Back Pain Prevention

Lifestyle Choices

• Watch your weight

Weight control is important to maintaining a healthy back. Additional weight, especially in the stomach, shifts your center of gravity forward and puts additional strain on your back muscles. It is recommended to keep within 10 lbs. of your ideal weight for a healthier back.

However, it is possible to be too thin. Extreme thinness can accompanied by low bone mass, putting you at risk for osteoporosis.

• Stop smoking

Smokers are also more prone to back pain than nonsmokers because nicotine restricts the flow of blood to the discs that cushion your vertebrae and increases the rate of degenerative change.

Smokers also have double the risk of an osteoporotic fracture than nonsmokers because cigarette smoking reduces calcium absorption and prevents new bone growth.

Another connection that has been made between smoking and low back pain is the message of pain itself. Smokers have been found to have higher ratings of pain than nonsmokers.

If you are a smoker, quitting smoking can benefit your health in many different ways and will reduce your risk of future back pain.

• Exercise regularly

Regular strengthening (core strengthening and resistance or weight training), flexibility (stretching) and aerobic exercise will improve your overall fitness and decrease the likelihood of back injury.