Back pain tips

I put together 6 simple tips for how to take care of back pain, in particular when its an annoying niggle and you are trying to work out what it is, where it came from and what to do to take care and improve the pain, have a read below.

1 Morning slowness movement

1. How do you take care of any back twinges? The first tip is movement. You have probably heard the advice, don’t sit still, yet are worried about moving as you are not sure which sort of movement could irritate it? Its true sitting still for long periods will make any twinges/tightness/aches worse. Move in a way that feels supportive, such as walking, a simple Pilates routine, or a gentle morning yoga video on Utube, I would suggest yoga where you are checking in with your body and feeling out your posture in a way that is good for you.

Stretches are beneficial, but overstretching isn’t! Just start with a few gentle moves, here is an example, I start every morning with gradually rolling back and letting my back align on the floor (it usually crunches for me) relax your shoulders, feel your spine fully on the floor, move your neck slowly from side to side. Start to curl up your lower back, so pelvis tilted upwards to move around the lower back/sacral area. Bring your knees in and hug them, rock gently from side to side, backwards and forwards along the spine, do a figure of 8. Circle your hips, then use your abs and momentum to sit yourself up. Yeay for moving our backs in a supportive way. 

2. Epsom salts or arnica in your bath

Epsom salts or a 30c arnica capsule in your bath. There is a reason why athletes and dancers use Epsom salts, they work! An Epsom salt bath can soothe aching muscles, relax you and provide yummy magnesium to soothe the body. Take extra care as they can make things slippy, also no longer than 20 minutes in the bath.

Arnica is perfect for relaxing tired, overworked muscles, especially good for bruising. If you don’t have a bath, you can take an arnica capsule internally or rub some arnica cream onto the affected area.

3. Schedule in relaxation time

Schedule in time to totally relax. Relaxation is the best medicine and that can look different for each person, for me it’s literally scheduling in some time to do nothing and asking your body what does it need to feel better. That could look like going out for a walk in nature, listening to the birds, going to the sauna (in our lockdown dreams), meditation, have a bath and an early night.

Whatever it is you need to do to make your back smile again, be gentle on yourself and know that you are a soft animal body that needs relaxing care right now.

PS Ted’s fav way to relax is to literally sit in bed and look at the clouds passing and the occasional bird flying over (we have a skylight)

4. Adjusting your schedule

That’s something we have all had to experiment with during the pandemic! ✨Sometimes unexpected things crop up (that’s life peeps) the same with an injury, it can stop us doing what we love, for example gardening or training, you may need to slow down and that can be tricky for some, but also there are benefits to relaxing back into your body and re-considering your schedule, that includes a training schedule.

✨Ask yourself, what actually is an essential task that can’t wait?
✨Clearing time to take care of your injury is numero uno priority, it’s also a perfect excuse to stop rushing around.

5 Supplements and staying hydrated

✨Don’t forget cherubs to keep your fluids topped up with plenty of water. Water will help aid your body to be hydrated and fascia loves to be hydrated, (fascia is a connective web that envelopes muscles, ligaments and joints). Water can also flush out any toxins and support the body to do its job best. If your body is inflamed, which it often is with an injury, water will support your lymphatic system to flush out any debris that is not wanted and reduce the swelling.

✨I would also recommend joint capsules such as these, they are natural and made by a company that is carbon neutral as well as housed in sustainable packaging. They have yummy things in to benefit the entire musculoskeletal system such as Turmeric, Frankincense and Calcium from an algae.

6 Reflect and protect 

Take note of what happened prior to the pain/niggle, so symptoms you feel and taking stock of what has been happening over the last few months. This could be mental/physical/emotional stress to potentially weaken things or contribute to the niggle or pain.

When are your symptoms worse or better? Use your own natural intelligence to work out what you see you need to do to support yourself. A maximum 10-minute ice pack can help if there is swelling. Keeping an area warm for example using a hot water bottle around your lower back/kidney area can soothe too.

To conclude

So there you have it, my 6 easeful tips to take of a niggly back and if your still getting trouble from your back, then reach out here for an alignment treatment and I will support you. We will work through steps to work out possible causes, reduce and eliminate your pain and send you off more relaxed and hopefully a bit clearer about taking care of your body.