Simple Lifestyle changes for Chronic Back Pain

Lifestyle changes form an essential part of the treatment in patients with chronic backache. It is often the most ignored aspect of the treatment.

Back school was introduced in Sweden in 1969 and has subsequently become the gold standard for rehabilitation and prevention of back pain. It is basically the training of proper posture and behaviour for the prevention of injury
to the back and rehabilitation of patients with chronic back pain.

10 Golden rules of Back school:

  1. Thou shalt exercise
  2. Keep your back straight
  3. Kneel to bend
  4. Don’t lift heavy objects
  5. Spread out heavy loads evenly, and keep them next to your body.
  6. When sitting, keep your back straight and support your upper body.
  7. Do not stand with straight legs
  8. When lying down, keep your legs bent.
  9. Do sports, specially swimming, cycling.
  10. Train your spinal muscles daily.

Sitting Posture

The best sitting position depends on a person’s height, the chair they are using, and the activity they are doing while sitting. A person can improve posture and achieve a proper sitting position by:

  • Keeping feet flat or rest them on either the floor or a footrest
  • Avoiding crossing knees or ankles
  • Maintaining a small gap between the back of the knees and the chair
  • Positioning knees at the same height or slightly lower than the hips
  • Placing ankles in front of the knees
  • Relaxing the shoulders
  • Keeping the forearms and knees parallel to the floor where possible
  • Holding elbows at the sides creating an L-shape in the arms
  • Sitting up straight and looking forward without straining the neck
  • Keeping the back against the chair, or using a backrest or cushion if there are places where the back does not comfortably meet the chair, especially in the lower back region
  • Avoiding sitting for long periods at a time, ideally taking at least a 10-minute break for every hour of sitting

Improve Sitting Posture

The pressure inside the disc is lowest in this sitting position. When working at a computer for long periods, a person can help improve their sitting posture by:

  • Keeping the monitor at arm’s length and no more than 2 inches above the natural line of sight
  • Customizing workspaces, for example adding footrests, wrist pads, or backrests
  • Using a standing desk to alternate between sitting and standing
  • Using an ergonomic chair, a yoga ball, or a knee chair
  • Trying out different keyboard and mouse types
  • Using a headset for long calls or dictating to reduce neck strain
  • Positioning the keyboard and mouse close together to avoid reaching
  • Getting up and moving around occasionally, especially when experiencing any muscle or joint pain

Once in the correct position, try doing a mental check every 10 to 15 minutes to see if the posture has altered and then correct any changes.

A person with poor posture can correct it with time, awareness, and commitment. It can take weeks to months for some people to see significant benefits from working on their posture. Once a person has improved their posture they will need to work at maintaining it, so they may often have to remind themselves to recognize unhealthy positions and correct them.

Dynamic Sitting

Another concept includes dynamic sitting with alternations of position and occasional support of the upper body on the arm rests.

Sitting Positions to Avoid

Anything that causes a misuse or overuse of specific muscles, ligaments, or tendons can adversely impact a person’s posture and back health. Certain positions are worse than others for overworking or misusing postural tissues, especially some sitting
positions. To prevent bad posture and back health avoid:

  • Sitting slumped to one side with the spine bent
  • Keeping the knees, ankles, or arms crosseddangling or not properly supporting the feet
  • Sitting for a long time in one position
  • Straining the neck for long periods while looking at a monitor, telephone screen, or a document
  • Sitting in a position that does not fully support the back, especially the lower back
  • Sitting for an extended period without taking a break

Standing Posture

An upright stance with fully extended hips and lordotic lumbar spine is newly acquired phylogenetic feature of human species. Standing places stress on the cervical and lumbar discs in a mechanically unfavourable configuration. Measures to be taken to avoid backpain during prolonged standing:

  • Interrupt long periods of standing with short walks
  • Try to lean against a wall or support the upper body with Hands on any near by surface or object
  • Avoid half bowed position ( as while gardening).
  • Working surfaces and tables should be high enough to enable work in an upright rather than bent position.
  • Tools with long handles should be used for housework or gardening.

Lying

  • Disc gain water by diffusion in lying position and loses water in upright position.
  • Proper positioning and correct choice of mattress plays an important role in pain free sleep.

Disc pressures are minimum in lying supine or lateral decubitus position on a firm mattress on a hard surface with hips and knees slightly bent. Prolonged lying also can cause backache.

Reduce Weight

Weight reduction forms an important aspect of rehabilitation from chronic back pain. Dietary modifications along with weight reduction go a long way for a pain free life.

How Can We Help?

We at Indian Neuro Care are a dedicated team of Neurosurgeon, Orthopedic Surgeon and Physiotherapists. We have been providing a comprehensive care for the patients of chronic back pain that includes conservative treatment in form of medicines, physiotherapy and suggestions for lifestyle changes. When indicated, surgery is undertaken with most advanced technology assuring minimal hospital stay and risks. Our goal is to make the patient return to normal life style as early as possible.

Browse our Services
Dr. Arshad Ghani Siddiqui
Dr. Arshad Ghani Siddiqui

Dr. Arshad Ghani Siddiqui is a neurosurgeon and senior consultant at VMI, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh.

Over many years of practice, he has performed numerous complex cranial and spinal surgeries. He feels grateful to his mentors, leading surgeons of the time, who trained him.

Besides minimally invasive spine and skull base surgeries, he offers full-spectrum neurosurgery and, in collaboration with fellow medical specialists, applies appropriate skills and techniques with every patient.