Back pain is something almost every person nowadays has to deal with practically daily. Since the majority of people are spending hours behind a computer screen, crouched in various uncomfortable positions it really comes as no surprise that the majority of them are experiencing some sort of back pain.
Not only uncomfortable but back pain can actually be a sign of some serious health issues caused by poor posture and a sedentary lifestyle. However, the good news is that there are numerous exercises you can do that will help you alleviate back pain and strengthen your back muscles. Here’s what you can do.
Identifying the problem
Usually, back pain is caused by poor posture and spending a long time in an uncomfortable position. However, back pain can also be caused by an injury or strain. That’s why it’s very important to first identify the cause of your back pain before you start exercising. Once you determine why your back hurts you should look for appropriate exercises that will help you deal with it properly. For more information about different types of exercises, you can try out click here.
Neck stretches
Unless you’ve had some sort of injury, the most common cause of neck pain is due to neck muscle stiffness. If your neck muscles are stiff, you will most likely find it difficult to move your head properly. Now, while the majority of people automatically assume that resting is the best course of action the answer usually lies in light exercising or rather stretching. Neck tilts, side-to-side neck tilts and light neck turns will usually do the job. However, if you’re experiencing severe neck pain, you should definitely go see a doctor before you start exercising because you could otherwise potentially only make things worse.
Upper and mid-back exercises
When upper back pain is concerned, you can do a myriad of exercises, but it’s important that you warm up properly first. Start with a simple shoulder roll and move onto an overhead arm reach. You can also do pec stretches if your pain is mostly concentrated in the area between your shoulder blades. Simple chair rotation and cat-cow are also excellent exercises that will help you alleviate mid-back pain. If you have enough time or room, you can also do the child’s pose and knee-to-chest exercises. Most of these exercises mostly revolve around stretching. After you’ve stretched properly, you can move onto exercises that will help you build back strength, such as a row, face-pull and reverse dumbbell fly.
Lower back pain
Lower back pain is usually caused either by sitting for too long or spending too much time standing. Since this type of back pain is usually caused by a lack of movement, increasing your physical activity should seriously help. However, avoid any exercises that will put too much stress or strain on your lower back to avoid injuring yourself and making the situation worse. Exercises such as partial crunches, hamstring stretches, wall sits and press-up back extensions are some of the best low-activity exercises that will help you get rid of the lower back pain.
The key when doing any type of back-pain related exercises is not to overdo them. As soon as you notice that things are starting to hurt more than they should, you should stop exercising immediately and contact your doctor if the situation doesn’t get better. A common misconception in the workout realm is that there is no gain if there is no pain. But the whole point of exercises that are meant to alleviate back pain is to get rid of it, not cause even more of it.