Posture and Back Pain (and how to get Back Pain Relief)

If you suffer from lower back pain, mid-back pain, or upper back pain, what you care about is getting out of pain. Poor posture can contribute to back pain at any point on your back. First, let's look at the effects of poor posture on your back, and then we will look at some methods to correct posture and get back pain relief.

The effects of poor posture on your body over the long term show up in many places. Poor posture puts added strain on your back muscles and spine which are working to keep you balanced. The compensating muscles can eventually become stretched, and I know from experience, very painful. A chiropractor told me that years of bad posture can change the characteristics the discs in your spine, and the changes may get to a point where things are irreversible. Changes in the spine mean that you might experience constriction of blood vessels and nerves as well.

The result of poor posture can show up as back pain, neck pain, headaches, fatigue, or issues with major organs or breathing. In my case, I was sitting at a desk for about ten hours a day and rounding my shoulders severely. This lead to heart palpitations and difficulty breathing. After a clean bill of health from a GP and cardiologist, I deduced it had to be my posture. Sure enough, by taking care of my posture the breathing difficulties went away and my heart issues improved (there was a stress-related factor contributing to the palpitations.)

Surprisingly, whether you slouch or keep your back straight can also affect the amount of pain you can withstand. The article posted here relates research that found people who had a 'dominant' stance, meaning they stood up straight with a puffed chest, could withstand more pain than someone who was in a 'submissive' stance, that is slouching with legs and arms crossed.

Chiropractor

Most people either love or hate chiropractors based upon whether you believe they do any good. I've used a chiropractor for years with the result of greatly reduced back pain. My first chiropractor gave me this advice: Strengthen your back muscles so that we don't have to see each other any more. In his experience, you can get back pain relief for some very common back pain problems just by improving your physical fitness.

You can also try going to a practitioner of the Alexander Technique. Here is a video explaining this technique in-depth with a demonstration of it.

Deep Tissue or Sports Massage

Until I experienced deep tissue massage, I didn't understand the positive impact it can have on back pain relief. I got the message when I went to my chiropractor directly after getting a massage. To the chiropractor's and my amazement, there were almost no kinks to adjust! Deep tissue or sports massage can be uncomfortable because they are working on deep, tightly knotted muscles. However, breath deeply through it because after a few sessions you'll be delighted with the lack of back pain you feel!

Home Remedies

If you can't get to a registered masseuse, get a friend or family member to rub your back. Rubbing on a product like Tiger Balm can really help too. A close friend of the family swore by using rubbing alcohol as a rub for sore back muscles. (Just not too often since it can dry out your skin!)

Yet another home remedy you can try for low back pain is to wear a sheepskin on the sore area. The sheepskin will heat up the area like a heating pad and help the muscles to relax.

The Breastbone Awareness Technique

One of the most useful ways to remember to correct my posture was taught to me by a yoga teacher. She asked me to stand and focus on my breastbone. Then she told me to imagine there was a string pulling my breastbone towards the ceiling. The result? My shoulders and spine fell into their natural alignment. Since I work at a desk, I trained myself to check my posture with this technique frequently during the day.

Back Supports

A back support can help you to sit with correct posture. You can buy a specially designed cushion designed for lower lumbar support (or use a soft cushion of your own), or go all the way through to a full back cushion for your car seat or office chair.

Back supports help your back to maintain its natural curvy shape (the ramrod straight military back is actually very bad for you). You will usually find lower lumbar support built in. For anyone sitting for long hours at a desk or long times in a car, a back support can help prevent back pain from developing.

Low-impact Exercise

My chiropractor advised me to join an aquafit class. There is least stress on your joints, but you get all the benefits of a rigorous workout. There were no aquafit classes available at the time, but he gave good old-fashioned swimming pools lengths a big thumbs up. Other low-impact exercises you can try are tai chi, yoga, and pilates (tell your yoga or pilates instructor if you have a particular problem so they can tell you how to adapt poses, if necessary.) For any naysayers of yoga and pilates to help your back, I learned about telling the instructor about health issues from the people who said their doctor had sent them to class to improve their back!

What other home remedies have you found for back pain relief or to improve posture? Or you could write your own hub about it and get paid to boot!