Follow these tips to reduce back pain throughout your work day

Did you know? According to a study conducted by Georgetown University, nearly 65 million Americans reported back pain to their doctors, and back pain was reported to be the leading cause of work-loss days and work-limitations. Yikes!

So many of us sit behind a desk, hunched over our keyboards and laptops, take the long drive home, and sit in the recliner to finally relax. Can we add certain habits or activities throughout our day to reduce back pain?

• Posture. One of the best ways to combat back pain is to work on your posture. A long term solution is physical therapy and exercise, but we can also use little tricks throughout our day to keep ourselves up right. Get a small pillow or towel to tuck behind your back while sitting at your desk or in the car. There are even devices now that can alert you to when you are slouching! Get a standing desk to take a break from sitting as well.
• Take a physical break. It’s sort of a catch-22; when you’re in pain, you want to rest, but resting more causes the pain. When you’re in pain, movement helps – but you’re in pain, so you don’t want to move! Simply do what you can. If you can take 5 minutes out of your lunch break to walk around the building – do it. If you work from home and can do 2 quick stretches on your yoga mat – do it. Incorporating more small, low impact movements throughout your day can really make a difference.
• Sleep. Make sure you are getting adequate sleep. Sleep deprivation can further add to our stress, aggravation, and pain. If you have trouble sleeping, try taking an epsom salt bath before bed, drink sleepy-time herbal tea, or use CBD oil. Try to get a minimum of 7 hours.
• Increase your Vitamin D intake. Whether you get your vitamin D from a bottle, food, or the sun, be sure that you are getting in your daily intake! Vitamin D helps combat osteoporosis which is a leading cause of back pain later in life.
• Change your shoes. Make sure your shoes are supportive! Living in the warm weather, we wear sandals and strappy shoes all the time. Try to spend as much time as you can either barefoot or wearing supportive sneakers. This will make a big difference in your day to day life, and you may not even realize it!