back pain

If a 9-to-5 desk job leaves your back aching and sore, you don't have to take the pain sitting down. Here are some ways to prevent discomfort and tension in your spine.

• Switch your chair for a ball: Weak abs and back muscles can be one cause of your pain, as well as poor posture from slouching over your keyboard. Since sitting on a stability ball forces you to sit up straight and use your core, making the switch will not only help alleviate back pain, it'll also help you look better in your swimsuit. Start off with a few 20-minute sessions until you gradually work up to a full day.
• Take five: Sitting at a desk for hours on end can lead to tight shoulders, hips, and hamstrings, all of which can pull and put pressure on your spine, causing pain. Regularly stretching these areas will increase your flexibility, offering instant relief and preventing discomfort down the road. Set your phone or computer alarm every 60 minutes to take a stretching break; include these yoga poses for hip and back pain as well as these neck, chest, and shoulder stretches.
• Noon workout: Break up your day by exercising on your lunch break to increase circulation and warm up your tight muscles. Focus on workouts that strengthen your abs and back and finish up with stretches for the hip flexors, lower back, and shoulders.
• Find opportunities to stand: Walk over to your co-workers to chat with them instead of relying on instant message, take your phone calls or meetings for a walk, and if your company allows for it, get an adjustable desk that allows you to stand while working.
• Ergonomics: Many companies call in a professional to check their workers' desks to make sure they're set up properly, so take advantage of this service. A simple adjustment to your chair height could be the fix you need to end your back pain.

Consider good posture a full-time job that will pay off with loads of benefits. Although it takes thought (at first) to reverse those bad habits, it's important for your body, workout, and overall health. The good news is, you don't need a crazy plan to make the change; you simply need to become more aware of your posture. Because it affects everything from digestion to achieving flat abs, here are five reasons why posture makes perfect.

1. Good digestion: Because posture begins with your core, it directly affects digestion. Poor posture can contribute to acid reflux by weakening your esophagus. Siting in a hunched position or lying down directly after a meal places stress on the stomach that promotes heartburn and indigestion. If you're looking to ease digestion and practice better posture after a meal, consider this yoga series.
2. Better breathing: Deep breathing can become second nature, not just a yoga luxury. Rather than compressing your abdomen and chest, prevent shallow chest breathing by standing up straight and sitting tall at your desk. Good posture allows the front of your body to open and your diaphragm to work at its best. Still in doubt? Test it for yourself — right now — and notice the difference.
3. Tightens your core: Poor posture may be the one thing preventing you from getting that six-pack. When you slouch, you start to reverse the benefits all those planks. By practicing better posture, you'll keep your entire core engaged, even when you're not at the gym. Sitting on an exercise ball at work is a great way to enforce good posture and tighten your core while on the job.

Two more benefits of good posture, after the break!

A little overzealous at the gym yesterday? If you woke up with a tight or sore lower back, follow this short stretching sequence for instant relief.

Cat and Cow to Wide Child's Pose

Stand on your hands and knees. Do a few rounds of Cat and Cow, slowly rounding the back and tucking your chin and then arching the back and looking up. Come back to a neutral spine position, widen your knees slightly, and press back into Wide Child's Pose. Stay for a few breaths and then begin circling the hips in a clockwise direction for a few breaths, then switch directions. Repeat three more times, and end with five more breaths of Wide Child's Pose.

Supported Seated Straddle to Side Stretch

Continue reading to learn the rest of the stretching sequence.

Everyone is folded forward in yoga class, gently smiling with eyes closed and your back hurts so much, it feels like you're breaking in half. While yoga is meant to relieve certain ailments, it can sometimes make them worse. If you suffer from lower back pain, here are some ways to avoid it while on your mat.

• Don't go too straight: Since lower back pain can be caused by tight hamstrings, doing poses with straight legs can cause pressure and discomfort. If a pose calls for straight legs such as Down Dog, Wide-Legged Forward Bend, or Triangle, keep a slight bend in the knees. What's most important is keeping a flat back.
• Request hamstring stretches: Sometimes teachers will ask students what they want to work on before class begins, so speak up! Loosening tight hamstrings can offer relief on and off the mat.
• Give hips some love: Tight hips or hip flexors are another culprit when it comes to back pain, so spend a little extra time in these poses when they come up in your class.
• Help from your abs: When doing poses that require core strength or balance, always engage your abs. Not only will this make your lower back feel more stable while in the pose, strengthening your abs can help reduce lower back pain in general.
• Don't overdo it: Only you know what poses feel good on your lower back, so avoid ones that don't seem like a good idea (and do hamstring or hip openers instead). And whenever you need a break, coming down into Child's Pose is a great option to stretch out your lower back.
• Ahh Savasana: If lying on your back is super uncomfortable, place a bolster or blanket under your knees. Raising bent knees slightly will take pressure off your lower back and allow you to rest without pain. If this doesn't help, try bending your knees and placing the soles of your feet together in Butterfly position, or move your mat and do legs up the wall instead.

One moment of overextending yourself can lead to years of physical therapy and doctors visits to help keep your sports-related back pain at bay. Trainers and physical therapists constantly remind us to keep the abs engaged when completing any exercise, but to really strengthen your entire trunk, you must work it beyond the gym.

Since most of us sit at a desk most hours of our waking day, our abs have become very lazy. We evolved to be on the move with an engaged core supporting every step. Keeping your abdominals pulled in and up makes a kind of natural corset instantly lifting you up, creating traction (or space) between the vertebrae of the low spine. By consciously pulling your muscles toward your spine, your trunk has the mobility, strength, and support needed to safely and (hopefully) painlessly accomplish any physical task, whether it's lifting a leg, reaching for the floor, or rising from a chair. Many people think engaging your abs means clamping down tight in the torso, but that might aggravate the pain more. Click here to learn how to safely engage all deep ab muscles.