By: Danielle Dobson

Back pain is extremely common for most people. No matter what your job is, no matter how active you are it is likely you will have experienced some sort of back pain in your life. Whether it was severe or mild, long-lasting or for a short period, caused by an injury or a poor sleeping position we need to take it seriously. 

Why do we have pain? Pain is a signal your body is sending to you telling you that there is something wrong. Whether it is short-lived or not it is important to take note of this and try to change your behavior to ensure the pain doesn’t linger. Our biggest causes of general back pain and stiffness are poor sitting postures, poor lifting habits, lack of exercise, and injury. 

With most of our population working behind a desk for 8 hours a day we tend to lead relatively sedentary lives. This causes us to sit in poor positions without changing for hours on end which can lead to weakness and stiffness. 

This needs to stop! We need to take care of our bodies. With age, we are predisposed to degeneration of the spine which is caused by years of wear and tear. 

In some cases, your back pain may start to manifest into neurological symptoms such as pins and needles, burning sensations, or sharp pains down your legs and arms and this must be examined.  

So how do we improve this?

It is so important to keep our bodies moving. If you are sitting for long periods of time try to get up every hour and walk around for 5 minutes. Every evening try to do 10 minutes of simple lower back stretches. Make sure you are lifting anything heavy by squatting and squeezing your glutes instead of bending your back. Sleep on your back or side correctly supported by pillows. Exercise is so important to ensure our muscles are strong. 

If your pain persists or if you are unsure how your posture and positioning are affecting your back pain, don’t hesitate to contact your medical practitioner or physiotherapist.