How can you have a healthy spine for life? Your quality of life will be much better if you manage to avoid back problems. What tricks do people with healthy backs use?
Sleep on a Firm Mattress
A soft mattress isn’t the best choice for your back. A medium or firm mattress supports your spine, a soft mattress lets your back sag. Sleeping on a relatively firm mattress is healthiest for most people.
If you already have a back problem, you are sometimes better off with a soft mattress, depending on your condition. A firm mattress is usually better, but not always.
If you have bursitis, a firm mattress will aggravate your condition. Talk to your doctor about what kind of mattress is best for you.
Wear Shoes That Fit Properly
Poorly fitting shoes can make you walk in an unnatural way, which can hurt your back. Make sure the shoe is snug around your heel without being too tight.
Properly fitting shoes support your lower back. Your shoes should also fit properly at your toes, be flexible, and be comfortable in general. You can use shoe inserts to achieve a perfect fit.
Stay in Shape
Staying in shape delays/reduces/prevents age-related health problems. The stronger your muscles are, the better they support your spine. Weak muscles put too much strain on your lower back.
Your core muscles are important. Strengthen your abs and back muscles so that they can hold up your spine.
Some core exercises can treat and not only prevent back pain. Talk to a respected spine.md about what exercises are right for you. If you already have back pain, you might do more harm than good if you begin an exercise program without talking to a doctor first.
Massage Can Help You
Massage therapy can help you relax, improve your blood flow, and loosen your tight muscles. Research shows that it can even treat lower back pain. While massage therapy chairs do work for some people, a real massage is more effective.
Massage should relax your muscles and prevent muscle spasms. When the muscle spasms go away, your back pain should greatly decrease. Roughly four neuromuscular massage treatments are usually enough to decrease your back pain greatly.
Sometimes, back pain is caused by inflammation. In that case, massage is not the best treatment as it will not address the root cause of the problem.
Massage might need to be combined with anti-inflammatory medication. Ordinary over-the-counter painkillers and anti-inflammatory pills can help your back. If they are not strong enough, talk to your doctor about stronger medication for inflammation.