With the serious flood situation in Thailand, many volunteer to fill sandbags to fight the floods but doing so for hours a day might take its toll as muscle aches and pains are commonly resulted from working in the same position for too long. To protect yourself from muscle aches and low back pains, here’re useful exercise suggestions from the Physical Therapy Association of Thailand.

1. Standing low back stretch: put your hands on your hips and bend backward as far as you can but not force yourself too hard. Return to the upright position and repeat 10 times. You can do this exercise during a break from filling sandbags before resuming your works. (Image from www.backtrainer.com)

           2. Lying back stretch: lie down on your stomach and draw your elbows up to the shoulder level with palms on the floor. Press down on your elbows and palms to raise your torso up. Hold for 5 seconds and lie down on your stomach. Repeat 10 times (Image from www.easyvigour.net.nz).

           These back stretching techniques are recommended to do at least three times a day until the pains are relieved. Should the pains be more serious, physician consultation is advised.

For lifting sandbags, the most important thing is making sure that your back is in the upright position before lifting. If possible, you should pull sandbags with your back up straight. If you cannot avoid lifting sandbags, these back stretching techniques are recommended to do after that.(Image From: www.fitnessgenerator.com/.../backward%20drag.gif )

           Credit to the Physical Therapy Association of Thailand (www.thaipt.org) and Asst.Prof.Dr.Vanida Nopponpunth, Dean of Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Chulalongkorn University.