Tip: Do This for 20 Minutes, Feel Great

You Need Some Horizontal Time

Strangely, sitting for long periods of time is one of the worst things you can do to your back. It places 40% more pressure on your spine than standing, and it's even worse if, like most people, you slouch like a sleep-deprived gamer.

Standing in one place isn't all that great, either. It diverts stress disproportionately and compresses the facet joints.

And then, when you combine standing with wearing high-heeled shoes or any of the weird Frankenfoot training shoes with giant slabs of rubber in the heels that make you feel like you're perpetually standing on your toes to reach a cookie on the top shelf, you increase lordosis and make things exponentially worse.

Of course, hyperextension of any kind isn't good for the back, either, and neither are heavy compressive loading or excessive forward bending and twisting.

Hell, when you think about it, there isn't much we do that's good for the back. What were we humans thinking, learning to walk erect and all that? Stupid humans. If only we'd listened to the other mammals and kept our spines horizontal.

Of course, adopting a horizontal position, even for just a few minutes every day, would go a long way into making our spines feel and function better, along with being hugely restorative in general.

Deload the Spine

Merely "de-loading" the spine for 20 minutes a day, or less if time is restrictive, can offer your tired back tons of relief.

Find some floor space and lie on your back with your lower legs and calves on an ottoman, chair, or shipping box that your "Body by Jake" Thigh Rocker came in so that your hips and knees are at a right angle.

This takes the load off the discs in your spine and allows them to completely relax without having to contend with the forces of gravity. The bent-knees position will also take tight hamstrings out of the picture so that they don't tug on your pelvis, which will allow your back to relax further.