Why does my back hurt? Where do I start? Welcome to your first educational tip! Identify the type of back disorder you suffer from whether you're experiencing back pain for the first time or if you've suffered a relapse. Some reasons why your back could be hurting: You fell over and landed poorly (acute injury), played a sport and did a maneuver that jammed your back, poor posture, chronic stress and negative emotions, sitting for more than an hour at a time, postural and abdominal muscles are weak, tight muscles for various reasons from inactivity to stress or compensation patterns of how you sit, stand or more, muscular imbalance - some muscles in your body are not doing their job at supporting you correctly, a medical condition, spinal disk degeneration. Do any of these examples resonate with you? What to do first: Consult with an experienced specialist, one that has extensive experience with back disorders. Do this: When in acute or initial phases of your pain, do take the time to rest and reduce inflammation; apply ice to affected area, proper nutrition and hydration to get the nutrients you need which will assist in healing, sometimes over the counter medication is helpful or as recommended by your primary health care practitioner. Helpful therapies: Try manual therapy with a reputable therapist who has experience treating back pain: physiotherapist, osteopath or chiropractor, acupuncture, behavioral therapy, hot and cold treatments or massage. What can I do right now?  Focus on your posture with our power posture video. Have a picture taken of yourself, notice how you stand naturally. Be aware and mindful of how you stand, sit and how you move. We often don’t realize that we are misaligned until someone points it out to us. Stand tall and practice the Power Posture position daily, it only takes 60 seconds of your day! You can do it while speaking on the phone at home or at your office, waiting in line for lunch, or while waiting for the subway train or your bus. Until next time… We are happy to offer you helpful hints to get you more mobile again. We know what it is like when back pain disrupts your life. Be on the lookout for our next tips when we address how to use the power posture in daily activities to keep your back healthy and happy. When our posture is better we can stand, sit and move more effectively. Better backs for life, Laura and Ian