Tips can help prevent back pain

Back pain is the most disabling pain experienced by Americans. According to the National Institutes of Health, eight out of 10 people will suffer from it at some time.

But since most back pain is caused by stressed and damaged muscles, there are steps you can take to help prevent it, pain specialist Dr. Norman Marcus says.

Marcus is clinical associate professor in anesthesiology and psychiatry and director of muscle pain research at the New York University School of Medicine, a past president of the American Academy of Pain Medicine and founder and medical director of the Norman Marcus Pain Institute.

Here are 10 tips from Marcus to help you prevent back pain:

1. Your bed does matter. Your muscles require movement to stay healthy, and some tossing and turning at night is actually good for you. Replace a sagging mattress.

2. What you do in bed matters. Marcus strongly advises against reading or watching television while lying down. When you lift your head to view the screen — or raise your arms to hold a book — you generate contractions that can strain your muscles and can cause pain in your neck, head or shoulders. He says the correct way to watch TV or read in bed is to sit up, with your back supported by the headboard and your knees bent.

3. Don’t just sit there. Sitting at a computer for hours, or staying in any position for too long, stresses the postural muscles in your body. Try to remember to change positions frequently, even if only briefly, so that your muscles have a chance to move and recover their strength and flexibility.

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