I have just spent the day at the AECC (Chiropractic college) future pathways event in Bournemouth. The sun was not shining in sunny Bournemouth unfortunately, I knew due to the adverse weather that I was not going to be able to convince Michelle that Bournemouth beach is superior to Camps Bay in Cape Town so I went alone (I will wait till the two summer days in July and show her then).
It was great being back at my old college. It has been 10 years since I graduated, it was an experience. Compared to normal life, being a student is a dream, you think having 20 hours of lectures each week is hard, when realistically you never make the full 20 hours. Being able to go out on a weeknight, play hockey, go to the beach and no responsibilities is a very fun time.
And 20 hours is considered hard…I was speaking to someone this week that works an 80-hour week! And I complained about 20 hours!
Oh to go back for two weeks and relive the student days.
Anyway, it was a successful trip and we managed to chat to a lot of Chiropractors that are graduating this summer, watch this space.
It has been cropping up a lot on our Instagram page this week, as our followers are asking us which back brace do I recommend?
Why do you need to wear a back brace?
It is important to start with why you should be wearing a back brace in the first place. A lot of people wear one when it isn’t necessary and this can have the opposite effect.
A back brace goes around your waist at various different levels which I will go over shortly and it creates tension and stability in the pelvis and low back. This acts like a muscle called the transverse abdominis which wraps it self around your core from your belly button to the low back.
Each time you wear the back brace you are making the transverse abdominis muscle redundant and it switches off, is being used less and therefore you can become over reliant on the back brace. If you suddenly take the brace off when recovering from a back injury, you haven’t built the stability up in the back and it can create a reflex relaxation which can create stability problems in the pelvis and discs.

You should wear a back brace when you have had a back spasm and you are looking to get moving more. The movement in your back is good to help your circulation, it means blood flow can get to the area and start to reduce the swelling and inflammation.
Remember the inflammation is there to help you, it may not feel like it, but its protecting you for damaging the delicate structure in the spine, like the disc and the nerves. You want to reduce it gradually.
I would wear the back brace sparingly as you want the muscles to start working and the joints to move, you don’t want to completely immobilise the back as it prevents the process of healing and reducing the inflammation.
However, if you need to move or lift for work and you have no choice, then this would be the ideal time to wear a back brace.
If you are putting the kids in the bath, wear it for those 5 minutes, but don’t keep it on all day, hopefully that makes sense.
If you ever watch the world’s strongest man, as soon as they have finished their lifts, they rip the back brace off. Half of it is because it is so tightly wound up, but the other half is they know they don’t need it as their back is no longer under pressure and lifting.
Which back brace is best?
There are three types of back braces:
- Standard back brace-this goes above your pelvis, in the gap between the top of your pelvis and your lowest rib. You need to pull this tight and this is suitable for most people.
They will come with a Velcro strap which you can tighten. You want to pull this tight so it grips on to the back and should be uncomfortable at first.
It will hold the joints and ligaments together and promote stability, but remember the advice above, don’t wear it for too long.


2. Sacro Iliac Joint belt (SIJ Belt)-this is used for SIJ instability mainly in pregnancy when the mother has pelvic girdle pain (PGP) due to instability created from the pregnancy.
The SIJ belt sits lower than the standard belt. It is around the pelvis and hips to pull the SIJ together and also the front joint in the pelvis called the pubic symphysis.
The more tension you get on here the better supported the pelvis is when walking. PGP can be extremely debilitating and a belt can provide some relief.

3. Decompression belt-these are more advanced and work in the same position as a standard back brace.
The only difference is you pump it up which inflates the brace and this pushes the rib cage up and the pelvis down to create space in the back.
The idea is that is widens the vertebra to create space for the disc. The jury is out on how effective these are, but could be worth a try if you have sciatica or a disc prolapse.

Book a consultation with a Chiropractor here
If you do know someone who wants more advice, please send them our details. You can send them this assessment as well to diagnose their back pain. It is a great tool to understand where your back pain is coming from, it is free and takes 60 seconds. Click here for assessment