For those of us who have experienced a sudden pain in our lower back know how scary it can be. We don’t realize how much we use a part of our body until that part of our body is in pain, and your lower back is involved with almost any movement your body can make. But what causes sudden lower back pain and what can you start doing today so you don’t end up in pain with every move you make, tomorrow?
1. Stretch everyday.
Whether it’s a quick few minute full body stretch or an hour long yoga session, stretching your muscles everyday allows your body to work the kinks of your day out. If those kinks are not worked out, overtime they will tighten to the point that any wrong move could cause extreme sudden pain. Here are some great stretches to start with.
2. Use a pillow or back rest anytime you are in your vehicle or sitting in your desk at work or your bed at home.
Your back muscles take a a huge brunt of your day so they are usually one of the first muscles to weaken. Without proper support when you are sitting down your lower back muscles will continue to work throughout the day instead of resting. This increased wear and tear on your muscles allows for any random misstep to become a hospital visit.
3. Use a foam roller when your muscles are sore or the day after a hard workout.
First of all, I use my foam roller almost daily and it feels amazing. If you’ve never done it, you’re missing out.
What I’ve realized in my body is that when my muscles are sore, especially my lower back and hamstrings, they are really just kind of knotted up and need to be rolled out, kind of like rolling the air bubbles out of dough when you make bread. Allowing knots to build up in your body is a disaster waiting to happen!
4. Go for a walk after lunch.
Not only is this good for your digestion but if you work at a job that requires you to sit down all day, the walk will loosen your lower back and leg muscles and get the blood flowing again.
5. Avoid twisting your back too hard.
Sometimes holding onto a chair and twisting the pops out of your back feels amazing but be careful of going too far if you haven’t been practicing yoga or stretching your muscles daily. Muscles can easily tear and twisting tight or weak muscles too hard or too fast can cause severe sudden pain.
Taking action each day is crucial in preventing sudden lower back pain.
Tomorrow is not promised to us so it is our responsibility to take every action that we can to allow ourselves to live the happiest life that we can live. Doing these things everyday shouldn’t be a chore or something you just want to get over with so you can go back to doing something else. Take just a little time out of the day to take care of your body and I promise it will pay you back a thousand times over.
It’s time to stop worrying about stepping one wrong way and being sent to the hospital in terrible pain. I’ve been the guy that is always complaining about how bad his back hurts and how every time I bent over I would feel a shooting pain through my back. It’s not fun. But starting a regular yoga practice will help lead you to the path of recovery. Make the commitment to start healing your body and I promise you will not regret it.
Stick With It!
It’s great to see that I already follow at least 1 of the things you mention about dealing with sudden back pain. I always take the 15 minutes after lunch to walk around and stretch. Working from home though and in an office chair half the time I thought about using a backrest or pillow to help, thanks for confirming that it will. I am going to have to try that for sure. Thanks for sharing this information.
That’s great that you already take a walk after lunch, just a little bit helps a lot. I drove my car for years without a pillow behind my back and as soon as I started driving with one I was immediately able to drive for long periods of time without having to stop and stretch due to the pain. I hope it helps you too!
Lower back pain runs in my family. I stretch every day as you mentioned and I haven’t had pain yet. But we will see what happens as I continue to age.
It’s great that you’re already stretching every day! I wasn’t as proactive when I was younger so you definitely have an upper hand. Stick with it!
Hi! Thanks for a great post and the advice of using a foam roller. I´ve seen them around but never really understood how to use them. Maybe you have an article or a review coming about them as well in the future? I would love to know more.
Hi Jenni, I’m glad you enjoyed the post!
I was the same way about using a foam roller until I used a friend’s roller one night and bought one for myself the next day. I will definitely write a future post about my favorite techniques for the roller very soon!