Friday, May 27, 2011

Happy Memorial Day - 10 Tips to avoid back strain


10 tips for a healthy back, this Memorial Day weekend!

1. Exercise your back regularly. Walking, swimming (especially backstroke) and bicycling are all excellent ways to strengthen your back muscles.

2. Always bend your knees and your hips, not your back.

3. Never twist and bend at the same time.

4. Always lift and carry objects close to your body.

5. Try to carry loads in an back friendly bag.

6. Maintain a good posture. Avoid slumping in your chair, hunching over a desk or walking with your shoulders hunched.

7. Use a chair with proper ergonomic support. Sit with your feet flat on the floor or on a footrest. Change how you sit every few minutes. (Check out yesterday's post on SLAM).

8. Don't smoke. It is thought that smoking reduces the blood supply to the discs between the vertebrae and this may lead to degeneration of these discs.

9. Lose any excess weight. Use our Healthy weight calculator to find out if you're a healthy weight for your height.

10. Choose a mattress and pillows suited to your height, weight, age and sleeping position.

2 comments:

  1. I'm actually searching post regarding back pain. Keeping your back healthy is the best way to prevent back pain. Anyway, thanks for sharing those tips.
    Krisha
    pain management emr

    ReplyDelete
  2. i myself suffered from back strain until i found a pretty good solution-FAR infrared heat. It could help you as well. I found the info at http://www.lowbackpainguru.com/far-infrared-heat-therapy/
    I hope it helps and please let me know how it works out for you

    ReplyDelete