of breathe, chest pain and upper and lower back pain. Postural strain implies stress on the tissues and muscles due to poor posture.

Spinal curvature:

Dr Rajeev K. Sharma chides, “Don’t make a spinal curve while sitting.” This is a common habit for most of us, which can lead to lower back pain. Again posture while sitting is important.

Sitting on broken chair:

“Don’t sit on a broken chair or a chair on which you are not able to increase or decrease the height,” suggests the doctor. This propels us towards poor posture.

Leaning forward:

“Don’t lean forward with your back arched,” says the Orthopaedic surgeon. Over arching your back when you bend forward is poor posture.

Correct standing posture:

Dr Rajeev K. Sharma, Senior Orthopaedic & Joint Replacement Surgeon explains the correct posturewhile standing, “When you stand, try to maintain the natural curve of the spine”.

Shoes:

Shoes play an essential role in proper posture, “Always wear comfortable shoes,” says the doctor. Wearing high heels for a long duration and walking in them can take a toll on your spine and induceback pain.

How to prevent strain:

Another way to prevent strain on the back tissues is by changing your posture. Dr Rajeev K. Sharma explains, “Avoid straining the spine by shifting positions if you have to stand for a longer period of time.”

Right Posture:

“Follow the perfect posture while sitting, standing or driving.” The spine has two natural curves that you need to maintain called the ‘double C’ or ‘S’ curves, these are the curves found from the base of your head to your shoulders and the curve from the upper back to the base of the spine. When standing straight up, make sure that your weight is evenly distributed on your feet. You might feel like you are leaning forward, and look stupid, but you don’t.

Adjusting your chair:

The height of the chair is important to maintain a healthy spine. The doctor resonates the same, “Adjust your chair according to your height.” For starters, you must sit straight with your back straight and your shoulders perfectly stable. Your buttocks should ideally be touching the back of your chair.

Straight back:

“Always sit straight,” chides the orthopaedic surgeon. If it is not possible to sit straight, use a small lumbar cushion or a rolled-up towel, which might help in maintaining the normal curve of your back. In order to find a good sitting position, sit at the end of your chair and slouch completely in the front. Now, straighten the curve of your back as much as possible. Hold yourself in this position for a few seconds. Release this position by 10 degrees, by distributing your body weight evenly on both the hips.

Choose the right chair:

The chair you use at home or office is crucial in inducing back pain or preventing it. “Choose a chair according to your height,” to prevent back pain, says the doctor. In office, sit at arm’s length from the screen and regulate the space for your vision. Bend your knees at right angles and avoid sitting crossed legged. Keep your feet flat on the floor and your eyes at a firm level with the computer screen – neither too low nor too high.  Rest your arms and elbows on the chair or desk and keep your shoulder relaxed.

Is the chair right for you?

Dr Rajeev K. Sharma, Senior Orthopaedic & Joint Replacement Surgeon says, “Adjust the chair accordingly so that both your feet are flat on the ground.”

Posture while writing:

Maintain a healthy spine without back pain by following the right posture while writing, “If you have to write something, while sitting, don’t bend your spine”.

Proper Posture:

We may take it for granted but eyes, hands and the spine play a key role in preventing back pain. “While taking down notes, keep the notebook close to your eyes so that you don’t have to bend too much”.

Sleeping posture:

When you are sleeping, see that you keep a pillow under your knee positioned next to your chest (if you are sleeping sideways or on your back). And when you are sleeping on your stomach place the pillow just bellow your belly to avoid the sagging of your lower back.

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Read more in Health Me Up

 

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija

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