Back pain is the most common condition we see at Back & Body Medical here in Midtown Mahattan. Thankfully we have many different treatment solutions to help combat the pain and injury, chiropractic care, physical therapy, cold laser therapy and more. But wouldn’t it be better not to have to deal with it in the first place? Well, of course, yes. There’s a lot that any of us can do to reduce the chances of having back pain in the first place. Posture is perhaps one of the biggest and most important things we can identify that can help reduce pain.
Our posture is so important in staying out of pain, but it is so common to see poor posture everywhere you look. Here’s a few examples of areas where poor posture creeps in:
- Slouching
- Looking down at our phones
- Wearing high heels
- Being overweight
- Carrying bags
- Sitting at desks
- Standing at desks
At Back & Body, we have many suggestions that we can make to improve your own posture. Everyone has different issues with it and it’s part of our job to help correct that poor posture in your own situation. But generally speaking, to correct your posture, be aware of how you hold yourself.
So what you can do is look in a mirror and relax and naturally go into the position you feel you normally are in. What corrections do you think you could make? Hold your shoulders back? Lift your head up, keep straight. Practice this often and keep going back and correcting yourself. You could even do a video of yourself and watch your walking movements and try to improve on this.
Other things you can do is if you are a lady, not to wear high heels so often. High heels do not help your back at all and you really should limit how much you wear them if at all.
Carrying a bag should be over both shoulders if possible to balance out the weight across your back rather than have one shoulder taking the weight.
If you use a computer or phone a lot, try and hold your head back and bring the screen to your eye level rather than the other way round.
If you’re overweight, then try and lose weight, this will help your back a lot as well as many other health benefits. Try and find a diet that you like, will help you lose weight and ensure you remain on it.
If you sit at a desk, take frequent breaks, move around and stretch.
Ultimately, if you are still in pain, come and see us for treatment and we can help you figure out your current posture and make the corrections accordingly. Pain does not need to be part of your life if you can help it.
If you are in pain, suffer from headaches or whatever, come in and see us, we can help. We also accept insurance and would be delighted to help you out of pain. Call us today or Schedule an appointment.
