[Back Pain] “You don’t want back pain, do you?

 

[iNews24 Reporter Shin Su-jeong] When your back hurts, sitting, moving, lying down—everything in daily life becomes difficult. To avoid this pain, you need to take care of your back health in advance. Maintaining a healthy back doesn't require any drastic measures. Simply changing your daily habits can help you maintain a healthy back.

The first is to change your posture often.

 

Dr. Stuart McGill, a renowned expert in back pain rehabilitation and prevention, emphasizes that avoiding prolonged periods of sitting in one position is crucial for preventing back pain. Continuously applying force to one part of the body can lead to stress and weakness, ultimately leading to damage, even if the sitting posture is correct.

 

To prevent stress on one part of the spine, it's important to change your sitting posture frequently. Dr. McGill recommends standing up at least every 50 minutes, stretching, and walking for even just a few minutes.

 

Also, avoid exercising immediately after sitting for a long period of time. Prolonged sitting causes the spine to bend forward, stretching the posterior ligaments and causing the nucleus of the disc to shift backward, adapting to its current position. However, exercising immediately after this state can cause the disc to bulge or cause significant trauma to the spine.

This also applies immediately after a long night's sleep. The discs in your spine slowly compress under your weight while you're awake. This explains why you appear 1-2 cm shorter in the evening than in the morning. Furthermore, while you sleep, the discs rehydrate, and thanks to this ample supply of fluids, the disc pressure upon waking is 240% higher than before you slept.

A state of increased pressure can be seen as weakened enough to easily cause injury even with the slightest strain, so exercising in this state is a very dangerous action.

 

For spinal health, it is recommended to start exercising one hour after waking up or after a light walk for about 30 minutes.

 

The second is the habit of using your hip joints rather than your lower back.

 

Dr. McGill emphasized that only by using the hip joints can the spine be properly protected. A hunched posture, which fails to maintain a neutral spine, places about ten times more shear force on the spine than a posture that maintains a neutral spine and utilizes the hip joints.

 

Even when lifting something in daily life, you can reduce the risk of back injury by developing the habit of maintaining a neutral spine and using your hip and knee joints as if doing a squat rather than using your back.

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

 

Since the lumbar spine has no mobility, turning the waist can put a lot of strain on the lumbar spine, and turning the torso requires using the thoracic spine and simultaneously moving the arms and legs to create the strength to support it.

 

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I think if you just leave it alone because your back hurts, it will only get worse.

Even in hospitals, walking is recommended.

Pain every time I walk.

Better than walking and running

It's nice to walk slowly

 

Tossing and turning in a crouching position

It helps with the grasshopper pose.