Back pain is extraordinarily common. Statistics suggest that four out of every five adults will suffer some sort of back discomfort during their lives. Before you waste your time worrying, try out these ideas. It is often possible to treat back pain without outside intervention.

Sleep on an appropriate mattress. Soft mattresses may seem comfortable at first, but some of them do not give your back the support it needs. Firm mattresses tend to be better on the back; however, if one is too firm it could also add to back pain. Make sure to shop around and try a lot of different mattresses to find the right one for you.

Avoid repetitive stress injuries, regardless of your stance or position. When you are doing any things over and over again, try to mix it up. Always shift your stance and change positions, such as from standing to sitting, every 20 to 30 minutes.

It may take a day or more to get an appointment to treat a serious back injury, and in that time many people have a hard time sitting or lying comfortably. Many people find that the most comfortable resting position for back injuries, like ruptured discs, is lying with their back flat and their knees bent. The muscles and tendons that go from your back down through your legs have less tension when you lay this way.

Always take your back pain seriously. It is common for some people to completely ignore what’s going on with their body. Back discomfort is not something that someone should hope will “just go away.” Ignoring back discomfort and attempting to move normally is likely to make the pain worse. Take it slow until the pain fades.

If back injuries are something that you are prone to getting, either through genetics or lifestyle choices, make sure you see the chiropractor on a regular basis, even before the onset of pain. Seeing a chiropractor regularly can help you to fix small problems before they snowball into more serious injuries.

To assess the severity of an injured back and prevent further straining or tearing, give yourself a couple days of rest after the pain begins. If the pain goes away in those couple days, then you can assume the injury was minor. Then again, the pain could get worse or stay the same; in which case, you’d have to see a doctor or chiropractor to determine the cause. A rest period of more than two days could lead to muscle atrophy, and this could make matters worse.

Avoid repeated stress on the same muscles, no matter what position or stance you are taking. Repetitive motion, whether at home or at work, should be avoided over long durations. It is important to vary your position and posture frequently.

Don’t lift a box or container until you know its contents if you want to avoid hurting your back. What is in the box could be heavier than you think; it will hurt your back. Never rely on what is printed on the outside of the box, or if there is a picture showing its contents to determine what’s inside.

Try to relieve sudden back spasms by laying in a comfortable position with no pressure on your spine. This position reduces the stress placed on your back and is more comfortable than many other sitting positions. If this position doesn’t work for you then try others– whatever works for you is the best position possible!

Try to eat a healthy diet, and drink at least 8 glasses of water per day. A nutritious diet provides a number of benefits, and one of those benefits is that it can help you avoid back discomfort. This helps you get a leaner body and can prevent pressure on the back, and there are necessary nutrients that can eliminate your back discomfort.

Being lazy or in a hurry may be the reason you had lifted something too far away. It is common for individuals to take what is perceived as the shorter method. You should always take time to properly line up a lift to minimize strain and injury.

The tabloids are full of stories about breast augmentation, but not about reductions. But it’s something you may want to take under consideration according to your situation. Overly large breasts can pull constantly on your back muscles, resulting in chronic pain. Women with breast implants often suffer from the same problem.

If you have back discomfort, stress can make it worse. Learning to relax helps to ease the tension in your muscles which will decrease the chances of another injury. Make sure you rest, and apply heat to your back to ease the pain that you are feeling.

If you are overweight, go on a calorie controlled diet and lose the extra pounds you are carrying. Extra weight will shift the center of gravity in your body. This will strain your lower back, and cause chronic back pain ultimately.

You have read about how common back discomfort is, and sometimes it’s about finding what is causing you pain instead of jumping to the doctor right away. Take the advice that this article has given you, and make sure you are always taking good care of your back every day.