If you have lower back pain, you are hardly alone. Nearly one in ten people in North America misses at least one day of work each year due to lower back pain. Back pain is particularly unfair to people who have made resolutions to get back in shape—the most common situation resulting in back pain is working out too hard, or working at physical labor too hard, after weeks, months, or years of inactivity.
The facts about lower back pain that you need to know probably are not what you expect. Here are 10 important considerations for finding the lower back pain remedy that will work for you.
1. Pain that is due to injury to a disk is usually limited to the lower back and buttocks. Pain that is due to injury to a nerve usually causes sciatica, which starts with numbness and later becomes painful, all the way from the back to the feet. When the underlying problem is due to compression of the spinal canal, it is usually worse with activity, such as walking, and better with rest.
2. Smoking cigarettes increases the risk of back pain, and quitting cigarettes reduces back pain. Smoking cigars, however, does not increase the risk of back pain, and quitting cigars will not help.
3. The best indicator of how long back pain will last is whether or not it radiates to the arms and legs. The more extensive the pain, the longer it will last.
4. Nutritional supplements such as calcium and vitamin D do not have an immediate effect on back pain, but they will help protect bone from further injury.
5. You can prevent back pain with good posture. This means sitting up straight, not crossing your legs, and moving without bobbing back and forth.
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6. Chiropractic care is most useful when back pain is caused by a single disk or a set of adjacent disks. Chiropractors are more likely than MDs to prescribe an effective exercise program and less likely to recommend bed rest.
7. Bed rest, especially during the early stages of back pain, actually makes the condition worse. Someone with a ruptured disk, however, should not exercise.
8. If you usually sleep on your back, try sleeping on your stomach. This allows your spine to fall into its usual alignment in an S-shape and reduces strain on disks.
9. Children can develop lower back pain, too. A child's backpack should never exceed 10 per cent of the child's weight, and it is important to make sure that the weight of the backpack is distributed across both sides of the back.
10. To avoid back pain, listen to your back. Knowing when to "back off" can save you days, weeks, or even months of recuperation.
Some of the latest research finds that chiropractic care is most useful for back pain that can be localized to a single disk or set of disks.10 Back pain sufferers who seek out chiropractic care are more likely to be given an effective exercise program and less likely to rely on bed rest than those who get back treatment from medical doctors.
Good posture helps prevent back pain. Sit up straight, avoid crossing your legs, move without bobbing backward and forward. Rolling the pelvis when lifting or stretching helps prevent back strain.
Information supplied by the PainRelief-Shop.com is for educational use only. These articles do NOT make any diagnosis or give medical recommendations. Products at painrelief-shop.com are not intended to cure, heal, or prevent diseases. Consulting with a Doctor is always recommended.
