聽Reduce Pain and Strengthen Your Lower Back With These Easy Tips
Do you suffer from lower back pain? While lower back ailments can feel like the worst kind of torture, you can actually experience lasting relief and perhaps healing by making some easy changes to your routines.聽
Try these easy strategies to reduce your lower back pain:
1.聽聽聽聽聽 Correct your sitting posture. If you spend endless hours in front of the computer at work or home, it鈥檚 very likely that your posture is contributing to your back pain.
After some time sitting at a computer, it鈥檚 instinctual to start slouching, craning the neck, or contorting the body in some other way.
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Ensure the back of your chair is upright and your bottom is pushed towards the very back of the chair.
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Pay attention to your body so the minute it starts to slouch, you can return to an upright position.
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Ensure the computer screen is at eye level so you鈥檙e not forced to tilt your head forward, thereby putting strain on the neck and subsequently the lower back.
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 It also helps to get up every so often and move around to get your blood circulating and relieve the stiffness that can come from sitting too long.聽
2.聽聽聽聽聽 Wear comfortable shoes. Whether you鈥檙e a lover of high heels or flats, there are good choices and not-so-good choices, as your shoes affect your back. You owe it to your lower back – and your entire body for that matter – to shop for shoes that offer complete support.
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 When shopping for heels, go with a “reasonable” heel height.
Excessively high shoes put excessive stress on the arch of the foot, which can easily affect the lower back.
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 When looking for flats, remember that the sole should have enough cushioning to prevent your back from the shock that comes when the feet are in too close contact with hard ground surfaces.
3.聽聽聽聽聽 Always stretch after a workout. Stretching after a workout – especially a rigorous one – can loosen the muscles and help realign the back so it is less prone to damage.
4.聽聽聽聽聽 Support your back in bed. If you鈥檙e in bed for eight hours each night, that鈥檚 1/3 of your life spent in bed. Your sleeping posture is probably one of the main reasons you鈥檙e experiencing nagging lower back issues. See how your sleeping position can affect your back and use these tips for positive results:
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 If you sleep on your back, put pillows under your knees to support the back and prevent it from becoming strained during long hours of sleep.
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 If you sleep on your side, place pillows between your knees to keep your spine in a neutral position, which is important for preserving the health of your back.
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Sleeping on your stomach causes the neck and head to twist unnecessarily, which can put undue stress on your back, so it鈥檚 wise to avoid this sleeping position as much as possible.聽 聽
Let these tips reduce your pain.聽
Making the changes necessary to support your back will enable you to finally achieve the lower back health you鈥檝e been missing out on.
聽You鈥檒l love the way you feel!
Check this video for easy exercises for your back:聽
How one determined lady lives a quality life against the odds….
Scoliosis is a deviation or severe curvature in the spine that can develop from an abnormal shift that can be developed from bad posture and unhealthy postural habits.聽
It affects children.聽In kids ages 10-12, there are over three million new cases聽diagnosed each year, as published in a聽John Hopkins Medicine article.
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Scoliosis can develop聽from the degeneration of the lumbar spine caused by聽normal wear and tear. Osteoarthritis is also a common cause. It is also common in the elderly as the spine deteriorates from degenerative disc disease. This will also have developed since adolescence but was undetected. furthermore, most cases of scoliosis聽have no known cause,
A common problem due to degenerative changes in the spine and common in the adult population, I see this a lot in the clinical setting. Complaints from individuals including back pain, sciatica, and functional decline due to anxiety with functional activities from anticipating pain.
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Here, I want to share Ms. Carol’s story about her personal journey with this condition. I admire her tenacity as she continues to take charge of her own wellness despite her physical problems.聽 Carol L.,聽has been a patient of mine for over a decade. She is very active in life. She volunteers at a local zoo engage in social and community service activities, joins exercise classes and continues to live her life to its fullest. As told to me, this is her story,聽verbatim. This is exactly how she wrote it.
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“I am 74 years old, and I have been living with scoliosis for the last twenty years or so. A recent x-ray described my spine as follows; “Marked thoracolumbar scoliosis convexity to the left, some 74 degrees.”聽 I’ve been told that I could have been in a wheelchair with this kind of curvature. Instead, I am active, healthy, and flexible.
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聽But, I’ve had to work – consistently – over the last 20 years to maintain my strength and flexibility.
Scoliosis is degenerative, so things change. Scoliosis itself doesn’t hurt – it’s the way it pulls the rest of the body (spine, pelvis, hips, shoulders) out of alignment, causing聽sore everything聽and often pinched nerves. It hurts to move, so you don’t! That’s the problem.
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聽My first major episode was a pinched sciatic nerve in about 1995, and I thought I would never walk again. Doctors wanted to prescribe drugs and bed rest. I chose to see a chiropractor.聽 The adjustments would not hold, and I聽was referred to a physical therapist. After about three physical therapists, I finally found someone who understood my problem and said – Ha! Your pelvis is out of alignment! Let’s work on core strength and stabilize聽the pelvis.
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It’s essential to work on physical therapy, understand the problem, and continue to do the exercises. But, life happens, so you slack off your workouts,聽you get older, and your curve gets worse. So on and off, I’ve been back in real therapy-each time focusing a little differently on scoliosis, and of聽course, arthritis!聽
I have been fortunate to see the same physical therapist – someone who understands the problem and is not afraid to make me work! Staying active – moving – is critical. I’ve tried almost every medication in the market without much success – so I’ve not taken any medication for a long time.
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The last episode had been complicated by moderately severe stenosis (according to my MRI), causing nerve pain, and I finally got a steroid injection. With that relief, and some new strengthening and stretching exercises from my physical therapist, I’ve been able to manage the pain reasonably well and achieve much better posture!聽 Now, my focus is on maintaining strength AND flexibility, AND posture! I do a little routine in the morning to get ready for the day. You know when you are out of alignment – you hurt!
The June 2017 issue of Consumer reports says that growing research shows that a combination of ‘hands-on therapy’ (Yoga, Tai Chi, massage, physical therapy, acupuncture, chiropractic) is more effective than drugs or surgery. I聽do them all (well, almost all), and it works!
Am I聽pain-free?? No. Have I been pain-free for the last 20 years? No.聽 But it’s manageable with the exercises, I can do pretty much anything I want to do – walk, climb stairs, stand for hours, volunteer, travel, etc. My therapist warns me I’m getting old and have to be more careful about breaking bones and causing serious injury – so I’m trying to take it a little easier – but not too much!”
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– By Carol L. (written 5/31/2018)
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It is always possible to make adjustments to inabilities, and one can still live a productive life despite physical challenges. I have so much admiration for this hardworking lady who grabs the bull by its horn and just so inspiring to know!
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She was back again for PT this year, for back pain; not a lot of complaints this time, mostly concerned with her R hip and leg. As always, she always gets better and returns to usual activities. She still actively goes to the gym and does her usual volunteer work at the Brevard Zoo 2 days a week.
It was a great pleasure to see her again overcome her difficulties..
