back pain

How to Manage Back Pain in the Moment

Sitting all the time is the fastest ticket to back pain currently available. 

As humans we were not meant to sit for nearly as much time as we do- but more and more of us are being asked to sit for 40+ hours a week, plus our commute and recreation time. Sitting is insidious by nature: it starts with just a twinge of spinal discomfort, but soon the muscles degrade and the twinges become more chronic. Back pain is a signal that tells you something is wrong and it should not be ignored! While chiropractic is an important tool for keeping your spine aligned and addressing chronic muscle tension, sometimes you need immediate relief, of the kind you can administer to yourself. 

Techniques for managing back pain on the spot include:

  • Going for a quick walk: to relieve muscles from the monotony of sitting and release endorphins as well as get your heart rate up.

  • Static stretching: sometimes standing up and going for a walk isn’t good enough. Static stretches such as the hip flexor or standing quad stretch can be performed within your desk area and will help maintain the proper curvature of your low back. 

  • Stretching the hamstrings: while not the first place you think when you’ve got back pain, a symptom of chronic sitting is tight hamstrings and these can create a pull on the lower back, meaning the pain is appearing in another place than its origin. 

  • Releasing endorphins through light aerobic exercise. These are your natural pain-fighting chemicals which work by stopping pain signals from registering in your brain. 

  • Simple yoga poses: child’s pose and pigeon pose are excellent for elongating the spine and opening up the hips. 

Low back pain is likely going to reflect a multitude of issues. For example, tight hip flexors, quads and hamstrings are very likely to create a pull and thus a misalignment in the lower back. When this misalignment leads to nerve pain, it is time to pay a visit to your Dunedin chiropractor! Chiropractic adjustments will restore alignment to the lower back, alleviating nerve pressure and allowing you to stretch and strengthen the region effectively. 

Dr. Chris Hayes, D.C. 

 

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