5 things that maybe causing you pain

What are you doing that is making your pain worse?

You may be thinking nothing, but let us look at 5 areas where you could potentially be aggravating your pain.

1. Sleep. It’s something that we all do, some of us have a better night’s sleep than others. But the position you sleep in could be affecting your pain. You will be relieved to know that there is a good position to sleep in – and that’s the one that you are most comfortable in. Saying that we can alter that position to help it become more beneficial for you. Sleep on your back? Place a pillow under your knees to reduce the strain on the lower back, and ensure your pillow is flat to allow your head to be in a neutral position. Sleep on your side? Pop a pillow between your knees and another under your waist, this will support your pelvis and your waist and ensure that your pillow is the dept of your shoulder.

2. Using one side. Whether it be carrying the shopping, having a bag over one shoulder, doing gardening, whatever the activity be mindful of using one side only. You will likely have a dominant side and hand, but if carrying out tasks for sustained periods of time, be sure to use both sides of your body where possible. This will create more balance and reduce uneven loading and wear through your joints.

3. Twisting. You may not think you twist in your daily life, but how about when are sitting having coffee with your legs crossed? Or when you are sitting on the sofa at an angle to watch the football or a film? We often see patients with lower back pain who are fine until they sit down for a coffee and this can be the reason why. Keep checking in with yourself throughout the day to see if both your feet are on the ground – and most importantly don’t forget to get up and move!

4. Prolonged sitting. Your body does not like being in one position for a prolonged period of time. Think about when you have been in the car for a long time and you go to get out and you feel all stiff – that is your body saying “hey I don’t like this”. Office workers generally spend a lot of time sitting at their desks in a certain position – try to vary it and move around – your body will thank you.

5. Using technology is an integral part of most people’s lives – be it a tablet, phone, PC or television. When we use technology we may hold ourselves in a forward flexed position, which causes added stress to our necks and shoulders, we also tend to hold this position for a prolonged period. We can combat this by having the screen at eye level and moving about.

In our day-to-day lives, we can do a lot proactively to help address pain. Making the above simple changes may help with the pain and help your body long term.

Why not observe yourself for a couple of days and see if you can implement any changes? We would love to hear how you get on.

The content of this blog is for educational purposes and is not intended to offer personal medical advice. You should seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read in this blog