Occasional soreness and mild pain in your lower back is a normal part of life. You might have some soreness after a long day of sitting at your desk or after gardening. Often, this soreness and mild pain go away after a little rest and some simple home remedies. However, sometimes lower back pain can persist or it hurts more than usual. In these circumstances, you’re going to need to make some adjustments to your daily life.

Four tips for living with lower back pain

Living with lower back pain can be more challenging because the pain may limit what you can and cannot do. However, there are some tips that anyone with back pain can follow that can help reduce and prevent lower back pain in your life:

1. Get active — A sedentary lifestyle is one of the leading causes of lower back pain. Sitting around all day causes the muscles in the back and your core to grow weak and tense. Muscles in this condition tend to feel painful, and they increase strain on your spine that is also painful.
   
   To help keep your muscles active and healthy, you should enjoy some simple, daily, low-impact exercises, such as going for a walk, hiking, biking or swimming.
   
2. Drink more water — Your muscles and the discs in your spine all count on water to help fuel their functions. Drinking plenty of water helps keep your muscles and discs healthy, which helps reduce and prevent lower back pain.
   
3. Improve your diet — Improving your diet helps with lower back pain in a couple of ways. First, a healthy, well-rounded diet ensures your muscles and spine receive the nutrients they need for essential functions. Second, a healthy diet helps you maintain a healthy weight. When you weigh too much, you increase the strain on your lower back, which may be the source of your pain.
   
4. Quit smoking — Smoking has many negative health effects, including increasing your risk for lower back pain. Smoking affects your blood flow, causing the muscles in your back and your spine to receive less of the nutrients they need. Smoking also introduces toxins into your bloodstream that can increase your risk for weak and tense muscles that lead to pain.

Treating lower back pain with physical therapy

Despite your best efforts to prevent back pain in your daily life, some conditions require treatment that goes beyond what you can accomplish alone. In these circumstances, you should visit a physical therapist for assistance. 

Physical therapists are highly skilled heath care professionals who specialize in treatments that reduce pain in your muscles, soft tissue, bones and joints. If you’re dealing with lower back pain, our physical therapists at Franklin Rehabilitation can help you with a personalized treatment for you that will most likely include:

• Targeted therapeutic exercises to correct movement patterns
• Stretches to improve ROM
• Joint mobilization techniques
• Soft tissue mobilization techniques
• Posture guidance
• Patient education and more

Visit Franklin Rehabilitation for lower back pain treatment

Are you tired of lower back pain preventing you from enjoying your favorite activities or accomplishing simple daily tasks? Our physical therapists at Franklin Rehabilitation are ready to assist you in managing your pain and improving your quality of life. Contact our team today for more information about lower back pain or to schedule an initial appointment.