Guest post by Thomas J. Hazen
Back pain as the name simply suggests, is the pain a sufferer feels at the back of the body emanating from the spinal cord.
Though the pain could emanate from anywhere along the stretch of the spine, the most common is the lower back pain.
Symptoms of Back pain could range from a dull intermittent ache to a sharp prolonged pain that can hinder mobility and impair the sufferer’s quality of life.
Causes of back pain may vary from:
- disease
- sports injury
- a slipped disc resulting from a slip or fall
- arthritis or osteoporosis
- poor posture
- obesity etc.
Unfortunately, almost everyone may suffer from some form of backache at some point in life, and this process may start as early as the teen years.
According to the Mayo Clinic, there are over 3 million reported cases in the United States yearly.
And a report in The Ochsner Journal (2014 spring; 14(1), pp 101-107), estimates costs to be as much as $100 billion in the United States alone.
In many cases, there may not be a cause for alarm, rather the need to make little lifestyle adjustments here and there.
However, if the intensity and the duration of the pain increasingly hinder living at full throttle, then it becomes necessary to make that visit to the doctor, especially after simple ‘home remedies’ have proved ineffective.
One of the most touted home remedies for Back pain and many other ailments is: exercise.
And for many that will stick to the ‘at least three times a week’ regimen or even less but consistently, will find in exercise their saving grace.
But, before you go running to retrieve and dust those Nike pairs you ‘abandoned at the altar’ barely a few weeks after your impassioned commitment to achieve higher and lofty goals in 2018, stop first and do a ‘sound check’ if exercise will be your ‘thing’ for back pain.
Some items on your checklist should include:
Age
While anyone at any age can do exercise, not every exercise is for everyone. Especially for seniors, seek professional counsel from your doctor and a fitness coach to help you.
Diagnosis
If it’s nagging and advancing pain that has refused to budge, a visit to the doctor could be a stitch in time that saves nine.
Get a diagnosis!
Some symptoms of back pain have been indicators of more severe or chronic ailments as grave as cancer or a heart attack.
Physiotherapy
Adding physiotherapy to the routine will simplify things and not complicate them.
Depending on the intensity of the pain, if it’s the ‘seem not to be going anywhere soon type’, sessions with a professional physiotherapist could make a tremendous difference in alleviating the pain.
According to the Ochner Journal earlier quoted, jumping on the exercise train when it’s appropriate to do so, must be approached with caution and the workouts must be apportioned incrementally focusing on resistance, strength training and spinal strengthening.
Aside from its many physical benefits of which relief for back pain is definitely one, exercising no doubt holds many other psychological benefits like improving emotions, shooting up serotonin, the feel-good hormone.
Research has also reported that it boosts memory levels as well.
While exercise holds its lofty place in the ‘Feel Good, Live Better Hall of Fame, some other non-exercise lifestyle adjustments can help in alleviating back pain.
Non Exercise Measures to Alleviate Back Pain
- Change of routine
If your work requires frequent heavy lifting or some other strenuous physical activity, a review and change in routine will go a long way in alleviating your suffering.
- Pain is a positive feedback
Though pain is not palatable and is mostly seen as a negative feedback from the body, it is indeed a positive feedback from the body alerting you about the presence of some invaders or other unwanted guests.
For instance, a body with low Ph levels will have inflammations which cause the pains. A detox should be considered at such times and might be all that the body needs to feel better.
- Making food your medicine
Eating healthy, helps the body fights its invaders on its own and maintains itself.
When the body is habitually fed with nutritionally deficient foods, its defense system gradually becomes weakened and overwhelmed by invaders.
Medications at this point oftentimes will complicate matters. Being mindful of what goes in goes a long way.
- Veggies, Fruits and less processed food
Veggies and fruits are lifesavers, and when most of the meals are made from scratch with fresh produce (herbs are medicinal and non-synthetic), the millions of cells are in constant jubilation for the good done unto them.
- Do the correct exercise for back pain
Not all exercises will be helpful for back pain-they can indeed be harmful and complicate issues.
But with the help of a fitness instructor, the sufferer can be guided on the right exercises to take up to alleviate back pain.
If the cause of back pain is not due to any disease in the body, adopting these measures will go a long way in easing the pain, sustaining them will make the pain go away.
Alternatively, boosts memory levels exercise at home for 10-15 minute is the good alternative for relieving back pain.
Some recommended exercises for back pain
- Wall Sits
- Partial Crunches
- Hamstring stretches
- Press up Back Extensions
- Bird Dog
- Knee to Chest
- Pelvic Tilts
- Bridging
- Aerobic Exercises
- Pilates
- Yoga
- And since we’ve shown you the workouts to adopt, it would only be fair to show some you need to adopt.
- Toe touching
- Sit up/Crunches
- Double Leg Raisers
- Long Distance Biking
So, if you’re suffering from back pain and you are thinking of jumping on that exercise bandwagon, talk to your doctor first and get a professional physiotherapy.
Author Bio:
Thomas J. Hazen founder of the Elite Healthy. Retired Physician. Professional blogger for more than 5+ years. Mainly writing about Inversion therapy, Back pain, neck pain etc.
References:
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2484360/
- https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/do-inversion-tables-work
- https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321724.php
- https://www.jospt.org/doi/pdf/10.2519/jospt.1986.7.5.254
- http://iosrjournals.org/iosr-jmce/papers/ICAET-2014/me/volume-5/4.pdf
- https://teeter.com/blog/benefits-of-inversion/
- https://thephysiotherapyclinics.com/back-pain-causes-treatment-and-exercises-part-i/
- https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/physical-therapy-as-good-as-surgery-and-less-risky-for-one-type-of-lower-back-pain-201504097863
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0026750/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3062937/
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