Back Care Awareness Week: Secrets to a Healthier You

As part of Back Care Awareness Week, here at Onhealth we decided to catch up with one of our expert physiotherapists.

Robyn, a senior in our team, gave us some time to discuss the impacts of back pain and how you can avoid potential musculoskeletal injuries associated with poor posture and environments that lead to those issues.

 

What are the most common ways people hurt their back?

Back pain can have many causes and it is not always obvious what causes it (NHS 2022). Some medical conditions can cause back pain, as can prolonged poor posture, exercises involving manual handing (lifting, carrying, loading), sporting injuries, and trauma following an accident.

 

How can you improve the condition of your back/posture?

There are many ways you can improve the health of your back and its condition:

Stay active: By regularly getting up from sitting positions and moving around this helps to prevent your muscles stiffening up

Daily exercise: Regular exercise is essential for any person seeking to improve their health, and it also helps to keep your back flexible

Wear supportive footwear: supportive, comfortable footwear will provide cushioning, offloading the day-to-day pressures and reduce your risk of back pain. Avoid wearing shoes that are too hard/too soft, but also shoes that are unsupportive and flat.

Avoid prolonged postures: Sitting, lying or standing for a prolonged period of time can put excess stress on joints, causing fatigue and discomfort.  Aim to change position regularly to prevent undue stress.

Use aids to help with manual handling (if necessary): If you work in an environment where manual handling aids are available, use these to prevent any unnecessary stress on your back.  Attend annual training (if applicable) to keep your knowledge and skills up to date.

Visit physiotherapist for advice: If you have been struggling with back pain or discomfort in that area for a persistent period of time.

 

How important is it to take care of your back?

Your spine supports your whole body, therefore you must take care of it.  Back pain, particularly lower back pain, is very common.  If you can adopt some of the changes above this could make such a difference to your back pain.

 

What are the consequences if you don’t/most common injuries?

Poor posture can have a domino effect on your body, affecting your upper and lower limbs. Sciatica, herniated or bulging discs are common injuries, They present with referred pain into the arm or leg, numbness and/or tingling as well as muscle weakness.  These symptoms can be managed by attending physiotherapy.

Muscle sprains and strains can also occur, from prolonged posture, sporting injuries and other day to day activities. These symptoms usually improve within a few weeks but can last longer or keep coming back.  If this is the case, please arrange to see a physiotherapist or GP to review your symptoms.

Are you looking for physiotherapy sessions to help with an injury? Click here to find out how the team at Onhealth can help and get booked in today.