- 85% of back pain can be prevented during the holidays.
- To avoid lower back pain, it is essential to maintain correct posture, avoid tight clothing and not lift excessive weight.
- It is recommended to avoid being overweight and doing sports and stretching exercises.
Back pain is a very common pain. Excessive efforts and postural vices take their toll on us. However, 85% of back pain can be prevented or at least minimized during the holidays. This is assured by Dr. Manuel J. de la Torre Gutiérrez, director of the neurosurgery team at Clínica la Milagrosa in Madrid.
In other words, the vast majority of people with back pain can contribute to improving their discomfort by carrying out the appropriate practices and habits. The doctor gives us a decalogue of tips that are easy to follow and practice on a daily basis.
1. Maintain correct posture. During holiday periods, we can be more aware of creating healthy postural habits, whether sleeping, standing or sitting. This is essential to prevent back pain. Improper posture can strain the skeletal and muscular system of the back.
2. Avoid tight clothing and high heels. It’s easier to wear comfortable clothes while on vacation. The lack of social commitments favors the use of low footwear. These two facts together prevent the adoption of bad postures.
3. Don’t lift excessive weights. Certain bad habits are easier to avoid during rest times. Picking up a child in a hurry to drop them off at daycare, or taking down the grocery store very loaded, can and should be avoided.
4. Correct your overweight. Sweating caused by the heat, consuming a higher proportion of fresh fruits and vegetables (more appetizing at this time of year) and the ease of leading a less sedentary life can lead us to lose weight during the holidays. Prolonged overweight can cause the muscles and bones of the back to tighten and back pain to arrive.
5. Do stretching exercises. Take advantage of the summer break to do so. Make plans that favor walking for a while every hour. Likewise, adopt the ergonomic posture that situations of work stress do not always allow.
6. Practice sports moderately. Stiffness of the body can be avoided with exercise. 10 minutes a day is enough to prevent back pain and strengthen muscles, as long as it is not practiced in the middle of a low back crisis.
7. Go to a specialist. It is common for us to postpone our decision to go to the doctor “for the return from vacation”. It’s okay to decide once and for all and improve your quality of life.
8. In case of injury. If it is one of the muscles of the back that is affected by having overdone it with sport or having hurt us for some reason, place an ice pack to relieve the pain. Summer is the best time to not feel discomfort due to the change in skin temperature.
9. Avoid self-medication. The fact of not being close to our usual doctor can lead us to fall into the temptation of taking certain drugs, such as paracetamol or anti-inflammatories and thus enjoy our days of rest more.
10. Find a good hub. There are centers where they teach patients with lower back pain to control their pain through physical activity. It is no longer recommended if your discomfort is chronic and lasts more than a year.
Source: 20 Minutos
