How to self-manage your back pain
According to the Office for National Statistics, musculoskeletal conditions (such as neck and back pain) were the main cause for working days lost in 2013, leading to 31 million days lost (see here: The ONS).
As the image shows, workers in the UK suffer pretty badly with back and neck pain. The main issue is that modern life is too sedentary, recent information from the British Heart Foundation shows that on average adults of working age sit for 9.5 hours a day! And yes, this is the average, so this means although there are people who don't sit down as much, there those who sit for longer!back pain statistics
There are also other complications as an article on the British Heart Foundation Website explains:
'People who spend long periods of time sitting have been found to have higher rates of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and death from all causes. This was originally thought to be because those people were more likely to be obese. But there is now evidence that even if you’re not overweight, sedentary behaviour can still put you at greater risk.
Sitting for long periods is also associated with poor mental health, such as depression (although it can be difficult to separate cause and effect), and that people feel their minds are working better when they sit less.'
So, one of the things we can do to limit our back pain is to be more active, but what can we do to 'self manage' the niggles and pain we already have?
At The Therapy Centre, we have several Therapies and Classes that can help support you