People in most professions are effected by lower back pain.  This goes from jobs that you sit in a chair all day, to jobs that requires you to lift things all day.

There are many reasons for back pain, some are not very serious but some are very serious and need to be analysed by a doctor.

There are a few main reasons for back ache, but these reasons can result from many different things.

The first main reason is back pain due to diseases in the back.This can be from 5 main causes:
1. Injuries – these can include fractures of the spine, rupture of discs in the spine, injuries of back muscles, back strain or back joint injury.
2. Imbalances – this can be because of pregnancy, being overweight, problems in the legs or hips changing the way you walk, or the curvature of the spine.
3. Inflammation – this can be causes because of infections, inflammation of the joints, or inflammation of the muscles.
4. Degenerative diseases – for example arthritis, osteoporosis, or degeneration of the discs in the spine.
5. Tumours – these can be tumours on the actual spine or organs around it (eg. kidneys or intestines)
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You need a routine in order to be able to keep up with your back exercises, so I’ve put a short one together.  The good thing about this routine is that has some back strengthening exercises as well as some stretches, to target your lower back region.

Try and do this three to five times a week to really start seeing an effect.  I’ve tried to keep it short so it doesn’t take u to much time of your day.

1. Cat stretch – get down on all fours and make your back straight as possible.  then arch your back towards the ceiling, followed by arching it towards the floor.  Repeat 2-5 times.
2. Cobra stretch – lie on your stomach and then use your hands to bring the upper part of your body upwards.  look up towards the ceiling with your eyes but don’t bend your neck. Read more »

So this is a good technique using towels instead of those fancy expensive roller things you can buy.

I’m not sure if it is the best technique because it is not the most comfortable, nor is it doing anything to strengthen your back.

However that being said I did try it and it helped relieve my back pain, and it also helps to realign your spine.

This book “Treat Your Own Back”, provides heaps of easy to follow back pain exercises (mostly done standing up or on your stomach). This is a great and very popular book that has literally helped lots and lots of people relieve their back pain.

A lot of people call this their magical book, because the exercises in it are so good and effective. The book goes through lots of exercises that realign your spine, stretch you back and help your posture.

However this book isn’t the be all and end all of back exercises. Although it provides a lot of great exercises, one area it neglects a bit is strengthening exercises. Some people get back pain because their muscles are too weak to support their backs, and this book doesn’t really address this issue.

So go see a doctor, find out what is causing your back pain, and then see if this book is right for you.

For a person having work the demands most of the time sitting on chair, can become prey of back pain. It does not matter when you have your own home office or a commercial office. To deal with pain on your back, a good chair supports a lot. Back support of an office chair is very helpful to work for longer hours without feeling pain and pressure because the chair is properly cushioned to provide comfortable sitting.

Lots of tensions and pressures are involved in office work creating negative impact on health. Continuous sitting for long working hours on chair and pressure to meet the deadline makes us forget about our working in improper sitting posture. This improper posture for a long time leads to back pain. The reports estimate that about in 70 per cent of the cases the cause of this pain is improper sitting on the office chair. Read more »

Back pain is one of the most common reasons that people go and see the doctor. Everyone will experience back pain at one time or another, and for a lot of people it becomes an ongoing problem that they need to see a physiotherapist for.  So what type of physiotherapy will you need?

There are different types of physiotherapy to target lower back pain.  Acupuncture now quite a popular way to help relieve back pain. Acupuncture works by you lying face down on what looks like a massage table, and the doctor inserts needles in your back.  Although this sounds painful, it’s only a small tingling feeling, and can relieve pain for months.

Massage is also a good therapy for back pain.  However make sure to go to someone who is well trained, otherwise they can injure you more than they can relieve pain.

Methods such as these are called passive therapies, because they are done to you rather than you taking action.  Other good passive therapies are applying heat and using ice packs.

Non-passive therapies are usually better to help relieve lower back pain in the long term.  Probably the best non-passive therapy a physiotherapist will suggest is back exercises.  As long as you keep religiously doing these exercises you will strengthen you back and thus relieve and even get rid of your back pain altogether. Read more »

One of the best resources I’ve foudn about back pain medicine is at Medline Plus.

This site is made by the US National Library of Medicine and National Institute of Health, so you know it is coming from a trustworthy source.

The webpage basically links up to all sorts of trusted medical sites, that give information about specific areas of back pain.

There are many different back pain topics covered, here is a few of them:

• Diagnosis
• Symptoms
• Treatment
• Prevention
• Alternative Therapy
• Rehabilitation
• Recovering from back pain
• Exercises
• Coping
• Specific Medical Conditions
• Back Anatomy
• Clinical Trails
• Back pain Research

So head over there, take a look, and hopefully you will find something that enlightens you about your lower back pain.  There is a wealth of information.

This is a long video (about an hour) but it is really educational. It explains about back pain, and goes through some individual treatments. The main aim of this video is to help you learn how to manage your own lower back pain.

This movie is produced by SIRA (Sam and Rose Stein Institute for Research and Aging). It covers quite a bit opf medical terms but explains them in a really simple way so anyone can understand. This is good because you learn a lot about your back, and also if you do choose to go to the doctor you have a good idea what he is talking about.

This is some really awesome and informative material so get comfortable and start watching.

Lower back pain renders you quite uncomfortable. You find it difficult to sit, twist, bend and even walk as a result of pain. Your activity level is reduced to a great extent. And if you do not do any activity with your lower back muscles, the problem will aggravate further. Back-pain, especially if it is chronic, limits the activity level of the sufferer to an extreme extent. Back pain makes prey of every person regardless of race, age and gender. The reason for back pain can vary from person to person. Reasons for back pain could be anything from sleeping on a uncomfortable mattress to lot of bending, sitting, walking or many other causes.

There are lower back exercises targeted for lower back pain. These exercises do not only work on muscles and pain but these exercises adjust your attitude and fill you with a feel-good factor. Read more »

This pillow can provide some instant relief from lower back pain.  This really helps me when I sit for a long time in front of the computer.  Keep in mind that I always sit with the intentions to have good posture, but ultimately end up slouching or twisting after a few hours.

This pillow has a bigger wheel, which works to massage really well, and a smaller wheel.  In a lot of the reviews I have read people say that the smaller wheel does not massage well.  What people don’t realise is that this is not the smaller wheels intended purpose.  The smaller wheel provides heat to compliment the massage, and also helps to realign after the bigger wheel massages.

It’s also really versatile, as you can use it anywhere (my husband has stolen it a few times to massage his calf muscles after playing sports.)  I’ve  used the pillow at various times for upper back pain, as well as shoulder pain, and it works really well.