Saturday, November 27, 2010
Research
Overall, 80% of Americans will experience back pain sooner or later, this creates several challenges for most of us. Back problems are the most common reason for disability under the age of 45. Often times, we don’t know our back is in trouble until the condition is advanced, which makes it more difficult to treat. In other words, pain is the last thing to show up. Part of the reason for this is most of the nerves inside our body carry function and not pain, meaning that as our spine starts to come out of alignment, we don’t feel the pain of the condition until the condition is somewhat advanced. This makes it much more difficult to treat.
There are many causes of back pain. We are going to review most of the most common causes and then give you several things that you can do to feel good. Most of the back pains we experience as adults started in our youth without us knowing it. This means, that old falls, accidents, injuries or contact sports may have begun the process of pulling our spines out of alignment. Not enough to cause pain but enough to set the spine in motion to eventually start coming out of alignment. What contributes towards these back problems for a high percentage of the population is what we would call excessive sitting. So think how many hours you have sat over the course of your lifetime? (I know that sounds like a silly question). But often as these tens of thousands of hours of sitting accumulate over the years, they can contribute towards making you more susceptible to back problems.
Individuals who are under stress are more susceptible to many health problems including back and neck pain. Obesity also contributes to back problems. Occasionally over doing certain activities for example, straining or lifting something too heavy or even exercising can pull your spine out of alignment. Rarely are there severe medical conditions that may cause back problems. So the best advice we could give you here today is prevention (you heard the expression “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure…?” Well it’s true.)
Now we’d like to review with you proper lifting. The important thing is to keep your back straight and lift with your legs, keep the object close to you especially if its over 50 pounds. If it’s heavy you want to lift properly. A big part of prevention is being in good physical condition. Individuals who are in good physical condition either have less back problems or if they have back problems they tend to recuperate a lot faster. So there are a hundred reasons why you should exercise regularly but keeping your back healthy is one of the reasons. If you don’t want to call it exercise then call it movement. You have to move so even if it is just going for a walk, make it at least 45 minutes-60 minutes most days of the week. Also it’s important to strengthen your core muscles and to have strong abs. You can do some crunches and stretching. Some other general tips for back health would include avoiding soft chairs. If you are an individual that has a job that consists of sitting long periods of time be sure to stand up and stretch and maybe even take short walk at least once every hour. Remember, that as long as humans have been around, we have done a lot of walking and now sitting, although our bodies may tell us we are tired sitting perhaps may not be the best thing to do perhaps lie down instead. Avoid crossing your legs when sitting. Good posture is also important so when you sit and stand it is important to keep your back straight. When standing for a long time, place your foot on a footstool. Do not sit on your wallet. Individuals who smoke are also more susceptible to back problems. Make sure to get enough sleep it is recommended to sleep at least 8hrs in one day. And as a rule, it is best to sleep on your side or your back and experiment with keeping your knees bent and use pillows to keep your spine in a neutral position.
Relief and Treatment
Most aches and pains are related to pinched nerves and miss aligned vertebrates if you have neck or back pain. These are some ideas you may want to try. Lie on the floor on your back and put your knees up on a chair and lay there for ten minutes. You can also try pulling one knee at a time towards your chest for thirty seconds each. If you’re experiencing a sharp or new pain, perhaps you over did it playing sports some individuals will want to ice it. Ice is used for new acute pain, pain that just started recently. If it’s sore, stiff, achy, it’s been there for a while then you could probably use heat as long as you don’t over heat it. Most people will simply experiment with over the counter drugs, such as pain killers muscle relaxers, anti inflammatory. Common known drugs would be aspirin, Advil or Tylenol. If the pain is considerable, you may want to ask your medical doctor for a prescription for pain killers, muscle relaxers or an anti-inflammatory. First speak to your doctor because many of these drugs have side affects. A lot of people get relief from massage, physical therapy or therapeutic stretching and exercises and yoga. My personal favorite, chiropractic realignment or adjustments can be extremely beneficial with no side affects. Acupuncture or stress management can help. If all else fails, there are injections and rarely is surgery necessary.
About the Authors
Dr. Jeffrey Smith is the author of a highly acclaimed book on stress management called Laughing, Loving Living your Way to a Stress Free Life. He has been a practicing Chiropractor since 1979. He has treated over 25,000 people for back-related problems and he lectures on health and wellness at schools, colleges, police departments and fire departments. His office is located 7716 W. North Avenue in Elmwood Park 60707. You can also contact us at (708)456-8844 or you can e-mail me with any questions or concerns at funnydr@aol.com, www.drjeffreysmith.com
Dr. Carly Smith is a chiropractic physician and speaks on stress, health, weight loss and raising healthy children. She has just completed her book on “Living Thin, Healthy and Happy,” to be released at the end of November 2010.
The above advice given is not intended to take the place of your physician. We recommend that you consult your primary care physician before following any of the above advice.