Health blog Category: Back and Neck Pain
Low Back Pain can be Draining
So you have been experiencing pain in the low back that could be due to facet dysfunction.
What is a facet?
Facet joints are located in the spine at the posterolateral aspect of the vertebra. These are joints that allow motion of the spine and also restrict hyper mobility.
How does the problem present?
- Pain, stiffness, or soreness over facet joint, across low back, into the hip groin, or buttock
- Pain with extension (bending backward)
- Pain with prolonged positions such as sitting or standing
- Worst in the morning and gets better throughout the day with movement
Causes:
- Trauma – car accidents, sports, etc
- Abnormal postures that put strain on the joint
- Constant repetitive motions resulting in wear and tear of the joints
- Degenerative changes that increase the load on the joints (May have increased pain due to disc injuries, decreased height at the disc may put more stress on the facets causing increased inflammation and pain)
How Physical Therapy Can Help!
Read full blogA Pinched Nerve can be Cured
Lumbar Radiculopathy, more commonly known as a pinched nerve or sciatica, is when a nerve is pinched due to inflammation, injury or compression in the spinal column and causes varying symptoms in the low back or down the leg.
The most common symptoms that people feel are:
- pain in the low back or down the leg, occasionally down into the toes
- Weakness
- Numbness and/or tingling
- Impaired range of motion
When symptoms are experienced further down their leg this is called peripheralization, when the symptoms are felt closer to the core of the body this is called centralization. When symptoms begin to centralize or move out of the limbs the symptoms may feel more intense at first.
Read full blogNeck Problem From a Nerve Problem
A common problem we see in our clinic is people experiencing neck pain. Neck pain can be caused from many different things and can vary in how severe the pain is. One common neck problem we see is called cervical radiculopathy. Cervical radiculopathy is a fancy way of saying your neck pain is caused by a nerve problem. In many cases, people with this condition will feel the effects of the damaged or pinched nerve in other parts of their body.
How Does Cervical Radiculopathy Happen?
Read full blogCommon Neck Injuries
Your neck is a vital yet vulnerable part of your body due to its ability to move in many directions while holding the weight of your head (average wt 10 lbs). While neck pain (cervical spine) is not as commonly treated as low back pain (lumber spine) millions of people will experience it at some point in there lives. While the majority of everyday neck pain and stiffness will alleviate over time without surgery it is important to understand neck pain and causes.
Read full blogSolution to that Back Strain
Are you feeling:
- Pain across the low back into the buttock and hip area
- Stiffness and limit motion
- Swelling
- Inability to maintain positions
- Muscle spasms
If you are experiencing any of these symptoms you may be dealing with a lumbar strain. A lumbar strain is when the muscles or tendons in the back get overstretched or tear. Microscopic tearing can occur suddenly due to injury or develop overtime. Strains are classified into varying degrees based on the severity of the injury.
Read full blogForward Head Posture
Posture plays a huge role in all of our activities. We are so busy throughout the day that we usually don’t pay much attention to our posture, especially while we work, watch tv, or stand. The increased use of cell phones, tablets and computers has made forward head posture a problem for many and a common postural problem we see in our clinic.
Over time, forward head posture can cause:
– Neck pain
– Decreased neck motion
– Shoulder pain
– Decreased shoulder motion
– Upper back pain
What does forward head posture look like?
Read full blogLow Back Pain & Core Strength
There are many people today who suffer from general lower back aches and pain of no known cause or injury. The likely culprit would point to poor postural awareness and poor abdominal or core strength.
We are presented throughout our day with various different postures with sitting and standing being the most problematic. We are required to hold and maintain these postures for long periods of time. Over the course of this time our body and muscles that support these postures begin to fatigue and we start to take on a more slouched posture.
The Culprits of Back Issues
Back pain can arise due to a number of different reasons:
- It can be of traumatic origin, such as a car accident or a high impact fall.Â
- It can be degenerative in nature, occurring as the vertebral bones become arthritic and the joints they form no longer move as well.Â
- It can be postural, developing when poor muscle control causes nerves that emerge off the spine to become irritated.
The Chain to Low Back Pain
How Much Does Back Pain Impact Us?
Chronic back pain and discomfort is a debilitating condition that will affect the majority of Americans at some point during their life. In fact, chronic back pain is one of the leading reasons people go to the doctor and employees miss work. Chronic back pain can make it difficult to walk, sit, drive, and perform routine activities such as laundry, and dishes; to name a few.
What are the symptoms of chronic back pain?
Read full blogForward Head Posture; the Reason for Neck Pain
Neck problems, neck spasms and general neck pain are common complaints in the orthopedic rehab world. One of the most common causes of these problems is forward head posture.
Forward Head Lifestyle
With the high prevalence of desk jobs, the influx of cell phone use, computer use and video gaming, as well as time spent relaxing in front of the TV, our posture certainly suffers more often than we realize. Over time, these repetitive tasks put us into a position called forward head posture, in which our heads and necks protrude forward into a flexed position.
The Role of Osteoporosis
Forward head posture is not only caused by cell phones and leaning over a computer all day.
Read full blog
