Moves to IMPROVE BACK PAIN

Ease stiffness and discomfort at home with help from our fitness expert Annie Deadman

- ANNIE DEADMAN

Constantly feel stiff? You’re not alone – back pain can blight our lives for any number of reasons. A job spent sitting in the same position means less mobility for the spine and hips. Chronic stress can also manifest itself in constant low-level backache, so it’s no wonder that back pain is the single biggest cause of work absence. Not only that, it’s a debilitating condition which chips away at our mood and motivation, causing fatigue and sometimes depression.

‘Active bodies are more likely to recover,’ says my chiropractor, who loves to trot out that line to anyone who will listen. A body that can bend, twist and flex is using muscles. Using muscles (as opposed to not using them) keeps them (and their adjoining ligaments and tendons) strong and supple and better able to support the spine, that stack of 33 bones (vertebrae) protecting the spinal cord.