Why Does My Low Back Hurt?

Why does my low back hurt?

Low back pain is one of the most common health problems in America. It interferes so much in our day-to-day that we may not realize the depth of its impact until we take a closer look. Low back pain accounts for one-third of all sick days. You wouldn’t think that when you ask someone, “How did you hurt your back?”

Most of the time, the answer I hear is, “I don’t know” . Interesting thought to think that we don’t know how we hurt it, but that is the reality we live in. 

What cause low back pain:

Most of the time when people injure their low back it is not a single incident that caused it. It is not like they bent over and picked up something too heavy and they are able to say “this caused that”. The reason why people don’t know how they hurt themselves is because it is an accumulation of bad habits that turns into an injury. It’s the little things we do throughout our day: how we sit, our workplace ergonomics, how we stand up from a sitting position, how we are stretching (or lack thereof), how we sit in our car, etc. 

How to get rid of low back pain:

The first step in figuring out what is causing your low back pain is to think about your day and what you do all day. Identify the times when you are sitting for a prolonged period and improve the ergonomics of that situation. If excessive sitting is unavoidable and breaks are not going to happen, plan out 5-10 minutes to do some stretching before, after and possibly even during your day. A little bit of self-care goes a long way in preventing injuries!

Be healthy and well,