Author: Bryan Lang, PT, DPT, MHA, CSCS, Cert.DN: Doctor of Physical Therapy, Business Owner, Associate Professor, and Blog Contributor. Explores common client questions, helps find solutions for every day functional health concerns, and interprets difficult theories in healthcare rehabilitation. Committed to life-long learning and education. Learn more about Bryan on Google+.
The numbers don’t lie. Especially when it’s a study with 122,337 people in it. There are 5 metrics that determined who had the highest prevalence of low back pain (LBP).
The prevalence of LBP was highest in those who were inactive.
Among tobacco users, current regular smokers experienced the most frequent rate of LBP.
For alcohol consumers, former regular drinkers had the highest rate of LBP.
In terms of sleep patterns, females who slept 3 to 4 hours per night had the highest prevalence of LBP.
In regard to weight, females who were obese experienced increased prevalence of LBP.
If low back pain is a problem for you, there are just four things that you need to do to decrease the chances of having low back pain.
Be more active. Buy a pedometer, Fitbit, Nike Fuelband, Apple Watch, anything that will track your steps and try to get at least 10,000 steps in a day.
Exercise more. Here are some specific low back exercises to start with:
Smoke less (or never)
Drink less (or never)
Get more sleep. Your brain processes all of the experiences you had during the day and your body heals itself when you sleep. Shoot for 7-9 hours per night.
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