'Tis the Season for Low Back Pain

The holiday season is creeping up, ever faster with every passing day. Unfortunately, in this festive time of year, it also tends to be a hot time for back pain! Combining all the movements required for putting up the holiday decorations, packing and hauling luggage stuffed full of presents around with you to family gatherings, playing with nephews, nieces and grandchildren, or even just going on the holiday ski trip. These "breaks" also tend to be a stressful, just in a different way than that work-related stress we deal with day in and day out.

With this in mind, let's go through a few ways on how your back can survive this holiday season.

1. High reaching

Maybe your low back is telling you that the star up on top of the Christmas tree somehow seems to get higher and higher every year. Or maybe it's reaching up to that top shelf for that pretty guest china, the ones that only gets used once a year when the whole family comes to visit. Surprisingly, the act of reaching up to high places to bring a load down can really do a number on the low back too.

Of course, the simplest solution is to find someone taller to do it for you (haha), though in absence of a friend, you can just use a step stool. Get yourself up to the level of the thing you're trying to reach, particularly if it's something like a stack of heavy china. If a step stool isn't handy either, and you still have to reach up, make sure to maintain your lower back in a neutral position. How do you know what's neutral? Try reaching up as you normally do and note how your chest push forwards while your behind sticks out behind you, creating an excessive arch in the lower back. This hyper extension of your low back is exactly what we are trying to avoid. Tuck that behind back in by squeezing your glutes together and tightening up your front abdominals before reaching up. You should feel the arch in your low back pull in and straighten out, keeping it neutral.

Hyperextension of the Lower Back

Proper reaching technique

2. Heavy lifting

This is a pretty simple one! While most people know to "lift with their legs, not with their back," it's not uncommon to see people do this in that sumo squat type of position with both feet shoulder width apart and knees splayed out while holding their load in front of them. This is not entirely wrong (it is in fact how many people do goblin squats in the gym with kettlebells, etc), but for the untrained, this posture can easily be performed incorrectly if the person isn't keeping their low back in a neutral position.

As an alternative, crouch down with one foot in front, and one foot in the back, so most of your weight is sitting on the back foot. Bring your load in to your chest, holding it as close to your body as possible before standing up. Keep the spine in neutral position and push forward on the back toe to rock your body weight onto the front leg while pushing up with both legs. This centers the load over your center of gravity, and uses your stronger leg muscles to do the lifting all the while keeping your spine straight and protected.

Proper Lifting Technique

3. Beware the BLT

I like eating BLT's as much as the next person, but that isn't the type of BLT I'm talking about. This is the lower back's arch enemy, the "Bend Lift and Twist" motion. The combination of these 3 together create the perfect recipe for back injuries. So if you're puttering around under the Christmas tree, re-arranging fire-logs or just playing with the kids, take care to avoid the combination of these three movements. Take that extra second to turn to face whatever you're doing to take the "twist" out of it, and lift as previously explained.

These simple things can help Keep your back happy and healthy, so you can enjoy a pain free Christmas holidays with your family and friends! Merry Christmas and Happy New Years!