About Neoprene Waist Supports

Neoprene waist supports are worn to provide a stiff support to the lumbar and sacrum areas of the low back. These areas are most prone to injury and chronic low back pain from injuries from sports, work or car accidents.
Prices range from $4.99 to $36 online. Waist supports can also be purchased from sporting good, massage supply retail outlets and from some pharmacies and physical therapy clinics. See your doctor if you experience severe low back pain that prevents you from functioning at home or at work.

Identification

• Neoprene waist supports generally are a wrap-around band that fastens around the waist with Velcro to securely support and lightly compress the low back to relieve or reduce low back pain. It may be recommended by a doctor, physical therapist or a chiropractor to help a patient protect her low back while healing from an injury.

Function

• A neoprene waist support provides a lightly compression and rigid support to the low back and sacrum to relieve chronic low back pain from poor posture, low back strain or injury. The sacrum is the flattened, boney "saddle" at the bottom of the spine that is easily rounded when we sit in a chair. Doing so can easily cause chronic low back pain. By using a neoprene waist support, an individual can create a taller posture that will not allow the low back to round and create more pain in the lumbar or sacrum areas of the low back. The waist support provides firm support until the person develops the muscular functional strength to protect his back from further injury or pain.

Features

• Neoprene waist supports are generally light-weight, wide and attached with Velcro tabs. They can be cleaned with a soft cloth and soapy water. There are different versions of the neoprene waist support that include heavier versions for use at work in an industrial setting or lighter, thinner versions for desk work. There are versions that can also be worn for sports activities such as weightlifting. Power lifters, however, normally use leather weightlifting belts.

Benefits

• The sacral-illiac joints that are on either side of the spine are often very mobile after a low back injury. It is easy to "hike up" one hip slightly higher than another while sitting.Using a neoprene waist support can help keep the sacrum in a neutral position so that the S-I joints are also more level, thus helping to reduce low back pain.

Considerations

• Have your physician assess you. You may require a chiropractic adjustment or need to see a physical therapist to learn specific exercises that can lengthen, stretch and also strengthen core abdominal muscles to reduce low back pain. Depending on the severity of your low back injury, doing yoga or physical therapy can help speed your recovery. Ask your doctor if wearing a neoprene waist support is appropriate for your kind of injury or sensitivity.

Warning

• Do not assume that by wearing a neoprene waist support that your low back pain will disappear. Normally, it will require a combination of exercise, stress management and learning better body mechanics to reduce low back pain. Also, if you have a job that requires heavy lifting, learn from an occupational therapist how to properly lift. Using the legs and abdominal muscles instead of the low back can help prevent low back pain.

Prevention/Solution

• Assess your work and home environment and redesign areas where you sit so that they are ergonomic. Are your feet flat while sitting and head level with your computer monitor? Also, maintain a regular exercise and stretching routine of even 20 minutes a day to keep a foundation of core abdominal strength and traction through the spine to prevent low back pain or injury.
  Ditch high heels or wearing a fat wallet in your back pocket; these habits create an unevenness in the low back that can contribute to low back pain over time. Experiment with different types of neoprene waist supports to determine which one is best for you.