10 Back Exercises and Daily Habits to Relieve Pain

The back is closely linked to the rest of the body. Preventing it from hurting requires modifying habits and movements acquired in everyday life.

Back pain develops little by little, day by day, with the repetition of an inadequate posture in front of the computer or when performing physical efforts incorrectly.

Even back pulls due to sudden movements (such as getting out of bed to hold our crying daughter) require bone or muscle weakness that has taken years to form.

In general, back pain originates far from it: it can begin in a wrong position of the soles of the feet, in the hyperextension of the knees, the wrong placement of the pelvic floor, the immobility of the rib cage …

Back care involves not only regular exercise but a change of habits, a greater awareness of the body, whether it is in motion or not, in relation to the environment. Therefore, techniques such as yoga can be very useful to prevent back pain.

Do you want to know how to take care of your back with yoga? Sign up for the online course of initiation to yoga of Escuela Cuerpomente.

With conscious information about movement coming from the nervous system, the brain properly rearranges and organizes that movement. In this way, the back is freed from pain in the dorsal, cervical and lumbar area.

Let’s see below 10 simple habits to apply in everyday life.

1. HOW TO AVOID BACK PAIN WHEN SLEEPING

We spend a third of our life in bed. If we do not rest well, the muscles lose flexibility and the likelihood of pain increases.

• The mattress and box spring. Invest in a quality box spring and mattress. Research which are the best and let yourself be advised. What is good for one may not be good for another; Take time to find the right one.
• When you get out of bed. First, stretch and yawn with pleasure. Then, little by little, try to pass the weight to one side of the body and, from there, sit on the bed and put your feet on the slippers or the carpet.
• Sit up on the bed. Relax the trunk, leaning over the thighs, and stand back on the ischia, feeling how the belly accompanies the lumbar area and the trunk progressively aligns with the Earth.

2. HOW TO COOK WITHOUT STRAINING YOUR BACK

• If you measure more than 1.75 meters in height, try to adapt the kitchen furniture to your height, otherwise you can notice it in the dorsal area.
• The attention is not incompatible with good position and ease. Try not to raise your shoulders unnecessarily when cutting bread, peeling potatoes or making a sauce. If you manage to carry out this recommendation for three weeks, the body will remember it and release its shoulders and neck on its own.
• The top-loading washing machine is more comfortable than the side one. If you have it from the first and you must bend over, put your back straight and the abdominal muscles inwards. If it is one of the latter, try to squat every time you fill or empty it.

3. HOW TO CARRY YOUR PURSE, BACKPACK OR BAGS

• Carry the wallet in your hand without hanging from your wrist, bend your elbow slightly so that the shoulder blades do not load, and move the load slightly following the oscillation of the arm. Change her arm as much as you can.
• If you have a backpack, carry it on your back or chest.
• If you carry bags, distribute them equally between both hands.
• The ideal is to have your hands free, so that they swing to the rhythm of walking, which is determined by the feet, continues by the hip, continues by the back and is released in the arms. This will save strain on the upper back.

• When climbing stairs, try to place the coccyx towards the thighs to release the lumbar and sacrum, harden the abdominals in the direction of the back and feel a thread that from the floor runs through the body and, through the head, goes to heaven.
• To go down stairs, place your foot on the floor at the tip, then settle the heel, giving way with your legs, bending your knees slightly. You will go down light, fast and with less effort.

4. TIPS FOR DRIVING WITHOUT LOADING YOUR BACK

• The most important rule is: after two hours of driving, pause, get out of the car and walk a little. If you are in a rest area, try not to sit in the cafeteria, move.
• As much as possible, while driving, change the way you sit and the position of your legs.
• The ideal seat allows you to have a straight back, it does not require strength from the thighs on the seat to reach the pedals. Stick your back to it and engage your pelvis by pressing the pedals.
• At the traffic light, massage your cervical. Hold them with both hands and slide them around the neck and neck until you drop your arms next to the body, relaxed. Wait about ten seconds and repeat.
• In a traffic jam, bring the palms of the hand in front of the shoulders, the tip of the thumb of the right hand in the dimple formed by the clavicle and the right trapezius, the rest of the fingers behind the trapezius. Do the same with your left hand. Take the trapezoids and drag them dropping your arms relaxed downwards. Rest for 10 seconds and repeat.

5. THE BEST ANTI-PAIN POSTURE IN THE OFFICE

• Any position you adopt when sitting, if you hold it too long, will lead to a stop of the fluids that nourish the intervertebral discs and in the long run can produce pain in any part of the spine.
• The best way to sit, which is with your back straight, should last no more than an hour. Change position, drop your pelvis, lean forward, pick up one leg folded in the chair and then the other. Take a deep breath from time to time.
• The back of the chair should reach below the shoulder blades, with a slight inclination that supports the lumbar area. The seat, adjustable and with the outer edge rounded to avoid pressure on the thighs. The chair, with arms to allow the release of the back.
• Although the center of the computer screen is lower than your gaze and your arms form a relaxed 90º angle with the desk, the most important thing is what happens on the screen. Do not allow reading that information to take your head excessively forward, forcing the gaze, or generate tension in the arm and hand that moves the mouse.

Not taking care of posture at work can lead to pain in the cervical, shoulder blades, dorsals or tendonitis.

6. HOW TO STAND WITHOUT STRAINING THE SPINE

When we spend more than an hour standing, we must take into account the placement of the body with respect to the ground:

• The feet. He usually wears comfortable, lightweight shoes with low heels. Do not save on shoes, think that they support the foundation of the building, which is the body when it is standing. See a podiatrist to balance your feet with insoles if necessary.
• The knees. Hold them on, until you notice that they can be moved backwards and allow the hip to move in any direction. If you spend a lot of time standing still, put a small stool under one foot to unload your back.
• The pelvis. Perpendicular above the feet, it is like a bowl hanging from the sky. To mobilize it, hold your body with your back to the wall and try to tilt the pelvis towards the thighs while gluing the lumbar to the septum without taking off the rest of the trunk. Relax and repeat.

• The shoulders. They are aligned perpendicularly above the iliac crest and heels, respecting the curve of the spine.
• The head. The ears are in a sagittal line with the shoulders and fontanelle, central point of the skull and prolongation of the spine. Remember that the part of the body that supports the head and neck are the lower abdominals (below the navel).

7. HOME STRETCHES FOR YOUR BACK

• Lie on the floor or carpet on your back and interlace your legs with your hands at the height of the tibias. Listen to your breathing. When inhaling, let your legs move away from the body a few millimeters and when you exhale draw them towards you; In the pause until you breathe in again, rest. Remember that you are listening and following the air, do not blow to make the movement.
• Then, on your knees, sit on your twins and leave the trunk resting on the thighs and the forehead on the floor. Listen to your breath, feel the contact of the body with the ground and perceive the five senses.
• As a family, it is best to learn simple massages in pairs, for example on the feet and back.
• Before going to bed, do quiet activities: reading, listening to music or stargazing.
• Allow the day to go through your head, what you have lived and learned, the people you have found. Remember that each one offers an opportunity to learn, as teachers who put life into it.

8. BACK EXERCISES AGAINST PAIN

• Unlock shoulders and dorsals. Cross your arms stretched out with the palms of your hand looking at each other and interlace your fingers raising them; Perform the movement three times down and up. Repeat it but invert the forearm that is on top. Don’t let your shoulders go up or your trunk move.
• Energize the back. When looking ahead, you should have your arms in the field of vision. Leave your elbows slightly bent. Rotate forward the arm spirally from the index finger, passing through the wrists, elbows, and continue with the shoulders, winding the trunk down. Breathe three times and then unroll it following the reverse path.
• Release the rib cage. Standing, facing forward, with your left leg straight, bend your right knee and try to bring your right hand to your right foot by bending the trunk around your waist. Extend and look at your left arm. Without moving your legs, swing your trunk and arms to the other side. Change the position of the legs and tilt the trunk to the other side.
• Strengthen thighs and back. Stand with the trunk touching the wall, the feet are slightly apart, and the heels do not touch the socket. Bend your knees and lower your hips towards the floor, trying not to detach from the wall, for which you must tilt it forward. Get as low as your knees and strength allow. Repeat 3 times.
• Relax the cervical. Standing or while sitting, lift a bent leg in front of your body and pull it toward you. Then cross your fingers around the tibia, leave the leg relaxed in the air and counterbalance by pulling the body back straight and in a line inclined with the ground. Don’t let your chest sink. Breathe. Perform the exercise with the other leg.

9. EXERCISES TO UNBLOCK THE SPINE

1. Lie on the floor on your back, holding your head with your hands (intertwined or not) by the occipital bone. Gently, lift her off the ground as if you were rolling her necks to look at her feet. Leave your head on the floor and repeat it three times. Feel how your back has changed.
2. Then, pressing the soles of your feet on the floor, try to bring your knees forward and up, in the direction marked by the thighs, lifting your hips off the ground. It is not just about lifting the hips, but about giving it the direction that the thighs and knees have from the pressure of the soles of the feet against the ground. Repeat it ten times and then link the two exercises.
3. To bind them, roll up your head and, when you support it again, press the soles and raise your hips in the direction of your knees. When you lower your hips, roll your head again making a rocking effect by rolling your neck and lifting your hips.

10. EXERCISES TO LENGTHEN THE VERTEBRAE

1. Press the sole of the right foot against the ground and let the body, from this force, turn to the left. The lateral turn begins with the hip, passes to the chest, and ends at the head. Although the force of the sole of the foot raises the right hip, it is important that the thigh does not tilt to any side. Do it seven times, then stretch your leg and relax to feel the contact of your back with the ground, the change that has occurred in it and in your breathing. Then repeat the exercise on the other side.
2. Start as in the previous exercise, but now put your arm perpendicular to the ground with your shoulder blade well supported. Press with your right foot on the floor, raising your hips and turning your body and head to the left. At all times the right arm remains vertical, gently stretching towards the sky.
3. When returning to the initial position, leave the force of the sole of the foot and try to settle the shoulder blade on the ground. Repeat it seven times, rest and notice the changes that have occurred in the body. Do it the other way.

THE TIME OF THE BATH ALSO MATTERS

The bathroom is the place of internal and external cleaning. The way you perform them will help keep your back flexible.

• Shower with hot water and install a sprinkler to give more pressure to the water spending the same amount. The hot shower will open your pores.
• Occasionally rub your back and body with a natural bristle brush.
• To finish the shower, switch briefly to cold water, so that body and back react and circulation is activated.
• Squatting is good for your back. Before deposition, squat on tiptoe, open your feet and legs wide, and try to place the trunk between them with some forward inclination; Then rest the entire sole of the foot on the ground. Take three deep breaths. You will notice that the air goes to the lumbar, coccyx and sacrum. This frees the end of the column and facilitates evacuation.