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Woman getting a therapeutic massage
Photo: Thinkstock

Get Hands-On Treatment for Your Back

Picking up things (and kids), sitting all day, having people lean on you—all of these take a toll on your back. You can stay flexible and strong by doing daily exercises like planks, downward dogs and bird dogs. When you notice aches and twinges, though, schedule a massage appointment. A study published last year in the Annals of Internal Medicine showed that a relaxation-type or Swedish massage is an effective treatment for lower-back pain. Nearly two-thirds of patients who received a weekly massage for 10 weeks said their back pain was significantly improved or gone altogether (only about one-third of the patients receiving medication or physical therapy found similar relief).

Published on April 12, 2012
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