Every day millions of people are afraid to bend over because of their back. Is it due to fear of pain, actual pain, or concern of further injuring their back? Regardless the belief is present and well solidified by the mainstream medical community. Almost universally, when someone hurts their back they are told to avoid bending or believe bending over will harm their back. But is this really true?

Lets begin by acknowledging that YES, it can sometimes be painful to bend over when one’s back hurts. It very well may hurt to the point of wanting to not bend over. But does this mean that one should never bend over again? That answer is a resounding NO, though for a period of time it may be wise to limit the amount of bending over.

Ultimately, our body (and spine) is made to move, bend, twist, and turn. Our spine is strong, not fragile. It can function even when painful.

So how do we know when it is safe or when to bend over?

Well…that is going to depend upon a person’s exact presentation.

If you are someone who is worse sitting or bending over and hurt less with standing, walking, or bending backward- do that for a while to ease the pain. Then once the pain has lessened it will get easier to perform those bending forward movements. At the same time, there are safe movements that can simulate bending forward that may be less painful or not at all. These can be done sitting or lying down and can be useful to re-introduce that bending forward movement.

In the end, it is important to make sure the spine moves in all directions to enable normal daily function. Please do not let anyone tell you that you should never bend forward again. Know that even if painful, the spine is not being damaged with bending over.

Suffering with back pain bending over and don’t know where to turn?

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