19 Expert Tips from a Surgery Candidate to Pain-Free Living
One day I stood up from being sat down on my knees and I couldn't walk. I had excruciating pain in my lower back caused from sciatica a nurse confirmed. When a surgeon offered me spinal surgery, I was shocked.
This is all the advice I learnt about how to help lower back pain and everything that helped prevent me needing spinal surgery.
Being a massage practitioner, this is the most popular advice I share with clients as so many people I meet need to know how to help lower back pain. With an increasing amount of people working from home, sciatica and lower back pain is becoming a growing problem. I've met so many desk workers and people who have suffered with sciatic pain including friends, family, and myself.
If you have ever had sciatic pain, you know it's one of the worst pains you can experience. If you know somebody who suffers from it, do not underestimate the amount of pain they are in as the intense pain can massively limit your ability to walk and even sit comfortably for a short amount of time.
Sciatica can be caused by pregnancy, lifting heavy weights and as I commonly see from desk workers, sitting down for extended periods of time. Sitting compresses the spine and puts pressure on the lower back which can which can put pressure on the the sciatic nerve.
This is all the lower back pain advice that has helped me, along with many other people, that I hope helps you learn how to help lower back pain.
Fitbit with Reminder to Move
1. Get A Fitbit with A Sedentary Reminder (aka reminder to move)
In our digital world full of devices, and desk work that keeps us sat down, it can be challenging not to sit down for too long. But being sat down for a while will most likely cause you to slouch, hunch your back, and not make a conscious effort to keep your back straight. Sitting down is what compresses the spine and causes this pain, so for preventative measures, avoid sitting down for too long in the first place of course. If you work at a desk and have to sit for work, set reminders to take regular breaks.
After much research, we've discovered Fitbit Inspire 3 is the best value Fitbit for the following reasons:
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Sedentary reminders (custom schedule)
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Lightweight and very comfortable
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Tracks heart rate, sleep, stress, and activity
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Battery: Up to 10 days (compared to the Fitbit Charge 6 with up to 7 days)
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Price: Budget-friendly (less than half the price of some FitBits)
The Fitbit Inspire 3 is an affordable fitness smartwatch that helps you take regular breaks from sitting too long, making it perfect for desk workers looking to prevent lower back pain. With built-in sedentary reminders, it encourages you to stand up and move throughout the day, reducing pressure on your lower back and helping to prevent digital eye strain. Stay active and comfortable with the Inspire 3’s simple, effective prompts.
Buy It: Fitbit Inspire 3 - Amazon
Smart Back Posture Corrector Device
2. Use A Posture Corrector Device
One of the main cause of back pain is poor posture. The most common advise I always give to desk worker clients, is to imagine you are a puppet on a string when you are sat down to make a conscious effort to keep your spine straight. That way you're not slouching, and making a conscious effort to keep your back straight and help correct your posture to prevent back pain in the shoulders and lower back too.
As it isn't easy to make a conscious effort to correct your posture, a smart way of getting into the habit is using a Smart Posture Corrector Device.
Fitness Pilates Bar
3. Do Pilates Regularly
Many people swear by Pilates as it's a great way to build your core strength and your back strength. If you struggle to motivate yourself, watch a YouTube video, join a class or use a portable Pilates Bar at home or on the go to prevent that awful lower back pain.
Regularity is key for preventing lower pain so make sure you're doing it consistently a couple times a week. 5 minutes every other day will make a difference. 5 minutes a day to stretch is worth preventing that excruciating lower pain.
"5 minutes every other day will make a difference"
Back Support with Massage Function
4. Use a Back Support with A Massager
There are plenty of cheaper ones to choose from but if you want a quality one that heats up and has a massage function then is the one. This lower back massager has heat 3 strengths: 45°C, 55°C and 65°C to prevent lower back pain and soothe sore back muscles.
5. Avoid Crossing Your Legs
This one I still find difficult to do, but the thought of having lower back pain motivates me to uncross them if I ever do. Crossing your legs can have many negative effects on your health. It can block your energy flow, effects your circulatory system, your joints, your nerves and can make your hips uneven.
Sitting with one leg over the other for a long period of time means your hips are uneven, and your pelvic bone rotates and creates an imbalance in the pelvis and pressure on the spine as well as applying pressure and compression on our knee.
Unless it's for stretching purposes, avoid crossing your legs.
"Crossing your legs has many negative effects on your health"
6. Sleep With An Extra Pillow To Support Your Spine
If you've been pregnant, you probably did this with your pregnancy V pillow but then stopped once you gave birth. But sleeping with an extra pillow to support your spine is important for keeping the natural curve in our lower backs as it reduces stress on your spine and it keeps it neutral.
Correct position for sleeping on your side: have a small pillow between your knees and ankles.
Correct position for sleeping on your back: having a pillow under your knees.
Correction position if you sleep on your front: have a pillow under your feet to support your spine.
I've recommended this to all my clients, and like myself, they too can no longer sleep without that extra pillow to support the spine.
Lumbar Spine Support Pillow
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Experience the comfort and relief of Amazon’s highest-rated 3D lumbar support pillow, designed to perfectly cradle your lower back and align your spine for better sleep and reduced pain. Made with soft, rebound memory foam and covered in plush velvet, it offers the ideal balance of support and comfort. Its ergonomic, curved design fits naturally to your body without feeling restrictive, making it perfect for use in bed, office chairs, or car seats. Safe for all ages, including pregnant women, and easy to keep clean with a removable cover, this pillow is a must-have for anyone looking to improve back health and enjoy restful nights.
7. Clench Your Glutes
When you are sat down, stood up, walking or doing virtually anything, clench your buttocks muscles together. Hold for 5 seconds, and relax for 5 seconds. This helps to strengthen your body's biggest muscle - the gluteus maximus in the glute complex.
The piriformis muscle is located in glute area, near the sciatic nerve, which is what can cause pain from the leg to the foot. One of the signs of having a weak glutes, is lower back pain, hip pain and/or knee pain. So get clenching!
8. Regular Physiotherapy
I've had treatments from a few different Physiotherapists but the most effective ones I have found are massage based, not ones that just give you exercises to do.
Don't get me wrong, the home exercises and stretches are vital to prevent the pain but one of the best Physiotherapists I've used has said "how can you give people exercises to do if they can't move their body in the first place." So, massage is essential with physiotherapy.
Talking of stretching, this brings us on to the next one.
9. Piriformis Stretch
The piriformis is a part of the glute muscles, when it becomes irritated or spasms, it puts pressure on the sciatic nerve. There are quite a few stretches you can do to relieve this pain in your glutes and prevent that lower back pain and leg pain it causes. The one I find easiest and most effective is the Lying Piriformis Stretch shown above.
You don't have to do it every day but it makes a difference when you do it every other day for just 5 minutes a day. I'm sure you can make time for 5 minutes a day, every other day to help prevent lower back pain.
Wearable Hot Water Bottle
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10. Use a Hot Water Bottle
Hot water bottles aren't just for winter, but for any time of the year to relieve lower back pain. Heat therapy really helps to relax the muscles and ease the tension.
You can just get a normal hot water bottle, but if you've tried this, you know how much effort it is to hold it in place. Thankfully we can get a wearable hot water bottle to keep our hands free and wear it on the go.
Stock up on Deep Heat Patches
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11. Deep Heat Treatment
If you're struggling to afford a professional treatment, another temporary form of immediate pain relief is using a deep heat treatments for whenever you have that niggling back pain.
12. Avoid Heavy Lifting
Lift the correct way when you do by bending your knees and not your back to prevent injuries. Don't be a hero trying to lift something heavy alone, it really isn't worth the pain of pulling your back muscles.
13. Yoga
There are so many different types of yoga if you look into it - hip opening poses in particular will be great to prevent and help sciatic and lower back pain. As a regular Yoga Yogi, I can honestly say it heals, restores and balances the mind, body and soul practicing yoga regularly.
14. Reflexology
Foot care promotes body care as our nerve endings are in our feet as reflexology teaches us. If we look after our feet, we're promoting self-healing in the rest of the body. Alternatively, thickened, hard skin on your foot results in imbalances in the corresponding area of the body.
As you can see from the foot reflexology chart above, the lower back and sciatic nerve is represented by the heel area of the foot. The area that gets the most dry and cracked as we age if we don't take care of it. Therefore looking after the heels of your feet will help your lower back area, as the heels of our feet represent our lower back in reflexology.
"If we look after our feet, we're promoting self-healing in the rest of the body"
Get the Foot Care Combo
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Get scrubbing any dry areas of your feet whilst soaking your feet to soften dried heels. In particular, the heels of your feet of course. For cracked heels, apply castor oil and lock in with socks every night until the heel softens with the thick, gloopy oil.
Pro-tip: Use the Footlogix Foot Care Combo to scrub your feet, then cover any dry and rough skin areas with the hydrating, softening lotion, and lock all that moisture in with a pair of socks for your own homemade foot mask.
Shiatsu Foot Massager with Wireless Remote
If you love a good foot massage in general, I'd recommend the Siyaco Shiatsu Foot Massager. With a heating function and wireless remote, it's the ultimate foot relaxation experience. Perfect for relieving foot discomfort from long hours of standing, walking, or intense activity. A professional-grade massager that features deep-kneading, rolling, heat, and vibration therapy. Whether it's after a long day at work, travel, sports, or exercise, foot massager promotes better circulation and enhances your overall wellbeing.
It has 5 massage modes and 9 intensity levels to suit your preferences and the optional heating function provides soothing warmth to target sore muscles, helping to ease pain and tension. With the wireless remote, it makes it effortless and easy to operate. You can also set the auto-off timer between 5 and 30 minutes for added convenience.
Stock up on Epsom Salts
15. Weekly Epsom Salt Soak
If you have a bath, then make use of it with a weekly bath with 1.25 cups of Epsom Salts. The hot water like every heat treatment is great to warm up and relax all of your muscles, and Epsom Salts have many benefits. From stress-relief, to anti-inflammatory benefits and muscular relief pain, Epsom salt soaks are a great way for some lower back pain relief.
No bath? No problem. Simply fill a bucket with hot water and pour some Epsom Salt in. As we know from reflexology, this will still help to promote self-healing all over the body.
Invest in a Yoga Ball
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16. Use A Yoga Ball
Another great tool to help lower back pain is a yoga ball. It helps with your core and flexibility. With a yoga ball you can do gentle stretches and flexibility exercises to help that lower back area.
When selecting a yoga ball, choosing the correct size is very important. As a general guideline, if you're under 5’4″, you should opt for a 55cm ball, and those between 5’4″ and 5’11” can use a 65cm ball. If you’re taller than 5’11”, a 75cm ball may be more suitable.
Checking the weight limit to ensure the ball can safely support your weight is also important.
Invest in Yoga Acupressure Mat
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17. Yoga Acupressure Mat
Get even more from your Yoga sessions with a Yoga Acupressure Mat. One of my clients swears by these for overall health improvement. You can stand on it to stimulate the acupoints in your feet as well as use it for yoga.
Acupressure mats derive from the "mystical bed of nails" that was originated over 1,000 years ago to be used in the practice of meditation and healing to restore your body.
Simply lay on it for under 20 minutes a day to alleviate a whole host of pain issues, including chronic neck and back pain, sore muscles and headaches, daily stress and even helps you sleep. Acupressure Mats are designed to make pressure adjustment simple and easy, similar to acupuncture; the pressure of the rounded nails against the skin can help the body release endorphins. That feel good hormone which provides a sense of joy, energy and pain relief, and Oxytocin, the hormone that make us feel calm and relaxed.
As acupressure helps detox the body, it's important to drink water after using it to help you prevent lower back pain.
Get 2 Months Supply of MSM
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18. MSM Supplement
This is the product I recommend most to my massage clients in general, and every single one has noticed a difference with it. MSM (aka Methyl Sulfonyl Methane) helps keep our muscles and joints healthy. It's the only supplement I've taken where I've felt a noticeable difference on the day that can work within 45 minutes.
All the nutrients we lose from overcooking fresh food, MSM puts it back into our system to support achy muscles and joints. If you're going to take a supplement, this is the one to choose.
MSM can be taken in the form of powder, tablets or capsules. For ease of consumption, I would recommend capsules as it's much easier than scooping powder daily and you don't get the awful, bitter taste of tablets, so you're more likely to actually take it daily.
Please note: as with all supplements, it's advised to check with your GP before adding any new supplements to your diet as it may negatively interact with any medication you currently take or any medical conditions you have.
"All the nutrients we lose from overcooking fresh food, MSM puts it back into our system to support achy muscles and joints."
Invest in your health with Massage Therapy
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19. Regular Massage Treatments
If you've had massage treatments before, you know the benefits of a massage. However, it can be hit-and-miss when getting a massage treatment as a lot of massage practitioners will just stroke your muscles and do the same routine on every person. This does increase those feel-good hormones but it isn't most people's preference.
The lower back area in particular is also a delicate area that requires the right level of pressure. Once you find a professional practitioner that relieves that muscular tension, booking regular massages is a sure way to relieve stress and lower back tension. One way I can tell if someone is a good masseuse is if they can relieve pain in the lower back muscles as it's a very delicate area and requires less pressure.
If you do have the option of hot stones or a lava shell treatment, take it. The heat is a great way to help relax the muscles, as well as the rest of the body and mind. Super relaxing! But even a massage without hot stones has mental and physical benefits for the body such as increasing circulation, posture correction and benefits mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety.
Book a 5 star rated massage with SpaPLUS if you're in Manchester or Cheshire from someone who knows how to relieve lower back pain.
Who's got your back?
You! The ultimate key to reducing and preventing lower back pain is you making time to do these stretches and tasks to strengthen those muscles. Consistency is key!
Overusing your muscles and stress are the cause of knots, so exercising may cause muscular tension too.
That's why athletes have sports massage therapy, to feel more flexible and mobile in order to continue their sport. Most of us see massage therapy as just a treat, but it's a way to keep the mind and body healthy.
Other posts you mind find useful:
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