Back pain can affect an individual in many ways

Apart from the sheer physical discomfort of not being able to sit, stand, walk or even move a few steps conveniently, there are even deeper and more sinister results of back pain. Many patient’s come in complaining back pain has a telling effect on their nerves, and the irritated back pain sufferer makes life miserable for his family, friends, and his boss. This latter result can even have deep repercussions on the person’s career prospects. In short, the emotional well-being of the all the people around the back pain sufferer are made victims of back pain inconvenience.

So what then is the cause of such a nagging inconvenience?

The answer is a simple one: poor posture. In other words, the way you stand or sit or even lie down, has a great part in bringing up the back pain. If you slouch, stretch or jerk your movements suddenly, you are directly inviting back pain. The back muscles suffer a strain due to poor posture. In more critical cases back pain might be linked with subsidiary symptoms like sprain, ligament pain, and joints pain. In the most severe cases, back pain might also be due to a slipped disk. Thus the causes of back pain are numerous. We have this discussion daily in our clinic. At Ultimate Spine and Wellness during initial exams and re-exams we use a program called Posture Screen to help evaluate your posture.

In addition to these infrequent incidents, there are other issues that bring about back pain. The commonest of these is lifting of weights. In homes and work places, we tend to lift heavy pieces of furniture in a bid to re-arrange the place. While all this might bring about a change and may even lead to convenience of life, the task, if performed suddenly, can lead to back pain. As the body is not used to lifting heavy furniture, one tends to position oneself inadequately so that the weight is not properly distributed. And the task results in a slipped disk or some linked problems that may then bring about acute episodes of back pain. I can’t tell you how many patients come in with acute low back pain from an injury in the gym doing squats and dead lifts, or from moving furniture.

In cases of slipped disk that usually result from such careless movements, the need to be vigilant is even more pronounced. Usually a slipped disk results when one is lifting the furniture item on re-twists one’s body from the top of the waist rather than from below the waist. This results on the onset of a spasm. Indeed in the acute cases of back pain, one is even confined to bed rest.

So what can you do to help with low back pain?

When the back pain becomes unbearable and exercise is not possible as the spasm is acute, one can try a simple posture-correction routine. By lying on one’s back on a hard floor and lifting one leg at a time, up to the chest, one can provide the much needed relief from back pain. Pillows should be placed below the knees and the entire task should be performed slowly and carefully so that the body does not suffer from twinges of pain, while being relieved of it. In this way, the root cause of the disease will come to light and thereafter the steps to improve the back muscles will make you less prone to back pain. You can also make these steps as a part of your daily exercise routine.

We always recommend seeing a physician for evaluation if you are experiencing acute low back pain or even chronic pain. Chiropractic care is a wonderful way to help restore the body’s normal function and relieve the tension on tight muscles causing misalignment in the spine. Electrical muscle stimulation, massage, cupping and acupuncture are all additional therapies we perform in office to help manage these acute and chronic low back cases.