With Christmas and the party season fast approaching most of us will be attending office parties and social gathering which involves long periods of standing and of course get our heels and glad rags on. So here are a few tips on how to avoid back pain over the festive period.
Don’t Stand for Longer than 2 hours
When we stand for long periods of time we tend to accumulate strain and tension around our lower back. Usually this is because we relax our glutes and our pelvis slips into an anterior pelvic tilt. Furthermore, you may find you favour one leg more than the other, thus causing excessive strain across the lower back.
If you do have to stand for a longer period of time, try and squeeze / tense your glutes. This will take some of the strain off the lower back and help prevent your pelvis slipping into an anterior pelvic tilt.
Standing Correctly
Maintaining the natural curve of the spine when standing promotes “good posture”. The human spine looks a little bit like an S from the side, and maintaining those two curves is important.
• Keep your head directly over the shoulders (i.e. “chest out, head back”)
• Keep the shoulders directly over the pelvis
• Tighten the core abdominal and glute muscles
• Tuck in the buttocks
• Place the feet slightly apart and knees bent just a little bit (i.e., not locked).
Don’t Wear Heels for Extended periods of time
Heels place you in hyperextension which not only increases the stress on the lower back (mainly through an increased anterior pelvic tilt) but also leads to a kyphotic posture, which isn’t a great look.
If you are suffering with back pain or a sport related injury our Liverpool Chiropractor and sport Injury Clinic have an incredible team who can help you with fast, effective pain relief. Please contact our Sport Injury Clinic to make an appointment.
