Lower back also called a lumbar spine is one of the most important parts of the body. Being the backbone, it gives shape and flexibility by interconnecting bones, nerves, joints, ligaments, and muscles together. Since it caters different functions, proper upkeep of lower back is a must. One reckless habit may lead you to experience severe lower back problems among which lower back pain is the commonest.
Experiencing the same already? Well, in that case, we will provide you some of the interesting facts to fix your lower back. Continue reading to find out how you can strengthen your lower back and get rid of its pain.
Hot And Cold Treatment
Hot water as well as ice both acts as great healers for all sorts of pain including the lower back. However, it is important to use them in the correct order. If the injury is recent, you must give a cold treatment followed by fomentation with hot water.
Ice treatment in the first 24 hours gives the best results. All that you need to do is crush ice cubes in a plastic bag and wrap it over the lower back above the clothes. Keep it as such for not more than 10 minutes to prevent skin injury. Repeat the process with a gap of 10 minutes.
After one or two days you may give hot water fomentation. Doing it instantly after injury may cause more inflammation. For thermal treatment take heat pack or heating pad and wrap it around the lower back above the clothes.
Get aware of your posture
Desk jobs and especially those which involve spending time before screen sometimes leads to lower back pains. The primary reason behind it is the incorrect posture while sitting for hours. Therefore making your workspace ergonomically good and back-friendly is very important. It will not only help in getting relief from the back pain but will also prevent making it worse.
Find out below how to have a back-friendly workspace
- Position your key objects within your reach that are required frequently. You keep twisting your back for getting far off objects that strains the back. Items like pens, stapler, notepads, phone that are used quite often should be in an arms distance. Things that are too bulky and big to keep in the desk should be at a place where you stand and work on it instead of twisting the back.
- Keep your chair to a proper height so that the right posture can be attained. Your feet should rest flat on the floor and knees leveling the hips. Get a small lumbar pillow if the backrest of the chair is not very supportive. You may also roll up a towel and place it in your lower back curve for proper support.
- Make sure the computer screen is at the level to your eyes. Looking too high or too low affects the posture, contributing to lower back pain drastically.
Also, make sure that you take enough walks in-between the working hours and get relief from the muscle tension.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is known to relieve mild to chronic lower back pain. In the process, small needles are prickled in different parts of the body. It stimulates certain chemicals that help in getting rid of lower back pain. However, it is highly essential to get it done from an experienced and proficient acupuncturist for the best results. Learn more from Free Your Spine.
Eating For Strengthening The Bones
Bone health plays a significant role in getting or combating the lower back pain. If the bones are healthy, the chances of getting lower back problems reduce to a great extent. Therefore it is essential that you eat for improving the bone health.
A healthy diet leads to healthy body weight. If the body weight is more, the back gets the strain leading to getting the pain quickly. Therefore, eating healthy and splurging on a diet rich in nutrients that contribute to bone health like calcium, phosphorus and Vitamin D is essential. These nutrient-rich foods are:
- Rich in calcium: Yogurt, milk, cheese, frozen yogurt, and ice cream among the dairy products and calcium-fortified cereal, orange juice, oatmeal among the non-dairy products. Calcium rich vegetables include collard greens, kale, bok choy, broccoli and much more.
- Rich in phosphorus: Cheese, milk, cottage cheese, ice cream, pudding, yogurt, baked beans, kidney beans, black beans, bran cereals, oysters, sardines, and dark colas are some common phosphorus rich food items.
- Rich in Vitamin D: Cod liver oil, swordfish, salmon, fortified milk, sardines, eggs, and fortified cereals can give a good supply of Vitamin D to the bones.
Get Aware Of Sleeping Posture
If you are sleeping in an incorrect posture, it will lead you getting back pain as soon you wake up. The fetal position where you sleep on your sides keeping knees close to your chest is considered the best for combating the lower back pain. You may also place a pillow between the legs. It reduces the stress on the back giving great relief from the back pain. Other than this, make sure you are sleeping on a mattress which is neither very soft nor too firm.
Conclusion
Lower back pain is something which may take a toll over your happy days. An outcome of different reckless habits, sometimes lower back pain becomes hard to deal with. Therefore, keep the above points in handy and fix your lower back with fewer hassles.
