Your mattress may can be the cause of or solve your back problems. The type of mattress that is best for everyone’s spine is a medium-firm one. Your spine may bend and curve too much with a soft mattress. The other extreme is a mattress that is too firm, causing a stiffness in your spine and a hesitancy to fully relax. Your mattress should give support to your back, but allow you to sleep comfortably.

To reduce back pain forever, lose some weight. Losing weight will reduce the amount of work your back has to do, and thus you can reduce the swelling and muscle tension that causes pain. Pain in the lower region of your back is often a result of too much pressure on your ligaments and muscles. Individuals who are overweight typically do not have good muscle tone, which makes it much more likely that they will have back pain. One way to decrease your back pain is to have a proportional body mass index.

For individuals affected by stiffness and pain in their back, gentle stretches of the muscles in your back and hamstrings can help a great deal. Because the back muscles are so large, it can literally make your whole body ache when they are hurt. Work on stretching the surrounding muscle groups too.

If you are suffering from chronic back pain, do not hesitate to schedule a consultation with a medical professional. Diagnostic tests can help your doctor diagnose the cause of your back pain and help find effective treatments.

To prevent unnecessary back pain, or even when you sit, retain good posture. Many people believe that back problems stem from a physical injury. Truthfully, even long periods of improper sitting like the bad postures people often have in front of computers can add up to back injury.

As you’ve read, you should learn all you can about dealing with back pain. Use what you’ve learned here to ease the pain of a bad back for you or someone you know.