Lower back pain is one of the leading medical conditions in our country. 80% of our population will experience it at some point. I know I have. We wanted to share with you the one thing we’ve used consistently over the last decade to help manage & keep my low back pain away.
Low back pain can cause us to be inactive or believe we need to completely stop moving altogether to let it heal. This is an old-school way of thinking. We’ve evolved since this idea & feel that a better alternative exists to proactively & intelligently work around the pain to alleviate symptoms.
There could be an infinite number of reasons why our lower back is causing us pain, but one of the most common factors is that we aren’t moving as often as we should. Inactivity is at an all-time high as technology has us constantly sitting. Think about it we sit at the table to eat, we sit in our car on the way to work, we sit at work, we sit in the car on the way to spin class, we sit on a bike at spin class, we sit in the car on our way home, where we sit at the table to eat, then find ourselves sitting on the couch to end the day. Compound this over time and we’ve created a recipe potential for chronic low back pain.
When our low back hurts we go to our doctor who tells us to take these medications & to rest. While these may relieve the pain in the short term life is a long-term play.
Lack of daily movement leads to a decrease in muscle mass, strength, & even a decrease in spine stability which oftentimes precedes chronic lower back pain. One of the firswt things that needs to be addressed to help determine the cause of your lower back pain is injury history and lifestyle habits. Most of us are are left in the dark in regards to what potentially caused our pain in the first place. Identifying potential behaviors and taking immediate action to change them can have a substantial effect on your systems
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One of the best approaches we’ve found to help relieve lower back pain is simply walking. As simple as that sounds, walking is one of the best overall physical activities we can do. More often than not, getting back to the basics of human movement will set you up for the most success in what you are trying to accomplish. It’s a huge milestone for kids yet somewhere along the line as adults we stop doing it.
How much walking do you ask?
Well, 10k steps is usually what we hear as the gold standard & that’s a great goal but we recommend not getting caught up in the number of steps you take and focusing more on getting a daily walk-in. Life happens, we get busy, and we have work, family, & more that may prevent us from getting that amount in daily.
Regardless if it’s 500 steps or 10,000. It’s the act of walking & moving daily that is most important.
Taking care of our back is a lifelong process. For those of us that experience chronic back pain, implementing a daily walking routine will enhance our capability to do normal activities, promote longevity, and enrich our quality of life.
