Ditch the High Heels
Posted on April 24, 2009
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I have a theory that high heels were invented to keep women subjugated. You can’t run in them and sometimes it seems you can barely walk in them. But worse of all they can actually throw your spine out of alignment. They cause an unnatural curve of the spine and can put pressure on the back muscles. Eventually, back pain will begin and it often starts in the neck. I’ve known women who found freedom from back pain within a couple of weeks after ditching the high heels.
Your shoes can make a big difference to the health of your back. Your body is a system and everything is connected. Your shoes should provide good support for the arches and the toe area should not squeeze your toes. Your shoes should be stable too. High heels can be very unstable and cause the muscles in your lower back to work hard to keep you balanced. If you wear high heels and experience back pain, I suggest you consider wearing a lower heel for a while to find out if your neck or back pain disappears.
My Mother Told Me to Stand Up Straight
Posted on April 17, 2009
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It turns out my mother was right when she kept telling me to stand up straight. Maintaining good posture as you go through life is important for preventing back problems. When you look at people around you it’s easy to find lots of them who round their shoulders and curve their spines. We slump in chairs, lean at angles, walk slightly bent and generally treat our spine very poorly. Then we wonder why it hurts!
There are 2 kinds of postures. Static posture is the posture you have when you’re sitting or standing. Dynamic posture is how you hold your body when moving. An example of dynamic posture is the angle of your spine when you squat to lift a box off the floor. When you maintain the right posture, you are actually giving your body a fair chance to work the way it was meant to work. You don’t put undue strain on it that can cause injury and then pain. So remember what your mom told you and keep your spine aligned.
A Lesson in Sitting
Posted on April 10, 2009
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It seems like we should just know how to sit properly, but unfortunately we don’t. How you sit and how long you sit can have a direct impact on your spine health. There are lots of people who sit all day at work and then sit in front of the television at night. Sitting too long using the wrong posture can play real havoc with the back –especially the lower back.
When you slump in your chair, it changes the whole alignment of your hips and spine. The lower back muscles have to work even harder to keep you upright. The neck bones are compressed too which can cause pain over a period of time. When you sit for a long time, it doesn’t take long for the back muscles to begin aching. If you have to sit a lot at your job, you should make a point of using the right posture but also of moving around for five minutes at least every hour. This way you can stretch your muscles and spine, and also remind yourself you need to watch how you are sitting.
I’ll Try Anything – Even Exercise
Posted on March 27, 2009
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A lot of back pain can be reduced by exercising. It seems like such a contradiction, but it’s true. The caveat is you don’t want to suddenly try to do a lot of exercises you’re not used to doing. You need to ease into the exercise program and give your back time to adjust to the higher level of activity and motion. Actually, the best thing to do is to exercise regularly to prevent back pain, but that’s another topic all together.
There are some tips you can follow for starting an exercise plan to reduce back pain. First, you should start slowly as mentioned. You should exercise according to your pain tolerance. You don’t want to quit at the first twinge, because there will be some pain at first. But I promise the pain will get better in most cases if you stick with the exercise program. You want to begin with short 10 minute exercise session 2 or 3 times a day and then add on to the time as your back gets stronger.
Knowing Your Spine
Posted on March 20, 2009
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The spine is made up of 3 sections and each section has so many vertebrae. If you’re going to talk about back pain then you should know which vertebrae numbers belong to which spine segment. Otherwise, it won’t mean a thing when the doctor tells you that vertebrae T6 is injured. By the way, vertebrae is plural for vertebra.
The top section of the spine is called the cervical curve, and it’s composed of vertebrae identified as C1 to C7. The middle of the spine is called the thoracic curve and it’s made of vertebrae identified as T1 to T12. The third section is the lower back, and it’s called the lumbosacral curve. The lumbosacral curve is composed of vertebrae L1 to L5. Below the lower spine is the coccyx or tailbone. The spine is meant to be in balance in order to do its job properly. The spine should be lined up so that the ear, shoulder and hip are in a line. The spine curves, but the body is straight.
I’m Deconditioned
Posted on March 6, 2009
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There’s a term in the back pain field that’s called deconditioning. Conditioning is when you improve your muscle tone through strength building activities. Deconditioning is the exact opposite. You begin to limit what you do because your back hurts. Just like conditioning makes your back muscles stronger, deconditioning makes your back muscles weaker. The more you refuse to do activities, and the less you move, the weaker your muscles will get.
This can lead to some real back problems. When you avoid activity because your back hurts, you’re only going to make the problem worse. When muscles get weak they can’t support the spine the way they’re intended. Then the spine begins to have problems. The back pain can emanate from the muscles, the spine or both. It’s not a pretty sight or feeling. So don’t stop being active because of back pain. Instead you need to find ways to relieve the back pain.
What Kind of Test is That?
Posted on February 27, 2009
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When you visit your doctor for the first time about your back pain, there are several simple tests he or she will do. The doctor wants to find out if you have any spine problems or if the pain is coming from the muscles surrounding the spine. Diagnosing the source of back pain can be hard to do and the doctor isn’t going to jump to any conclusions without testing. The tests start real simple and then get progressively more complicated if necessary.
The first step in diagnosing back pain is the simple office physical. The doctor will have you lie on your back and will lift each leg straight up. If there’s no pain in the leg when this is done there’s probably no nerve damage. The doctor will also test for reflexes, muscle strength and skin sensations. As you can tell the physician is looking for signs any nerves are damaged. It’s good news if you pass these first tests.
Hot or Cold?
Posted on February 13, 2009
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I get very confused about when to use ice packs or heating pads if muscles are sore. For a while I used only heat, because it’s a more comfortable temperature. I really don’t like the feeling of cold. Then I discovered that cold and heat serve two different purposes, and sometimes applying heat can make the problem much worse. Now they tell me!
Ice should be used when there’s an inflammation of some sort. That’s because ice will cause the blood vessels to constrict and make the swelling go down. Heat, on the other hand, does just the opposite. It will make blood vessels open wider so more blood can reach the muscles and spine. You need good blood flow to promote healing. Some doctors say you should use ice the first day and then use heat from that point on. By the way, don’t use ice packs or heating pads directly on the skin so you don’t freeze or burn yourself.
I Need Some Rest
Posted on February 6, 2009
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Back pain can be really hard on sleep. It can hurt lying on your back and your stomach. The pain makes it hard to get to sleep, and once you do, it makes it hard to stay asleep. It doesn’t take long to get exhausted. Some people think you should stay in bed when you have back pain, but that’s not true. You need to get enough rest, but you don’t want to stay in bed past 3 days.
The problem with lying in bed too long is that it can actually make your back hurt worse. The human body is meant to move and it needs to in order to stay flexible. People in the hospital who can’t walk or lie in bed for weeks lose muscle power rapidly. In fact, it doesn’t take long before muscles get useless from lack of motion. So when you have back pain, you have to keep doing your normal activities even though it hurts. Staying in bed will only make your muscles weaker which can make the pain stronger.
Mystery of the Herniated Disc without Pain
Posted on January 23, 2009
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A bulging disc is when the spongy material between vertebrae extends out. It’s usually caused by too much pressure that’s been put on the spine causing excessive compression. There are lots of nerves that run out from the disc, so when the disc bulges near one of the nerves, pain develops. The pain isn’t necessarily in the back though. The pain can run down the nerves and end up making your legs or even your arms hurt.
The fact is though, you can have a herniated disc and not have any pain. You can actually have a bulging disc that doesn’t affect a nerve and so there’s no pain. The indications you have a back problem include other things like tingling and numbness in the legs. So don’t think you have to have pain when you have a bulging or herniated disc.
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