🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Epidemiological studies show that people with sedentary habits have a higher incidence of low back pain. Some elderly people believe they’ve worked hard their whole lives and now deserve to “sit back and enjoy peace,” spending entire days reading newspapers, playing cards, watching TV, or writing—leading to chronic waist and back discomfort over time. Workers in offices also experience high rates of low back pain. Spine specialists warn: avoid “sitting back and enjoying peace”—prolonged sitting harms the waist! Long-term seated work, especially hunched over, keeps the back muscles in constant tension, leading to muscle spasms, ischemia, edema, adhesions, weakened back muscles, and ultimately pain. One study measured the pressure on the L3-L4 intervertebral disc of a 35-year-old woman in different positions: 3.5 kg/cm² when lying down, 9.6 kg/cm² when standing, and as high as 15.3 kg/cm² when sitting. Clearly, sitting imposes immense pressure on the lumbar intervertebral discs!
But good news: with proper self-care, we can prevent and treat low back pain. First, maintain good posture. “Sitting upright properly” is an ancient health practice promoting proper alignment of the lumbosacral ligaments and muscles, keeping the lumbar spine and entire spine straight. When sitting at a desk, pull your chair close to the desk edge, sit upright, and press your back firmly against the chairback. This reduces intradiscal pressure, prevents excessive fatigue in the back and lumbosacral muscles, and helps prevent low back pain. After about one hour of sitting, stand up to stretch, kick your feet, yawn, extend your back, take a short walk, and move around. Keep the waist warm. Even in summer, avoid setting air conditioning too low, especially avoiding direct cold drafts on the waist.If you regularly perform self-massage on the waist, you can not only prevent low back pain but also nourish the kidneys and strengthen the body. Here are some methods:
Rubbing the Waist Holes: Located in the depression 3.5–4 cun lateral to the fourth lumbar spinous process. Clench both fists, press the metacarpophalangeal joints of the thumbs tightly onto the waist holes, rotating and pressing for 30–50 times, until a sensation of soreness and distension in the waist is felt.
Friction on the Waist: Press the palm roots firmly against the waist, rubbing up and down rapidly and forcefully until warmth is generated.
Point Pressure and Rubbing Along the Spinal Column: Place both hands behind the back, using the middle finger pads to press and rub the spinous processes (commonly known as “abacus beads”), with other fingers supporting and aiding the pressure. Try to reach as far back as possible, pressing and rubbing every accessible spinous process and its depressions down to the Yangguan point (fifth lumbar spinous process). Perform the movements smoothly, rhythmically, with even and penetrating force. Alternate hands and repeat about 30 times.
Pinch and Lift the Lumbar Muscles: Use the thumbs and index fingers of both hands to pinch and lift the sacrospinalis muscles on both sides of the spine. Starting from the top, pinch and lift the muscles downward toward the sacrum, repeating this motion four times.
Shaking the Lumbar Muscles: Press the palm roots firmly against the waist, shaking rapidly up and down 15–20 times.
Knocking the Lumbosacral Region: Make a fist with both hands, turn palms backward, and use the knuckles to gently and rhythmically tap the sacral region alternately. Maintain steady technique, gradually increasing force, creating a vibrating and penetrating sensation. Begin tapping upward from the sacrum until the limit is reached (lumbar region), then tap downward back to the sacrum. Repeat this process 7–8 times.