SIMPLE every day measures can help you avoid a lifetime of back pain, according to a Bournemouth spine expert.

Dr Neil Osborne, clinical director at the Anglo-European College of Chiropractic in Boscombe, was speaking following World Spine Day to suggest basic practical solutions for a problem experienced by millions.

Dr Osborne, who has helped thousands of patients with spinal issues and counts AFC Bournemouth players amongst his clients, said he has seen a dramatic increase in muscular disorders since he began practicing in 1991.

“A lack of knowledge about how to look after your back and a decline in fitness levels among the general population are the biggest contributors,” he added.

“There is usually something in a person’s activity in daily living which is causing a repetitive problem. Then they do something that is relatively trivial that sets it off.

“You often hear people recount stories that they have done something simple like put their back out as they have bent over to pick up a pencil. In this kind of situation, it was always going to happen. It was just a question of when.

“There are so many simple things people can do to avoid this happening. We need to understand what that repetitive strain is – that might be how you sit, the way you get out of a chair, lift or your posture.”

Dr Osborne pointed to the problem of people bending their back or neck when they first wake up, describing it as the time of day when the spine is at its most vulnerable.

He added: “The discs in your back, when there is no weight bearing, absorb moisture and hydrate – they actually swell and get bigger.

“You are taller first thing in the morning as well. So the disc is quite pumped, quite turgid and it’s more prone to injury because it is more pressurised. Very often people with back pain have problems in that first hour of the day.

“What people tend to do is get up, and half tired, bend over the sink and shave.

“Bending first thing in the morning is bad for your back because it increases the load on the base of your back.”