Is Your Lifestyle a Pain in Your Back?

A few individuals think that back trouble is just part of aging. They suspect that is just inevitable and that everyone seems to be just doomed to develop trapped nerve fibres, bulging discs, and sciatica as part of getting older. But I don’t believe this is the case. There are actually tiny habits and way of life choices that folks make that can result in these back issues. Here are 3 of them:

First, is a sedentary lifestyle. This likely isn’t going to surprise you, but if you spend your life sitting, then don’t be surprised if you get back pain. Sure, maybe you’ve got a job where you have to sit at a desk for 8 hours a day. But that doesn’t imply that you can’t get up and stretch or walk over to the water cooler once in awhile.

And, what do you do when you’re not working? For most individuals nowadays, you sit in your car and go home where you sit in front of the TV for a few more hours. Sure your job may not be helping your back, but what you do when you’re off the clock likely isn’t helping either. Take some time to get some exercise. Try biking to work if you live close enough or try working out or playing a sport in your free time. If you need to get motivated to get out, find ways of doing things you love to do already.

Next, is poor habits. Do you keep your wallet in your back pocket and sit down all day long at a desk? Have you got a habit of carrying a backpack on one shoulder? Do you slouch or have unhealthy posture? These are all habits that can cause back trouble.

All of these small habits may seem harmless, but what they really do is they take your backbone out of symmetrical alignment. You should use your body symmetrically on each side, when you don’t, our bones are pushed out of alignment and added pressure is placed on your nerves. In addition, this can lead to muscular disparities that may further push your backbone out of alignment over a period of time.

The way to handle this is to pay more notice to how you hold your body throughout the day. Remember, the best way to do things will use your body evenly and symmetrically. Try and avoid any activities that favor one side of your body over another, especially activities that involve your backbone.

Third, is diet habits. This could be surprising to some folks, but did you know that certain foods can contribute to swelling. When your body is inflamed it may result in added stress on your nerves in your back, which may already be stressed from other life-style choices. Typical “unhealthy” foods like fast food and packaged food are loaded with fats and have a high glycemic index. These things cause irritation and might just be what pushes you over the edge to be subject to back pain.

On the other side of things, foods containing Omega 3 fats and anti-oxidating compounds actually work to ease inflammation in your body. Examples of these foods are fish (especially salmon), walnuts, and blueberries.

Hence if back trouble looks to be an issue in your life and no quantity of stretching exercises seems to help, consider that instead of trying to combat the difficulty with stretches you may just need to stop doing the things that cause back trouble to begin with.

If you’d like to learn more about some great back pain medicine, check out my website where I share some great home treatments for sciatica.