In order to gain permanent relief from low back pain symptoms, you may need to change some habits. This article covers some of the ways you can find ongoing relief.

Most treatments address symptoms, and provide some relief, but often such relief is temporary, rather than providing a permanent cure. You can effect longer-lasting relief via exercise, with a focus on bringing the back and abdomen muscles into balance and alignment. Any effective exercise program pays equal attention to stretching and strengthening both sides of the body. Strengthening protects your back muscles against strain, while stretching relaxes those muscles and encourages optimum blood flow.

Aerobic exercise is effective, too, and this type of exercise tends to work both sides of the body equally. Walking, bicycling, swimming, and wading in waist-deep water are some of the most common examples of aerobics.

If you have a strong preference for left-handedness or right-handedness, this may be worth discussing with your care provider, whether you see a doctor, chiropractor, physical therapist, or alternative healer such as an acupuncturist. One thing you can do for yourself is to begin paying attention to your everyday movements. There are many movements that can be done nearly as easily with the opposite hand. Some examples include tossing, reaching, and chores such as doing dishes or using your computer’s mouse or other pointing device. You can encourage better body balance and alignment simply by alternating with your usual arm and hand for such movements.

Another common source of low back pain is sleeping habits. If you experience soreness upon awakening, then you may need a firmer or softer mattress, or you may need to change the position in which you customarily sleep. If you tend to sleep on your stomach, then switching to sleeping on your back may help. If you favor one side, try alternating sides for a while. It is not always easy to change such habits, but doing so tends to encourage better posture and may reduce your back pain.

Also, pay attention to how you relax when you are at rest. How about the couch or chair where you usually watch TV or play computer games? Are your feet resting comfortably on the floor? Do you catch yourself leaning a lot to one side? How about shifting to relieve back strain? Many couches and chairs do not provide sufficient low back support, also called lumbar support. You may find that a chair that seems great for five minutes in a showroom does not really hold up to the hour-by-hour demands of your time at the desk. Sometimes a simple adjustment, such as a small pillow behind your low back, provides better spinal support when you are seated at the sofa or at your desk. If not, then you may need to spend some time to find a seating solution that prevents low back pain symptoms and supports your ongoing low back health.

Finally, a common source of temporary lumbar pain occurs when we strain the low back muscles by lifting objects without sufficient stretching and support to prepare the back. So take a few moments to stretch before lifting any heavy or awkward objects, then be sure to bend at the knees when lifting, which helps to provide lower body support and prevents sudden trauma to the back.

The bottom line is that by making some relatively painless changes to your current work style, play style, or sleeping style, you can gain relief from annoying symptoms, and improve your quality of life.