Health blog
Common Causes of Low Back Injuries
The single most common cause of lower back pain is a torn or pulled muscle and/or ligament. The lumbar spine, or low back, is a remarkably well-engineered structure of interconnecting bones, joints, nerves, ligaments, and muscles all working together to provide support, strength, and flexibility. However, this complex structure also leaves the low back susceptible to injury and pain.
Common causes of sprain and strain include:
- Lifting a heavy object, or twisting the spine while lifting
- Sudden movements that place too much stress on the low back, such as a fall
- Poor posture over time
- Sports injuries, especially in sports that involve twisting or large forces of impact
Common Injuries and their symptoms:
- Lumbar Herniated Disc
- The jelly-like center of a lumbar disc can break through the tough outer layer and irritate a nearby nerve root.
Common Shoulder Injuries for Non-Athletes
Many of us out there have not played much sport in our lives or have only done it very infrequently. In that case, we are not always subject to many of the injuries that athletes or weekend warriors are subject to most often. In this blog, I’ll talk about some common injuries for those of us who are not often on the court or field.
Shoulder Impingement:
This term refers to a phenomenon that happens in the shoulder joint where your upper arm bone, or humerus, your collarbone and shoulder blade are pinching some of the structures that lie in between them.
This can happen because of many factors:
- bone spurs on the shoulder blade or collar bone near where your humerus/upper arm bone is.
Tips to Avoid These Three Common Back Injuries
Take a look below to see some of the common injuries and some tips to avoid back pain.
Herniated/bulging disc:
This injury commonly occurs with an increased load from bending forward such as lifting or pushing a heavy object, falling, or sitting for a long period of time. The best way to avoid a herniated disc is:
- To follow proper lifting mechanics
- Build up good core strength
Core strength is associated with the deep abdominal muscles and muscles surrounding the hip or glutes.
Read full blogFreezing, Frozen, Thawing
Frozen shoulder, or adhesive capsulitis, is a common shoulder issue that involves the first layer around the shoulder joint called the joint capsule. The capsule begins to thicken and tighten around the joint. It’s pretty typical to see a gradual loss of motion in the shoulder accompanied by pain in multiple motions.
Stages of a Frozen Shoulder:
Frozen shoulder involves three different stages. Each stage may take up to a few months:
Freezing: Pain starts to occur and the range of motion of the shoulder begins to decrease.
Core Importance and How to Keep it Strong
The “core” is a term that loosely means the muscles of your trunk and sometimes the muscles of the hip or pelvis is also included. Some examples of core muscles are your abdominals and back muscles.
Abdominal Muscles
There are actually 3 layers of muscle included in the abdominals and each one has a specific function. One of these muscles is the transverse abdominis. This is the deepest muscle of the abdominals and its function is to act as a “corset” and to help keep your abdomen firm while doing your normal daily activities.
Read full blogKey Ways to Relieve Neck & Back Discomfort
There are many common causes of both back pain and neck pain. However, both of these can be treated with physical therapy.
Causes of Back Pain:
- Changes in the spine’s anatomy
- Lumbar disc herniation
- occurs when the gel-like interior of the disc leaks outward and irritates the nerve roots. It typically causes a stabbing pain in the back of the legs and back pain.
- Lumbar degenerative disc disease
- Wear and tear on the spinal discs can lead to lumbar degenerative disc disease.
Bone Health and Fitness by Walking
Walking is a great step to improve bone health and fitness. It is one of the easiest ways to get a workout and it offers many physical and mental health benefits. So, lace up your shoes and go for a walk.
Bones and Muscles Strength
Walking is a low impact exercise, which means that it is gentle on your joints. Unlike running, the amount of stress placed on your joints is much less when walking making it a great exercise alternative for those with knee, hip or back problems.
Read full blog3 Sources of Neck Problems, With 1 Solution
Most of us spend hours at our desk at work, and often are looking down at our cell phone or computer during our free time, as well as time you spend relaxing in front of the TV. What you may not realize is how all of this affects your posture. Over time, these repetitive tasks put us into a position called forward head posture, in which your head and neck protrude forward into a flexed position.
Read full blogAvoiding Shoulder Injuries from Repetitive Movements
Shoulder issues like pain and weaknesses are some of the most common reasons people seek help from a physical therapist. This joint is held together by an extensive group of muscles and ligaments that can be weakened by certain repetitive movements.
Most of the problems that occur with the shoulder actually involve the:
- Muscles
- Tendons
- Ligaments
rather than the bones.
It’s not surprising that because of how much movement the shoulder has, athletes are more susceptible to shoulder injuries due to repetitive overhead training that many sports require.
Reaching into Our Cabinets Shouldn’t be a Problem
When reaching above shoulder height or across the body as we do when reaching into a cabinet or washing our hair, the acromion (which is an aspect of the shoulder blade) may rub against a tendon and this could result in pain. This is known as shoulder impingement.
Causes of shoulder impingement:
- Overuse Injuries
- Strain in our Shoulder
- Poor posture
- Disuse
- Sleeping on affected side
- Repetitive motions such as lifting boxes, playing tennis, or picking up your kids
Symptoms you may experience:
- Painful arc – pain when reaching above shoulder height
- This includes reaching up to get something out of the cabinet or top of the closet.
