Backcare in Everyday Life

1
Backcare in Everyday Life

• Back care does not stop when you leave work it is
  a 24 hour a day activity.
• Here are a few suggestions to help reduce the
  stresses and strains on your back on a day to day
  basis

2
Back Care in the Bedroom

• One third of our lives are spent in bed

3
Is your bed ready for retirement?

• The answer is yes
• - if it is more than 8-10 years old
• - the mattress is floppy, uneven or lumpy
• - you can you feel the springs
  easily
• - you roll together
  unintentionally
• - you wake up with pain or
  stiffness in your back
  or neck

4
Buying a Bed

• Dont put a new mattress on an old base it will
  adopt the shape of the base and will be no better
  for your back
• To find the right degree of firmness, lie on your
  back and slide your hand under the curve in your
  lower back. If you cant, the bed is too soft,
  if its very easy the bed is too hard
• Ensure the bed is high enough to get on and off
  easily and comfortably and to make the bed
  without bending

5
Back Care in the Garden

• Avoiding Back Pain
• Warm up before starting and pace yourself know
  your own capabilities
• Use good quality well maintained tools
• Make loads manageable e.g.bags of rubbish, loads
  in the wheelbarrow, spade full of soil

6
Low maintenance gardening

• Narrow flower and vegetable beds are easier to
  reach
• Raised beds and work benches reduce bending
• Trees and lawns create a lot of work
• avoid them if possible

7
Garden Equipment

• Chose long handled tools, kneeling mats or stools
  to reduce bending and reaching
• Chose lightweight tools to reduce the load
• Chose the right equipment for the job e.g a
  lawnmower the right size for your lawn

8
Are you sitting comfortably?

• Sitting on a soft sagging chair can cause stress
  to the back even though it may feel comfortable
• A firm seat giving support to the lower back will
  help maintain the curves of the spine promoting
  good posture reducing stress

9
Buying a new chair or settee

• If there is a height difference amongst the chair
  users the shorter persons requirements should be
  the guide. Or buy individual chairs in suitable
  sizes
• The seat should be high enough for you to get out
  of with your arms folded
• Ensure you can sit back against the lumbar
  support and still put your feet flat on the floor

10
Postures to compensate for the wrong size chair

• - Sitting with a foot tucked
  
• underneath you
• - Sitting on the edge of the seat to let your
  feet touch the floor
• - Sitting with your feet dangling to be able to
  lean against the seat back for support

11
Back Care in the Car

• Like all seats a car seat should provide firm
  support to the back use adjustments if they are
  provided
• Avoid twisting when getting in and out of the car
• sit down first and then swing your legs in
  together
• Break your journey frequently, walk
• around or stretch to avoid getting
• stiff due to sitting still for lengthy
• periods of time

12
Loading and unloading the car

• - Avoid twisting and bending your
• back when lifting things
  in and out
• of the car including loads
  from the back seat
• Carry or lift small loads, keep them close to
  your body
• - At the end of a long journey do some
• back stretching exercises before
• loading or unloading your car

13
In the Kitchen

• Put the laundry basket on a chair to reduce
  bending when using the washing line and ironing
• Use an upturned bowl in the sink to stand your
  washing up bowl on to avoid stooping
• Kneel on a cushion to
• use a front loading washing
• machine

14
In the Bathroom

• Use a mug of water to clean your teeth to avoid
  bending
• When you have back pain a shower may be more
  comfortable than a bath
• Washing your hair in the
• shower avoids bending over a sink
• or the bath

15
Housework

• Pace yourself dont do all the
• housework in one day.
• Kneel by the bath to
• clean it rather than bending over
• Adjust the ironing board
• to avoid stooping

16
Shopping

• Use a shallow supermarket trolley
• to reduce the need to bend
• Carry your shopping in a rucksack
• or balance the load in two bags
• If you do a large shop enquire about
• carry out and delivery services