1. Try to alternate between standing and sitting.
2. Place a support in the small of your back when driving or sitting at a desk.
3. Exercise by walking or swimming regularly.
4. Try to lose weight to reduce the load on your spine and back muscles.
5. Stretch regularly to reduce stiffness and increase mobility.
6. Watch your posture; try not to slouch or slump.
7. Be careful when lifting; make sure the load is not too heavy or too large.
8. Try frequent gentle stretches to reduce the strain on your back.
9. Keep moving, even if you have an episode of back pain.
10. Consider whether you bed is providing the support you need at night.
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Sit so you're well supported. Avoid spending prolonged periods on soft couches or bean bags.
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Change your position regularly. If you're watching for long periods, take turns sitting on the couch, chair, or floor.
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Use a lumbar roll, or rolled towel, behind your lower back (about belt line) to provide support whilst sitting.
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"Half positions" can be worst on your neck and back. Avoid sitting with your low back unsupported or lying with your head crooked up on one side.
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Position your TV well - try to have the set directly in front of you - at mid vision height.
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Stretch - use commercial breaks to change positions and do gentle stretches.
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Keep yourself physically active - have a break from viewing and walk to the local shops or continue with your exercise routine.
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Be inspired by the athletes. Remember to eat and sleep well.
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If you experience pain while sitting, you need to change positions or get moving.
Sleep experts agree that if you want to be fully alert, in a good mood, creative, and energetic all day long, that you might need to spend at least one-third of your life asleep. Over an average lifetime, that’s nearly twenty-four years in bed! So, if you are spending that much time in bed it makes sense to choose appropriate support for your body and help you avoid stiffness, aches and pains, and back problems in later life.
Physios recognise that the pillow you use plays a large part in how well you sleep and how well your body responds to the sleep. A pillow should support your neck and spine (as if you are in correct standing posture) whilst sleeping. This means creating a straight line from your neck to the base of your spine. The pillow should mould to the shape of your head and neck to provide correct spinal alignment. Pillows should be replaced when they no longer provide adequate support for your head and neck. We highly recommend that Complete Sleeprrr Memory Foam pillow that does exactly the above.
Physios also know that your sleep posture affects your spinal health and well-being. The maintenance of correct spinal alignment with a good bed is just as important as a good pillow. Pam Kaur's Centre recommends choosing beds that are built the way your back is built and that are designed to help support the natural shape of your spine while you sleep. A bed with memory foam being the main component of the mattress (as is with the pillow) will help in supporting your body just as the memory foam pillow supports your head and neck.