“Ouch, my back is stiff and it hurts,” groaned Vikram, as he sat on the chair and bent over to lace his shoes. Is this how you feel each morning? If yes, its time you take a look into your life style and make minor changes such as including a body massage in your monthly health routine.

One of the most common condition experienced by young as well as middle-aged Indians is the back pain. Generally, backpain starts in the lower back and later the pain spreads over the buttocks and from down the back of the thighs. If left untreated or ignored for a long time it can worsen leading to a severe pain that can even wake you up from sleep.

A reputed Back and Spine Clinic in India presented its Insights Report on The World Spine Day 2017.The report was based on the study of the samples of 20,000 patients across the four metro cities of India. As per the report, 20 percent of the young Indians falling in the age group of 16 and 34 are undergoing treatment for back pain. This is a growing medical concern among both young men and women.

Good eating habits along with regular exercises and following a healthy lifestyle can help reduce the stiff back to an extent. Another way to relieve your back pain is to have regular therapeutic massage either in a wellness center or at home using ayurvedic oil (link to the blue nectar oil). Its always good to be aware of the causes of stiff back or back pain.

Causes of Stiff Back/Back Pain

A stiff back prevents you from doing even a simplest of tasks. Being aware of the causes of the pain may help you find the right course of the treatment. Making small changes in your current life style can have a bigger impact on your health.  Let’s have a look at five major causes of back pain or stiff back

1. Bad sitting posture 

Bad sitting posture puts a strain on the lower back muscles, and in the long run it may even change the anatomical structures of the spine resulting severe damages to the joints, nerves or discs.

Some of the sitting posture that should be corrected include

• Leaning towards the computer without utilizing the support of the chair.
• Sitting on the edge of the chair.
• Staring up or down on the screen of the computer or other hand-held gadgets.

Also avoid sitting continuously for prolonged hours.

2. Slipped disc or Herniated disc

Here the back pain is as the result of the wear and tear in one of the discs of the spine. A sharp pain is felt while getting up after sitting down for a long period of time or even following a sneeze or laugh. The stiffness of the back and the pain aggravates while moving around. Hunching forward may intensify the pain.

3. Obesity or overweight leads to low backpain 

Many people are not aware that over-weight or obesity contributes to back pain. The weight around the abdomen increases the stress and strain on the back. When a person has excess body fat he is called as obese. The reasons for obesity could be numerous ranging from low metabolism to excess consumption of fat and greasy food habits. Regular exercise, controlled diet and therapeutic massages using anti-cellulite oil (https://www.bluenectar.co.in/ayurvedic-herbal-back-pain-and-joint-strengthening-oil.html) will help reduce your weight. This in turn would reduce the nagging pain in the lower back.

4. Tight Hamstrings

Hamstrings are large, strong and powerful muscles that run through the back of the thighs. Lack of any physical activity or if there is no stretching exercise before or after a strenuous workout can result in tight hamstrings. This will hamper the motion in the pelvis area leading to stress on the lower back. This can be reduced through targeted hamstring stretching and proper massages.

5. Osteoarthritis of the spine

When the cartilage between the facet joints in the lower back is stretched or broken it can lead to stiff back. As the person ages, there is a friction between two joints leading to severe pain. This is usually seen in senior citizens.

Popular Treatments for Back Pain

Total bed rest – This is one of the traditional treatment where the several days of complete bed rest would be recommended along with light physical activity to relieve discomfort.

• Ice pack application – This help to loosen as well as relax the muscles in the lower back. It also aids relieving the tension.
• Stretches and exercises – Back stretches including a few yoga postures help relieve lower back pain and stiffness.
• Oral Medication – A medical practitioner would prescribe muscular relaxants or anti-inflammatory drugs. These medicines give temporary relief. When the effect wears off the pain comes back.
• Why Opt for Therapeutic Massages to Relieve Back Pain

Massage is an alternate therapy that relieve many spinal conditions including stiff back, back pain, muscular tension, aches and inflammation.  Some of the benefits of back massage include the following:

• Massage promotes muscle relaxation – Regular massage reduce muscle spasms that occur when the rib joints lose mobility. The therapy will aid in releasing tension in tissues and thereby increase the mobility of pelvic area.
•  Improves blood circulation – The soreness of the lower back muscles will be reduced when massaged. The reason is it increases the blood flow in that region.
•  Massage increases the level of endorphins – When you undergo back massage therapy to manage chronic pain, the body produces the feel-good chemicals called endorphins. This is considered to be one of the biggest benefits of therapeutic back and body massage.

Though once considered to be an alternative approach for back pain management, today it’s a popular therapy much sought after. Choose a reputed wellness center  that provide pain management and customized as well as proven massage therapies such as Ayurvedic therapies, spot therapies, Instant relief therapy and so on.