Mind Your Back - five S.T.E.P.S. to a healthier back

• Back pain affects millions of people in the UK
• Low back pain accounts for as much as 44% of all chronic pain in women and 37% in men1,2 and it affects the work, leisure and family lives of sufferers
• #MINDYOURBACK is a simple management programme developed by the muscle and joint experts at Mentholatum to help you manage your back pain and help prevent future problems

As spring gets into full swing we want to get out and be more active again, walking, sprucing up the garden and tackling all those DIY jobs which have been waiting over the winter.

But it’s all too easy to let enthusiasm get the better of us and overdoing things can lead to stiff, sore, aching backs.

Backs were designed for moving, but they need a little TLC, so make sure you Mind Your Back with Mentholatum’s five simple S.T.E.P.S. which cost little in time and even less in equipment!

• Stretch – five easy to follow stretches to help ease tight back muscles and keep you mobile.
• Therapy – when life gets in the way and you can’t fit in all the S.T.E.P.S. use hot or cold therapy to ease the aches and pains
• Exercise – go for a walk, a swim or a cycle ride, just start slowly and build up gradually
• Posture – could you draw a straight line between your ear, shoulder and hip when sitting down or ear, shoulder, hip, knee and ankle when standing? No? Then it’s time to pay attention to posture
• Strengthen – five more exercises, this time to strengthen your core muscles and help prevent back pain. A strong core means a stronger back.

You can do your stretches anywhere at any time, no need for special equipment or the full-on Lycra-clad gym experience. Just listen to your body and take it slowly at the start, never over-extending or pushing yourself too hard and stop at once if you feel any pain.

Back care’s a step-by-step marathon, not a sprint!

You’ll find more information and videos featuring yoga instructor Celeste Pereira showing the five S.T.E.P.S. at *

Jillian Watt, director of Marketing and New Product Development at Mentholatum, says: “Rest and painkilling tablets used to be the recommended treatment for muscular back pain, but that advice has been turned on its head and it is now widely recognised that exercise should be the first recommendation for treating low back pain. It is a key recommendation in the latest advice from NICE (the National Institute for Clinical Excellence)1,2. And the Self Care Forum recommends topical treatments such as hot or cold therapy and topical painkillers to help ease pain in the lower back muscles.

“We have developed #mindyourback to give back pain sufferers clear, key advice in a one-stop shop making it easier to manage their back pain with five simple S.T.E.P.S. which can fit into the busiest lives. We are delighted to have the support of health and exercise professionals including personal trainer Faisal Abdallah, physiotherapist and yoga instructor Celeste Pereira.

“You may be ‘getting your five a day’ – now it’s time to ‘do your five a day’ with #mindyourback.”
#mindyourback
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References:
1 https://www.nice.org.uk/news/article/nice-publishes-updated-...
2 National Guideline Centre (UK). Low Back Pain and Sciatica in Over 16s: Assessment and Management. London: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (UK); 2016 Nov. (NICE Guideline, No. 59.) Appendix A, Scope. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK410136/
*Before starting, check that there is no medical reason why the exercises may not be suitable for you. They are not suitable for people who have a serious back injury or an underlying health condition.

ABOUT MENTHOLATUM
The Mentholatum Company is the UK’s number one seller of topical analgesics**, accounting for more than three of every ten topical analgesic products sold in the UK**. It is the company behind some of the nation’s best-known and most trusted brands such as Deep Heat and Deep Freeze and the ibuprofen and levomenthol gel Deep Relief.
See the full ranges at:
Mentholatum
Deep Heat
Deep Freeze
Deep Relief

**Source: IRI data, units sold 52 w/e 27 Jan 18

NOTE TO EDITORS: We have a limited number of ‘Mind Your Back packs’ containing Deep Heat Muscle Massage Roll-on Lotion, Deep Freeze Pain Relief Glide-on Gel, Deep Heat Pain Relief Back Patches, Deep Freeze Pain Relief Cold Patches and a copy of the Mind Your Back videos available if you would like to run a competition in your publication. For more information, if you have any queries or would like to request images or sample products, please contact:

Lesley Keen at
Tony & Lesley Keen PR
Email: lesleykeen@btinternet.com
Tel: 01483 764729