The 8 best products for back pain relief (Photo: Getty)

Korin Miller | Writer

I’ll never forget the first time I started having back issues. I tried to hop out of bed in the morning as usual and it was… excruciating. It took me several minutes to fully stand up straight, and I spent the day shuffling around, totally hunched over.

Sitting was incredibly painful, so I started working standing up. After driving, I’d spend several minutes awkwardly standing next to my car, trying to get fully upright again before I could start walking. At one point, my upper torso shifted to the left and locked up that way, forcing me to walk around crooked.

I finally got an MRI and discovered that I had several herniated discs. My doctor isn’t sure why —it could be something as simple as repeatedly lugging around my son’s (incredibly heavy) car seat. I’ve seen several back pain specialists and have been told that there’s nothing they can do for me, short of surgery or steroid injections, both of which I’d rather avoid.

After years of physical therapy, I finally found a solution that works for me: Biking and swimming, along with daily stretching and core strengthening at home. It requires time and energy, but I’ll happily do it if it means I can avoid back pain in the future. And so far, so good.

I know I’m not alone in my battle against back pain. According to data from the American Chiropractic Association, half of all Americans say they have back pain symptoms each year. And, with more people staying at home—and moving less—due to the pandemic, those numbers are expected to increase.

If you’re struggling with back pain, it’s a good idea to be evaluated by a specialist to try to figure out why you’re having issues, Christopher Wolf, MD, orthopedic spine surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles, tells Yahoo Lifestyle. And, if you can figure out the source of your pain, you can work to avoid making the same mistake again, physical therapist Susan Fu, co-director of Rehabilitation Services at Providence Saint John’s Health Center’s Performance Therapy in Santa Monica, Calif., tells Yahoo Lifestyle.

Once you’re evaluated by a doctor or physical therapist, they can help determine next steps. But that generally involves some form of stretching, ice and heat therapy, and strengthening, Wolf says. And, to really make it work for you, you’ll probably need to do a lot of this at home on your own. Fortunately, there are many products that can help.

Here are some tools to pick up if your back pain struggle is real.

Alignmed Posture Shirt

The right posture can help. (Photo: Amazon)

Sometimes the source of back pain can be as simple as poor posture. But, when you sit and stand a certain way all the time, it’s hard to correct it. That’s why Wolf recommends investing in a posture shirt like this one from AlignMed. It helps move your shoulder blades and back into the right position so you can take extra stress off your spine.

Shop It: Alignmed Posture Shirt

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