[News 24 Reporter Shin Su-jeong] When your back hurts, sitting, moving, or lying down all become difficult in everyday life. To avoid experiencing this pain, you need to take care of your back health in advance. Maintaining back health doesn't require doing something extraordinary. Simply changing habits in daily life can help you maintain a healthy back.

 

 

When your back hurts, sitting, moving, or lying down all become difficult in everyday life. [Photo = Pixabay] © Provided by iNews24

 

The first is to frequently change your posture.

Dr. Stewart McGill, renowned for his work in back pain rehabilitation and prevention, stated that to prevent back pain, one should not stay in the same position for too long. Continuous pressure on just one part of the body causes stress to accumulate and weakens that area, ultimately leading to damage. This is true even if the sitting posture is correct.

You should frequently change your sitting posture to prevent stress from accumulating in one part of your spine. Dr. McGill recommended getting up to stretch every at least 50 minutes and walking for just a few minutes.

It is advisable to avoid exercising immediately after sitting for a long time. When you sit for an extended period, the spine bends forward, the posterior ligaments stretch, and the nucleus of the disc is pushed backward, adapting to that position. However, if you start exercising right away in this state, the disc that has been pushed back may protrude or the spine could sustain a significant impact.

 

Maintaining back health doesn't require doing something extraordinary. Simply changing daily habits can help you maintain a healthy back. [Photo = Pixabay] © Provided by iNews24

 

 

This also applies immediately after waking up from a long sleep. The spinal disc is gradually compressed by body weight while awake. This is why height appears about 1 to 2 centimeters shorter in the evening compared to the morning. Additionally, during sleep, the disc rehydrates, and thanks to sufficient hydration, the pressure in the disc upon waking is 240% higher than before sleep.

A state of increased pressure can be seen as weakened, making it easy to get injured even with slight overexertion, so exercising in this condition is considered a very dangerous action.

It is recommended to start exercising either an hour after waking up or after about 30 minutes of light walking to promote spinal health.

 

When lifting something in daily life, instead of using your back, you should practice squatting while maintaining a neutral spine and utilizing your hip and knee joints. This habit can reduce the risk of back injury. [Photo = Pixabay] © Provided by iNews24

The second is the habit of using the hip joint rather than the waist.

Dr. McGill emphasized that using the hip joint is essential for properly protecting the spine. A slouched posture that fails to maintain spinal neutrality results in shear forces on the spine that are approximately ten times higher than those in a posture that maintains spinal neutrality and utilizes the strength of the hip joint.

When lifting something in daily life, it is important to develop the habit of performing a squat rather than using your back, maintaining a neutral spine and utilizing your hip and knee joints to reduce the risk of back injury.

 

Since the lumbar spine has no mobility function, twisting the waist can be a significant strain, and rotating the torso requires the use of the thoracic spine, while simultaneously moving the arms and legs to support this movement. The photo shows a spine model. [Photo = Pixabay] © Provided by Inews24

 

The third is not to rotate the waist. Dr. McGill explained that the lumbar spine is designed for stability, while the thoracic spine above it is designed for mobility.

Since the lumbar spine has no mobility function, twisting the waist can put a significant strain on the lumbar region, and rotating the torso should involve the thoracic spine, while simultaneously moving the arms and legs to generate the supporting force.

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Just staying still because of back pain seems to make it worse and become chronic.

Walking is also recommended at the hospital.

Pain every time I walk.

Faster walking and running

It's nice to walk slowly.

Wobbly hopping from a crouched position

The Ottogi posture is helpful.