5 Lifestyle Habits that Make your Back Pain Worse

Get Rid of The Aches Before they Develop to Avoid Spine Surgery!

Most people seek medical treatment or miss work due to back pain.

It is the leading reason for workman’s compensation and lost productivity. In addition to being a leading cause of disability, it can significantly impact the quality of life.

This article will discuss what causes back pain and how to relieve it. If your back pain worsens, you may opt for spine surgery, which is available in our Florida clinics.

Back pain is often caused by bad habits that strain and stress your muscles and joints. Adjusting your lifestyle habits can help prevent back pain.

How Back Pain Can Affect Your Quality of Life

Living with back pain can have a negative impact on your quality of life. About 23% of the world’s adult population suffers from chronic low back pain.

With so many people suffering from back pain, it’s important to understand the causes and treatments available. From physical ailments to affecting mood, memory, and relationships, chronic back pain can also affect a person’s whole life on an emotional level.

Bad Habits to Break to Avoid Spine Surgery

Make an effort to avoid these five bad habits if you want to prevent back pain in the future:

• Having a bad posture.

  Improper posture can strain muscles and put stress on the spine. Poor posture can even change the spine’s anatomical characteristics over time and may lead to severe back pain that would need spine surgery.

  A major posture mistake people make while sitting is slouching. When sitting in a chair, leaning backward too much increases muscle tension, which may lead to lower back pain.

  Standing with your knees slightly bent and one foot forward can reduce back strain and prevent back injuries. When sitting, our orthopedic doctors recommend sitting with your hips a bit higher than your knees.

• Not exercising or stretching.

  In the case of back pain, limiting your activity can be counterproductive as it increases blood flow to the affected area, decreases inflammation, and reduces muscle tension. Weak, unused muscles can cause back pain in the back and abdomen.

  A lack of exercise, especially abdominal strengthening exercises, can lead to poor posture and low back pain. Back pain can be prevented by doing Pilates or other core-strengthening exercises that increase stability in the back muscles.

  According to a 2015 Cochrane review, Pilates can help with low back pain and is an effective pain management intervention. Various cardio exercises, including swimming, walking, biking, and flexibility exercises, should also be performed to improve mobility.

  Learn more here: Will I Be Able to Run After Knee Surgery?

• Smoking.

  We all know how smoking can be bad for our health. But did you know that smoking also causes your back to hurt? Smokers have increased rates of back pain. This may occur because smoking causes coughing, leading to herniated disks.

  Nicotine restricts blood flow to the discs that cushion your vertebrae, reducing the exchange of nutrients from the blood vessels to the discs. The loss of cushioning can lead to back pain and eventually degenerative disc disease.

  Smoking damages your arteries as well, and these damaged arteries may lead to pain and injury in your back discs and joints. Osteoporosis may also develop due to decreased blood flow to the spine. It has also been shown that smoking raises the risk of debilitating back pain by about 30%.

  Smoking also makes people prone to neck, shoulder, elbow, hand, hip, and knee pains.

• Being overweight or obese.

  Excess body weight puts additional stress on the back, resulting in back pain. Several medical experts contend that as people gain weight, the pelvis is pulled forward, and the lower back becomes strained, resulting in pain, soreness, and tightness.

  Back pain is a common problem among obese Americans, according to the American Obesity Association. It is estimated that 36% of Americans are obese. A study on obese men showed that high-intensity low back pain and/or disability were associated with increased levels of obesity, particularly in those with an emotional disorder.

• Lifting incorrectly.

  Lifting heavy objects incorrectly often result in back injuries. When you lift weights, a lower back injury is not usually serious. Sore muscles are normal when you start a new exercise routine or if you push yourself harder than you usually do.

  The act of lifting something heavy, or twisting or bending awkwardly while lifting, can result in back pain and injury. Overstretching can also cause your body to strain.

  Use your legs when lifting something, keeping the weight close to your body and bending your knees. Ensure that your head remains down, your back remains straight, and you avoid twisting your body.

Relieve Back Pain with Physical Therapy and Exercise

Exercises for low back pain include therapeutic exercises that strengthen the lower back muscles and condition the joints and spinal tissues.

Below are some therapeutic exercises for back pain:

• Core-strengthening exercises – These exercises build strength and endurance in the core muscles, reducing lower back pain and improving functionality.
• Lumbar stabilizing exercises – Stretching exercises can strengthen the muscles around the hips and legs so that the spine can support the lower body and walk, bend, and twist effortlessly.
• Aerobic exercises – Aerobic exercise helps maintain a healthy heart and improves the mobility and flexibility of spinal muscles.

Get Moving Again with Spine Surgery in Florida

Spine surgery can help ease some causes of back pain, but it’s rarely necessary.

Most back pain gets better on its own, especially when one improves his lifestyle habits.

If you would need spine surgery, contact All-Pro Orthopedics & Sports Medicine for a consultation at (954) 332-1110.

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