Research shows that back pain is the largest single cause of disability in the UK and lower back pain is a common symptom experienced by people of all ages. It goes without saying that whether it’s down to injury or simply bad posture, living with back pain can often be a chronic problem.
For some, it may be obvious why they are afflicted with back pain. Perhaps they experienced an injury that has affected their spine, or they’ve been a long-time player of a particularly active and dangerous sport. For others, the cause may not be so clear.
Here are some of the less obvious reasons you may be suffering from back pain.
High heels
If you’re partial to a higher heel as part of your wardrobe, your shoes may be sabotaging your back and lumbar support.
“The back has a normal lumbar lordosis and that’s the natural curvature of the back and the spine,” says Dr Sarah Jarvis, GP and clinical director of Patient.info. “What happens when you wear high heels is that it increases that curvature of your spine because your body is thrust forward. When you’re wearing high heels, you tend to push your chest out, you push out your lower back and that takes the spine out of alignment and puts excess pressure on the knees.
“If you’re going to be at a cocktail party or standing for long periods, you should ask yourself: ‘Do I need to wear high heels?’”
Your bed
Though for most people the bed is a great source of comfort, if you’re sleeping each night on the wrong type of mattress your comfort zone may be doing you more harm than good.
“Some people may find it very difficult to lie on a soft bed if they’re used to sleeping on a hard one. Research shows people who have medium to firm mattresses and are back pain sufferers have better outcomes for pain while in bed and when they get up. They also have less daytime lower back pain.
“You need to think about what the best mattress you can afford is and go into a bed centre where they can talk to you about your needs,” says Jarvis.
Desk set-up
With so many of us now working in offices, as opposed to more physically intensive jobs, we’re spending more time than ever hunched in front of a desk, which can have severe repercussions for our backs.
“If you are a desk sitter, the sitting position can make a huge difference. If you’re hunched forwards, you’re putting more pressure on your neck and shoulders. What you want to do is push your hips as far back as you go, you want the seat height adjusted so your feet are flat on the floor and your knees are almost equal with your hips, so your thighs are almost parallel to the floor. You want to adjust the back of your chair to almost at a right angle. You want your arms low enough that your shoulders can relax. You want to face your screen, so you’re looking ever so slightly down and the screen should be about at arm’s length. You want your elbows to be at at least 90 degrees, so you’re not hunched forward.”
Lack of movement or exercise
While you may have triggered your back problems by over-exercising or through a sports injury, a lack of exercise or movement could also be bad for the spine. In other words, back pain can be caused by inactivity.
“As we get older, we tend to sit down a great deal more. If you’re sitting for any length of time, the muscles in your back have the opportunity to go into spasm,” says Jarvis.
“You ought to be getting up and moving around three times an hour or, at the very least, once an hour.”
Stress
Unfortunately, stress can have an impact on your physical health as well. Stress and depression can make you tense up, can tend to make you less active, and if you’re already suffering from chronic pain, can lend itself to a vicious cycle of stress and pain.
“Stress can have a huge impact. Effectively there are two elements in the link between pain and stress. Being stressed or depressed can increase the likelihood that your brain’s neurotransmitters are wired slightly differently,” says Jarvis. “For instance, your emotional control and anxiety levels. They can change your perception of pain. Second, you get a vicious cycle – if you have chronic pain it can make you more stressed.”
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