Put Your Back Into It - Injury Prevention

Back injury is caused primarily by your habits - professional or personal. There are no fixed reasons or causes of a back injury. It is a result of a combination of many factors. Some of them are preventable and some are not. Hereditary factors also play a major role in causing back pain and back injury. Back injury or back pain is primarily a lifestyle related result and changes can prevent it to a maximum extent. Causes: 1. Exerting excessive force on your back by lifting or moving heavy weights can cause back injury. 2. Repetitive tasks like bending or awkward posturing of your body will result in fatigue and injure your back muscles. 3. Posturing properly while standing, working or sitting will go a along way in avoiding back injuries. A posture should not be kept up for more than 20 minutes at a stretch. 4. Pressures of work and stress result in tensioning and tightening of muscles leading to back injury. Prevention: Proper and regular exercise would help prevent back injury in addition to using proper posture and lifting techniques. The following exercises may be performed if not advised against by your physician. They will strengthen the required muscles and eliminates the risk of back injury. Stomach muscles: Lie flat on the floor with knees bent. Put your hands on your chest and raise your head and shoulders off the floor. Repeat 30 times. Lower back: Lie flat on the floor with knees bent. Keep your arms at your sides, tighten the stomach and buttock muscles and life your hips off the floor. Stay in position for 5 seconds and lower your hips to the floor. Repeat 20 times. Back and Leg: Stand with your feet a foot apart and your back to the wall. Slide down to a sitting position as though you were sitting on a chair. Hold position for as long as you can and then slide back up. Repeat 5 times. There are other exercises like aerobics that help strengthen your back muscles and your lower back. Combine these exercises with a healthy diet to maintain an ideal weight. This will greatly help easing pressure on your lower back due to obesity and reduces the risk of back injury.