14 Everyday Habits Setting You Up For Big-Time Back Pain

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14 Everyday Habits Setting You Up For Big-Time Back Pain


Back pain sends more patients to doctors than any condition other than the common cold. In fact, it’s the fifth most common reason for hospitalizations and third most common cause of surgery. And 56% of people with lower-back aches say symptoms disrupt their daily routines, including sleep and sex (consider these 3 best sex positions for back pain). Talk about a pain in the…back.


There are many possible causes of back pain, which means there are also many non-invasive solutions, according to Todd Sinett, a chiropractor and coauthor of The Truth about Back Pain. “Back pain is rarely one catastrophic event,” he says in the book, “but several situations combining to create pain.” And it turns out that some seemingly insignificant everyday habits can take a big toll on your back over time.


1. You’re a desk jockey.
Sitting at your desk all day puts more pressure on your spine than changing positions throughout the day.


Did you know that sitting puts 40% more pressure on your spine than standing? Let’s be honest: Maintaining proper posture is probably the last thing you’re thinking about when under a major work deadline. And on a jam-packed day, regular stretching breaks may not seem like a wise way to spend your time. But skipping these habits may cause your back to suffer. That’s because back muscles will weaken if you don’t use them; inactive joints lose lubrication and age more quickly.


2. You have a long commute.
Just like at your desk, hunching over a steering wheel can tighten chest muscles and cause your shoulders to round. Slumping posture can zap energy and make you look heavier, not to mention cause back and neck problems. Back pain is the number one complaint of the patients of Darran W. Marlow, director of the chiropractic division at the Texas Back Institute, and he advises them to first think about their driving posture.


3. You skip the gym.
Research shows that 40% of people become less active after back pain strikes—a strategy that’s likely to delay healing or even make their condition worse.


4. You don’t do yoga.
Yoga may be the best exercise to alleviate back pain (we use YOGA at Chiropractic lane!)


By improving circulation and lowering stress, just about any kind of exercise promotes back pain recovery. But yoga may be best.


University of Washington researchers say yoga eases lower-back pain faster than conventional exercises. In a different study, 101 patients were randomly assigned to one of three groups. The first group took weekly yoga classes and practiced at home; the second group participated in weekly exercise sessions developed by a physical therapist, plus practiced at home; and the third group received a self-help back care book. After three months, the yoga group had better back-related functioning, compared with the other two groups. And after 6 months, patients who took yoga reported less back pain and better back-related functioning. Because it promotes deep breathing and relaxation, as well as stretching and strength, yoga may help with both emotional and structural triggers of back pain.


5. You’re a crunch addict.
Sit-ups and crunches may actually cause more back pain than they prevent, according to Sinett. We hear all the time how a strong core protects your back, which is true. But crunches don’t work the ab muscles that stabilize your back. In fact, they can contribute to pain by causing what Sinett calls core imbalance, “a condition of excessive compression, which results in the spine curving forward in a C-like shape.”


6. You’re not the best eater.
Research shows that eating habits that are good for your heart, weight, and blood sugar are also good for your back. Finnish research found that people who suffered from back pain were more likely to have clogged arteries to the spine than healthy control subjects. Healthy circulation brings nutrients to the spine and removes waste, says Sinett. If this doesn’t happen, inflammation can result, and inflammatory chemicals in the back can trigger nerves to send pain signals to the brain.


7. Your life’s in your purse.
A stuffed-to-the-gills handbag may cause back damage that’s comparable to a sports injury! When you tote a heavy bag, your shoulders become imbalanced, says Sinett. Your body elevates the shoulder carrying the bag, which throws your spine off-kilter. Doing this every day can cause back muscles to ache over time.


8. Your mattress is really old.
Replace your mattress every 10 years for better back support.


Can’t remember the last time you replaced it? Your back may be in trouble. A good mattress lasts 9 to 10 years, according to the National Sleep Foundation, but consider replacing yours every 5 to 7 years if you don’t sleep well or your back throbs. A study at Oklahoma State University found that most people who switched to new bedding after 5 years slept significantly better and had less back pain.


9. Your bike isn’t quite right.
Do you routinely get a sore back after even a leisurely bike ride? You may need to adjust your equipment. Anywhere from 30 to 70% of bike riders experience some form of back pain, according to Jennifer Chu, MD, an associate professor of rehabilitation medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and a chronic pain expert blogger for Wellsphere. You don’t need to give up on this great form of exercise, but you should make sure your bike is properly fitted for you, advises says former US Olympic cycling coach Ed Burke, PhD, of Colorado Springs, CO.


10. You love high heels.
High heels lead to foot instability, which can lead to back strain.


Or flip-flops. Both lead to foot instability, which can in turn affect your back. High heels force you to arch your back, making your spinal muscles work harder. Backless shoes like sandals cause your feet to move from side to side, according to Sinett, which distributes your body weight unevenly and can cause pain.


11. You ignore the pain.
Trying to block out pain could make it worse, finds research from the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science. A better approach: Let yourself consciously experience the hurt. In a standard pain test, psychologists had 68 back-pain sufferers plunge their hands or feet into ice water. When the volunteers were instructed to suppress the shock of the icy water, a key muscle in the back clenched. In contrast, the muscle didn’t tense up when volunteers thought only about the shock. Over time, an increase in muscle tension intensifies pain, says lead researcher John W. Burns, PhD.


12. You hold a grudge.
To err is human. To forgive could make your aching back feel simply divine. When researchers at Duke University Medical Center studied 58 women and men with chronic lower-back pain, they found that those who practiced forgiveness experienced less anger, resentment, depression—and aches. “Our emotions, muscle tension, and thoughts can directly influence the strength of our pain signals,” says researcher James W. Carson, PhD.


13. You don’t veg out.
It’s not all in your head—chronic or acute stress can directly trigger back pain. When you’re under the gun, your whole body clenches up, including the muscles in your neck and back. But muscles that contract need to relax eventually, says Sinett. If you’re stressed all the time and those muscles stay tight, it can eventually cause major pain.


In an older Austrian study of 65 people who had herniated disks, researchers found that a combination of music and relaxation imagery significantly reduced lower-back pain. Everyone got standard medical care (painkillers, physical therapy), but half also listened to music and performed relaxation exercises every day. After 10 days, the music group reported less pain while climbing stairs, getting out of bed, and even sleeping. After 21 days, the music group’s overall pain was more than 40% less than the nonmusic group. “Music helps reduce stress hormones and muscular tension,” says researcher Franz Wendtner, a psychologist at the General Hospital of Salzburg.


14. You watch too much TV.
Parking yourself in front of the tube for hours and hours a day doesn’t make your back very happy. For one thing, excess TV time is probably cutting into exercise time, and we’ve already explained how important exercise is to prevent/reduce back pain. In one Norwegian study of teens, those who sat in front of TV or computer for 15 hours a week or more were three times as likely to have lower-back pain as their more active counterparts (the average American teen watches three hours of telly a day). “They sit with the low back flexed—really hunched over—for hours,” explains lead researcher Astrid Noreng Sjolie, PhD, a physiotherapist at Hedmark University College in Norway.

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