Back pain is common among people of all ages – but it’s not just an annoyance, it can be debilitating and really affect your quality of life. In this blog post, you’ll find 5 ways to relieve back pain and feel better.
These tips have helped my clients experience less back pain and feel better within one week. I encourage you to put time and energy into your healing process.
“Caring for your body, mind, and spirit is your greatest and grandest responsibility. It’s about listening to the needs of your soul and then honoring them.” – Kristi Ling
Let’s dive in so you can get back to living life without limitations.
1. Yoga Poses for Back Pain
Try these yoga poses to relieve back pain. Move slowly and keep things gentle.
For your body to release inflammation and tension, the nervous system must be relaxed. Try to take slow deep breathes while holding these shapes. Imagine yourself breathing into the areas where you’re experiencing discomfort.
If you spend a lot of time seated, I encourage you to do these postures at least once a day.
Supine Twist (4min/side)
Lay down on your back with the feet planted, and knees up. Begin to shift your body towards the right edge of the mat. Allow the knees to fall to the left. Extend the arms into a ‘T’ position. Feel that the right hip is somewhat stacked on top of left hip, the shoulders are dropping back towards the mat. Add a yoga block or pillow between the knees for extra comfort and support. Know that you can twist a little or a lot, listen to your body. Set your timer for 4 minutes, and then repeat on the other side. Take deep breathes as you hold.
Childs Pose (4+ min)
Head onto hands and knees in table top position. I encourage you to warm up the spine with a few cat and cow breathes. Inhale to arch the spine, dropping the belly, and exhale to round your back, hollowing out the front body.
Come back to a neutral spine and shift the knees a little bit further apart. Bring the feet close together behind you and start to sit back towards them. Walk the hands out and rest the chest and head down low. You can add a pillow underneath the forehead for comfort. Set your timer for 4+ minutes.
If this posture is too much on your knees, flip onto your back and hug the knees into your chest.
Deer Pose (4min/side)
Grab a set on your bum with the legs out in front of you. Bring the right shin across the mat horizontally. Bend the left knee back behind you. This will create a 90 degree bend (somewhat) in both knees. You can stay lifted on the hands or wander down to rest on the forearms. Feel this in the outer leg and hip for 4 minutes, and then switch sides.
Half-Wind Reliever (2min/side)
Lay on your back with the legs flat. Begin to hug the right shin into the chest. Hands can wrap about the shin or back of thigh. Move the shin side to side to discover a point of pressure that feels good to hold. Try to relax your chest and breathe for 2 minutes on each side.
2. Build Strength for Less Back Pain
Why do we need to strengthen the glutes?
Let’s not just stretch, let’s strengthen! If you’re someone who sits a lot for work or in your free time, you may have weak hip flexors and glutes.
It’s important to build the muscles that support the pelvis and lower back. This will improve your posture when sitting, standing, and moving.
Whenever you’re seated imagine lifting your body weight up and out of the hips. You’ll feel the core turn on and pelvis shift into alignment. Try to root down through the sit bones and actively press into your chair.
Movements like squats, lunges, bird dogs, and glute bridges are great for strengthening.
Check out this 10min beginner workout and get started: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZJ3YdjlKh0
3. Take Standing Breaks to Relieve Back Pain
Try to stand up and walk around for at least 3 minutes every hour. This will help limit extended periods spent of sitting.
How to spend more time standing:
- Set a hourly timer that reminds you to stand
- Walk around while talking on the phone
- Go for at least one walk a day (get yourself some fresh air!)
- Listen to an audiobook/podcast while walking around
- Clean and organize your home
- Switch to a standing desk
- Sign up for a rec league sport (do this once your back is feeling better of course!)
- Track your steps/movement – this can help you set movement goals for yourself
4. Visit a Physiotherapist About Your Back Pain
Physiotherapists are the experts here. Try to set up an appointment to learn about your specific situation and what’s going on in your body.
They will provide personalized recommendations to help heal your back pain.
5. Feel Better with Self-Care Practices for Back Pain
Pour some love back into your body with these self-care practices and tips! Relieve your back pain and feel better.
Spend time taking care of yourself and sending healing energy back into the body.
Here are some ideas and self-care practices to consider trying:
- Apply a heating pad to the area of pain.
- Try an acupuncture session! Your acupuncturist will work with the Traditional Chinese Medicine meridian lines that correspond with your back pain.
- Relax with a hot epsom salt bath.
- Try different Self-Myofascial Release rolling exercises. There’s tons of online videos showing how to release certain trigger points with a foam roller or peanut roller. Check out this video to get started.
- A electric back massager is a great way to offer areas of pain frequent massage. You can use the massager on your back, glutes, hamstrings, and calves.
- Pull out the Tiger Balm! Tiger Balm is full of ingredients that help reduce inflammation in the body. The cooling effects of Camphor help increase circulation, the Menthol can decrease muscular and joint pain, and the Cinnamomum Cassia Oils work as an ant-inflammatory.
- Offer yourself positive affirmations! I am healing, I release pain stored in the body, I feel good in my mind, body, and heart.
- Get lot’s of sleep! Our body’s heal overnight and this sleep meditation for pain relief will send you into a deep relaxation (Try it here!).
- Try sleeping with a pillow between your knees (side body sleeper), or behind your thighs (back body sleeper) to create a hammock effect.
- Self-Reflection: Consider things in your life that may be creating negative energy or stress. We hold stress in the body – Is there anything you can let go of? Anything feeling out of alignment? Can you adjust to feel more ease in your life?
Back Pain Isn’t Forever
Back pain is a common problem, and after awhile it can start to get to you mentally. Because it’s not just an annoyance; back pain can affect so many different aspects of you life. In this blog post, I’ve shared 5 tips that have helped my clients feel better in as little as one week, but healing takes time and commitment. Try to stay consistent, and be kind to yourself through the process.
Whether you are experiencing acute back pain from lifting something heavy at work or chronic low-back ache because you spend hours sitting every day, these tips will help relieve the discomfort and get you feeling better! Try out some of them now to see which ones work for you – they might even provide relief within minutes!
Let me know which tip worked best for you!