Taking Care of Your Back

Ok - So you all know that I had some back problems a week or so ago. Well when I went to the Dr - she gave me a hand out titled - "Rules to Live By - From Now On" I thought I would share them all with you. Just in case someone else needs to be reminded of how to properly take care of your back.
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"Rules to Live By - From Now On"

1. Never bend from the waist only, bend the hips and knees.

2. Never lift a heavy object higher than your waist.

3. Always turn and face the object you wish to lift.

4. Avoid carrying unbalanced loads; hold heavy objects close to your body.

5. Never carry anything heavier than you can manage with ease.

6. Never lift or move heavy furniture. Wait for someone to do it who know the principle of leverage.

7. Avoid sudden movements, sudden "overloading" of muscles. Learn to move deliberately, swinging the legs from the hips.

8. Learn to keep the head in line with the spine, when standing, sitting, lying in bed.

9. Put soft chairs and deep couches on your "don't sit" list. During prolonged sitting, cross your legs to rest your back.

10. Your doctor is the only one who can determine when low back pain is due to faulty posture. He is the best judge of when you may do general exercised for physical fitness. When you do, omit any exercise which arches or overstrains the lower back.

11. Wear shoes with moderate heels, all about the same. Avoid changing from high to low heels.

12. Put a foot rail under the desk, and a footrest under the crib.

13. Diaper the baby sitting next to him or her on the bed.

14. Don't stoop and stretch to hand the wash; Raise the clothes basket and lower the washline.

15. Beg or buy a rocking chair. Rocking rests the back by changing the muscle groups used.

16. Train yourself vigorously to use your abdominal muscles to flatten your lower abdomen. In time, this muscle contraction will become habitual, making you the envied possessor of a youthful body- profile.

17. Don't strain to open windows or doors.

18. For good posture, concentrate on strengthening "nature's corset" - the abdominal and buttock muscles. The pelvic roll exercise is especially recommended to correct the postural relation between the pelvis and the spine.
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I don't know for sure if I can do all of these just perfectly - but I can at least become more aware at how I am picking things up - I have been very bad at the bending at the waist. I have been working on that. Sometimes I still catch myself doing it wrong.

Our backs are very important and can cause all sorts of havoc if not taken care of properly.