REDUCE LOWER BACK PAIN WHEN SITTING AND LYING DOWN
Recently I hurt my lower back without knowing what I did. The pain was huge and paralysed me from any activities - the worst was I couldn’t sit or sleep for a week. After that experience, I am more sensitive to any small discomfort on my back by wrong postures or movement. It is so critical to have proper postures and good habits to look after back health - especially when we sit and sleep (lie down).
Sitting :
Referring to an “ergonomic trends” article, if you suffer from lower back pain, your backrest should be about 100 degrees from the seat base to reduce pressure on your spinal discs up to 20% more than a 90 degree upright backrest. Our nip-glide seat backrest has good flexibility to support your back. You can also add a rolled towel ( for saddled lumbar support) on the backrest to support your lower back. <Image 1>
You will often see that many people cross their legs and bend their back forward to look at their phone - this is a bad posture for the spine. Never hunch your back and cross your legs.
Aside from the sitting position, we can also look at the right way to stand up from sitting.
1. Move your buttocks to the edge of the seat and spread your feet for stability and support.
2. Move one foot back a bit for leverage.
3. Hold the armrest to spread your body weight (armrests can spread 10% of your body weight); The nip-glide walker has easy handle adjustment to convert handles to armrests so please make sure to lower the handles when you use it as a seat.
4. Slight lean forward to move your weight to your legs. and use your back muscles to rise.
5. After standing up, relax your back by doing a few backbends.
Please move slowly and breathe (exhale) slowly. Sudden movement can shock your muscles and give your more pain.
Sleeping (lying down) :
What is your sleeping posture? It was hard to fall asleep when I had lower back pain, but I did a few things to reduce the pain.
It is recommended to have a low pillow for your neck and spine and add a pillow under your knees. This will help to support the “S” spine shape. (Image 2) - This is good posture if you like to sleep on your back.
If you sleep sideways, it is recommended to have low pillow support for your neck and put a pillow between your legs. This is also a good position for pregnant women with back pain in the last trimester. It is not recommended to use a high pillow or lie on your tummy if you have a bad back.
Also, I remember it was not easy to get out of bed when I had a sore back.
These are the tips for getting out of bed safely without hurting further or pulling muscles. As I mentioned before, please move slow.
Deep breathing and stretching - lying on your back closer to the edge of the bed.
Bend your knees and place your feet flat on the bed.
Roll onto your side - when you roll, move your whole body as one to avoid twisting.
Push yourself with your hands to sit up. - when you push yourself up, let your legs drop from the bed. Use your legs’ weight to anchor and lift your body. Please do this slowly.
Getting ready to stand up - once you sit up, take a moment. Gently arch your lower back to help transition from many hours of lying down.
Bend forward from the hips - Press down your feet and strengthen your legs as you rise and use both arms to support your body weight.
My physiotherapist emphasised that keep moving but slowly. I found that moving slowly is not easy because I am used to rushing around. Practice these slow moves when you sit, stand and get out of bed every day for a week and it will become a habit. :)
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