Image by nana untel via Flickr

Do you stand for long periods of time hurting your lower back? Here are a few simple measures you can take to help avoid back pain.

1.  Posture! Think of your spine as a stack of blocks, they want to be in a perfectly vertical line or else they will want to fall and your muscles will need to be constantly pulling on them to keep you standing up straight.  Your muscles should be very relaxed in a straight posture.
A correct posture should allow you to keep your chest forward, shoulders straight, head up, feet evenly spaced with equal weight on each foot.

2.  Don't lean. If you find yourself leaning up against the counter or workbench or bar, step a couple inches back and stand up straight.  By leaning on an object you are natually incurring muscle use.

3.  Shoes .  Make sure your shoes give you good support.   A lot of back trouble can be attributed to lack of arch support in the feet.

4.  Stand on a mat. There are plenty of rubber pads you can buy that give your feet and therefore your back a bit of cushion.  Factories that require employees to stand up all day almost always use these rubber mats by equipment.  You should too!  There are mats especially designed to go in your kitchen too; either by the sink or the stove.

5.  Stance .  Adjusting your stance, shifting your weight around can be comforting since it temporarily takes strain off of some muscles and puts it on others.  But be cautious that you don't stick yourself in some horrible posture for any substantial amount of time.

6.  Adjust the work surface .  Make sure that your work surface and everything you are working on is at the correct level and allows for correct posture and comfort.  If you are at a desk bring your keyboard up so that your forearms are horizontal; etc.  Basically if you can not keep a correct and comfortable posture then you need to adjust something.

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