Taking Care of Yourself - Advice for Caregivers
How to be there for everyone who needs you—without turning into a Chardonnay-chugging, corn-chip-snarfing hot mess.
By Corrie Pikul
Original Content | April 12, 2012 
Photo: Thinkstock
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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). |
