Lower back pain affects many musicians. Whether you’re playing a bass, cello, violin, or guitar, you may get back pain.
There are many reasons why musicians may feel pain in their lower back muscles. Travel and lifestyle habits can contribute to that pain. Let’s look at the top habits that contribute to pain in lower back muscles for musicians.
1) Excess weight. If you are wearing too much weight around your belly, then this will put a strain on your lower back. You cannot reduce fat just around your waistline: you must focus on healthier eating and overall weight loss. Then the spare tire will deflate, as the rest of your body also trims down.
2) Lack of exercise. If you are a musician who travels, it can be very difficult to exercise. But your lower back muscles need cardio exercise for the oxygen and blood flow. They need strength-training to stay strong. And they need stretching to stay loose and healthy.
3) Poor nutrition. Our backs need nutritious eating to stay healthy. Our muscles especially need minerals. When we travel, or eat out, or we’re offered treats and junky snacks, we do not get enough nutritious foods like vegetables and other mineral-rich foods.
4) Smoking. Depriving our muscles of oxygen and reducing circulation kills healthy tissues.
5) Transporting equipment. Moving heavy equipment and instruments can be precarious for our low backs. Musicians lift equipment from awkward positions that make them vulnerable to strains.
6) Inactivity. Musicians spend a lot of time on the road. They also have a lot of down-time. Lower backs get weak and out of balance from too much sitting. Lack of movement leads to excess weight, and too much down-time might encourage smoking.
7) Compromised Sleep. Travel, varying work schedules, switching time zones, and sleeping in different beds all lead to poor-quality sleep. Fatigue and sleep deprivation contribute to muscle pain symptoms. Until the body gets in a regular sleep pattern, pain may intensify.
Lack of Planning. It is hard to plan healthy routines when your work and home location changes daily. Staying healthy requires plans and commitment.
9) Accommodations. Performing musicians stay in a variety of beds. They use different pillows. They spend the night in vans and buses, and on airplanes. At night, they stay on couches, cots, inflatable mattresses, child-sized beds, and floors.
10) Co-factors. Most musicians’ habits do not just include one of these mentioned in this list. They may be vulnerable to all of these. When these lifestyle and travel habits are combined, their affect on back muscles is multiplied. It may be impossible to separate the influences and determine which has the greatest affect on the lower back muscles.
While many of these factors may be inevitable, devising a pro-active plan for health will affect your back positively and prevent lower-back pain.
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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nina_Schnipper
Author: Nina Schnipper
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