here's a little PSA:

are you (at least vaguely) human?

do you have a spine?

yes?

then you are going to have to do some maintenance to keep that spine happy. human spines are bullshit and they require care. they WILL hurt otherwise, even if they're perfectly healthy.

now I'm directing this specifically at people who don't have chronic health conditions that require specific care.

for the general population, what you're going to need is exercise. it doesn't need to be much, it doesn't need to be often, it just needs to happen occasionally.

ergonomic sitting, breaks, good posture, good bedding and all that stuff is great, but alone it will not be enough to prevent back pain (and later on, damage). IT WILL HURT.

it can hurt quite a lot, even if nothing is physically wrong. the pain can be constant or come and go.

sports for general full-body exercise, like swimming, are great, but also difficult to integrate into existing routines, and harder to find motivation for.

the low-effort strategy is: find a few movements that work for you to improve your pain, and then do them sometimes.

if you have the option to get physiotherapy, do that. have the PT teach you some movements.

direct them to your problem areas and ask them for alternatives that take into account the specifics of your body. they know THOUSANDS of movements, there will be one that works for you.

alternatively, there are trillions of videos and picture guides out there for back exercise. again: you don't need to adopt an entire exercise program to improve your back pain. just a few movements for your problem areas.

so try out some of these guides, and take what you like.

you can use a yoga mat, an exercise ball, dumbbells, an exercise bench, or any other tools, but you don't have to.

again: choose what you like best and whatever is easiest for you!

it's about finding the thing that requires the least conscious effort for maximum benefit.

general advice:

- if you don't have an instructor, then you must be VERY careful about correct posture, especially in the neck. you can seriously mess up your spine if you don't. it's not difficult, just requires some attention and care. (and if possible, a mirror.)

- trust your intuition. if a specific movement Feels Bad, or if you feel there's something more seriously wrong, trust that feeling (even if doctors disagree). similarly, if a specific movement Feels Very Good, then KEEP IT. draw or save a picture for future reference.

- try to do front and back together, which means: exercise belly with lower back, and chest with upper back.

- 2 minutes a month is better than 0 minutes a month. I'm being serious. even a tiny little bit will help. do what you manage. this is about MAINTENANCE, not performance.

- don't turn it something you can fail at. don't push yourself. don't turn it into something daunting, or something that needs preparation.

least. effort.

pain is bad do 60 seconds of the respective exercise. something like that. straightforward fix for a common problem.

this also applies to all my fellow spoonies and #NEISvoid. you know best which parts of this advice are applicable to you.

that's all. feel free to comment your favourite guides or videos etc, just please nothing that is anti-fat or pro-weightloss, I'd like fat people to be able to learn to maintain their spine without being made to feel like shit in the process.