Back Support Belts

Protecting your back with support belts can be helpful when you have a muscle strain or other injury and must continue to work. If you do a lot of heavy lifting, you may already know the importance of protecting your back with support belts.

Designed with varying levels of breathability, compression, flexibility and stability. Our back supports are graded by numbers and colors in relation to these properties and functions to assist in determining which of the supports would be most beneficial for your condition.

Our back support belts patented fitting system allows us to create belts proportionally sized in height and length to provide taller belts for larger people and smaller belts for children and petites. High quality, durable components and construction, coupled with careful attention to fit and comfort are important for long term use.

When belts fit correctly, they deliver back support that helps prevent and relieve back pain resulting from muscle strain, spasms, sprains and disc problems.

The sacroiliac belt is designed to be smaller so it can sit more directly over the sacral (tailbone) and ilium (hipbone) areas. Increases compression of the pelvic region helping to immobilize the area thereby reducing inflammation. The Sacroiliac Belts are best used after trauma to the sacrum or hips such as pregnancy.

By limiting the motion of muscles and ligaments, back support belts also help to improve posture and serves as a reminder to use safe lifting technique.

There are 2 types of supports: Back Support Belts and Sacroiliac Belts. Use this quick self test to determine which type is right for you: Overlap your hands and place them on your lower belly then lift upward and inward. If you feel an immediate relaxation in your back, choose the Back Support Belts or Back Brace. If no relief is felt, choose the Sacroiliac Belts.

Choosing back support belts can be easier with our unique selection guide. They are based on the stages of the inflammatory process, the body’s natural process of healing. It is important to know what stage your injury is in when choosing back support belts. If you have questions, consult your doctor and remember that wearing back support belts should act as a reminder to use proper lifting technique to reduce the risk of injury or re-injury when lifting.

Acute Stage
In the acute stage, the body reacts to an injury by increasing blood flow to initiate the repair or healing process.

Injuries in the acute stage respond well to the R.I.C.E. treatment protocol: Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. Rest gives the damaged tissue the opportunity to heal without further injury. Ice slows down the inflammatory process, which leads to less swelling. Compression aids in controlling and reducing swelling. The acute stage is generally considered to last the first 72 hours after injury. Belts condsidered appropriate for the acute stage provide compression with back support belts and cold therapy to control the inflammatory process, and stability to prevent further injury.

Sub-acute Stage
The second stage is described as sub-acute and considered to last from 72 hours to six to eight weeks, depending on the severity of the injury. A mild muscle injury, for example, may recover in six weeks whereas a fracture could take eight weeks. In this stage, the inflammatory process is under control and rehabilitation is initiated. Back support belts appropriate for this stage provides compression to control swelling, support, and stability to provide early protection during activity.

Chronic Stage
The third or chronic stage is past the six to eight week time frame when most injuries should resolve. Overuse syndromes often fall into this category because the tissue does not get enough rest and is continually re-injured. Back support belts appropriate for this stage often provide warmth by constraining body heat to increase circulation and thereby facilitate healing. It should also provide moderate to maximum stability or support to prevent re-injury.

Back Support Belts & Sacroiliac Belts Selection Guide

Our back support belts selection guide uses four terms: Breathability, Compression, Flexibility and Stability.

Breathability is the ability of back support belts to allow airflow. Back support belts with a high breathability number will feel cool when used. Back support belts with a low breathability number will feel warm when used. If the injury is chronic and retaining body heat is desired, then back support belts with a low breathability number would be the best selection.

Compression is the ability of the belt to provide circumferential pressure around the joint and surrounding area. This pressure helps to control swelling and provides a reassuring feeling of joint strength. The higher the compression number, the more circumferential pressure the back support belt provides.

Flexibility is the quality that allows freedom of movement when using the belt. Flexibility decreases as stability increases. Back support belts that provide the maximum stability provides the least flexibility. For chronic injuries, a belt that balances your need for flexibility with stability is the most appropriate for your needs.

Stability is the quality that provides additional support to weak structures. For example, a back sprain will result in some weakness to the ligaments that support the spine. Back support belts that have a high number for stability will help the weak ligament’s ability to stabilize the back. The higher the stability number the more support back belts provide.

The Back Brace is the most supportive and powerful belt we offer. It has a unique fastening and support system and is the one I personally use.

According to a recent article in Spine Journal, February 1, 2009 - Volume 34 - Issue 3, wearing a back support belt can help in subacute low back pain to improve significantly the functional status, the pain level, and the medication consumption.

The benefits can be explained by some mechanical effects in regard with the components of low back pain: limitation of the back mobility, and more specifically the limitation of the flexion in daily activities, which is reported as an important factor of disc constraint and back pain intensity; increase of intra-abdominal pressure, which is an other factor to decrease disc pressure, limit disc compression, and disc pain; postural control with an educative effect by the support belt to maintain spine in a relative extension as proposed to prevent back problems; spine stability and adaptation of muscle activity.

The article further states; "In regards with different treatments proposed for low back pain, it is also interesting to underline that lumbar belt wearing does not induce secondary or iatrogenic effects and that there is no contraindication, which can induce some preferences to a belt wearing than more aggressive therapy."

If you need assistance or have questions regarding the back support belts, please feel free to contact Neck Solutions.