Lower back pain and chronic pain are ongoing problems. Preventing or reducing lower back and/or chronic pain has to be an ongoing undertaking, requiring strategy and commitment 24 hours-a-day 7 days a week

The pain that arises in your body, must be somehow to do with you. It is your full-time job to manage or prevent that pain. Aim to stay in good physical condition. Stretch your back muscles after they have become set in one position over time; when you've been sitting in front of the T.V., gardening, sleeping, traveling in the car etc., or other activities that contract muscles.

To avoid Lower Back Pain, you should:

• Stop to think how best to lift, get out of bed etc., before you start the movement. Think! Think! Think!
• Try to reduce the strain on your back in activity and inactivity i.e. sitting at all times
• Never bend from the waist. Your back should be kept straight in all lifting and bending activities. Bending at the knees and hips, while keeping the back and head upright, allows you to lose height without putting a strain on the spine.
• Where possible avoid lifting objects off the floor. Keep heavy or frequently moved objects at knuckle height. Always see if you can slide, roll, tilt, move from side to side, or tip loads instead of lifting.
• Limit the weight of loads: when packing aim for small, light loads, even if you end up with more of them.
• To get down to the floor, go down onto your knees.

To avoid pain when lifting, observe the following rules:

• Stop and think about what you are going to do before you start.
• Position yourself directly in front of the object so that you won't have to twist.
• Test the weight of the object before you attempt to lift it, so you know how much effort is required.
• Lift smoothly: engage your whole body in the activity. Let your head start to take you upwards as your legs provide power and think of your arms as connecting into your whole body.