Health blog Category: back pain
Travel Tips
Whether you’re going to the beach, out West, to another country, or even only a few miles away to visit friends and family, these traveling tips can help you avoid lower back and neck pain!
Try to not remain in the same position for long periods of time.
Stiffness and soreness tend to occur the most after not moving out of one position for extended periods of time.
Driving to your destination?
- Stop at rest stops when you start feeling stiff to take a few minutes to stretch out.
Low Back Pain Treatment
This pain can range anywhere from a mild nagging, to a severe pain that will greatly limit your mobility. You may feel very stiff, especially in the morning and find you have to change positions frequently to alleviate symptoms.
This pain can create difficulty with prolonged:
- Walking
- Standing
- Sleeping
- Bending
- Lifting
- Twisting
- Driving
Sources of Low Back Pain:
It can stem from many different sources in the spine.
Read full blogDesk Ergonomics – The Best Way to Sit at Your Desk
Whether you are working from home full time or just a few days a week, it can be a big change, and many are noticing the effects as new aches and pains start to appear in the back and neck. Many are not equipped with a home office that has the space and equipment like what was available in the office so it may be difficult to figure out what set up is the best and most comfortable.
Read full blog3 Lower Back Injuries
Lower back injuries and issues can occur from something as simple as twisting to grab something off of your shelf or as intense as falling off of a ladder. Let’s focus on a few common causes of back pain and back issues.
- Soft Tissue Injuries: Soft tissue injuries, sprains and strains, are the most common cause of low back pain. Sprains occur when damage is done to the ligaments, while strains occur from damage to the muscles or tendons in the back.
Treating Back Pain
Most of us will experience back pain of some sort during our lifetime. While back pain is prevalent in our society, it isn’t something you have to “live with”.
Causes
Back pain can be caused by multiple things depending on where the pain is in the spine, along with the type of pain you are experiencing. Some common causes of back pain are:
- Muscle weakness: muscles work together to help to coordinate proper movements.
Is Your Posture Causing You Pain? We Can Help!
Jun 30th 2021What is posture? And how does it affect us?
Simply put, posture is the position in which someone holds their body. Typically, when it is good, it is described as sitting or standing upright without slumping the shoulders or arching the back. Having and maintaining good posture takes practice and effort, but when it is bad it can negatively affect your daily life in many ways. Read below to see what can come from incorrect posture and how you can correct it.
Common issues associated with it:
- Headaches: poor posture causes stress on the body which can manifest in headaches for some people
- Neck pain: Sitting or standing in a slumped position puts strain on the neck musculature and can result in dull or sharp pain depending on the severity
- Back pain: Similar to the neck, poor posture can cause the muscles in the back to be constantly firing or over stretched which can lead to pain.
- Shoulder pain: The body is connected!
Sciatic Nerve Inflammation
WHAT IS SCIATICA?
Sciatica is the inflammation of the sciatic nerve that travels from the back, down to the foot. This means, sciatica can cause pain in your back, buttocks, hamstring, calf, shin, or foot depending on where the nerve is irritated.
Sciatica can also be a referred pain from levels L4-S2 sending pain signals to the body parts they innervate in the same regions as listed above. It can be caused by a pinched nerve, disc herniations, or stenosis at the spine.
Lower Back Problems Causing Discomfort
Lower back problems are very prevalent in our society and can greatly limit your ability to carry out daily tasks.
Unfortunately, many people think it is just something they have to “live with” so they try to push through the pain. BUT THAT IS NOT THE CASE!
Thankfully, physical therapy can be extremely beneficial for resolving lower back pain thus greatly improving your quality of life.
Symptoms
When it comes to this condition, the number one complaint is pain and stiffness localized to the lower back which gets worse when you stand, walk or are in one position for a prolonged period of time.
Read full blog3 Back Injuries You Can Experience
The back is comprised of the spine (24 vertebrae), nerves, and many muscles that help us function every day. There are many injuries that affect these structures and could lead to back pain and altered function.
Common Injuries:
- Spinal Stenosis: Narrowing of the spinal canal which puts pressure on the surrounding structures.
- Mechanism (cause):
- Degeneration caused by age
- Congenital
- Signs/Symptoms:
- Numbness/Tingling
- Muscle weakness
- Pain with walking or standing for long periods of time
- Mechanism (cause):
- Herniated Disc: A condition where the inside of a vertebral disc protrudes out into the spinal canal.
Common Sources of Low Back Pain
Low back pain is one of the leading causes of disability and lost work time among adults.
What is the low back:
Low back refers to the lumbar curvature of your spine- the last 5 segments before reaching your bum.
Common Conditions:
- Nonspecific Low Back Pain
- most common
- Lumbar Radiculopathy
- Increased compression on a nerve causing burning, numbness, tingling into your glutes, thighs and/or down the length of the leg
- The sciatic nerve running down the back of the leg is commonly impacted this way, hence the term “sciatica”
- Not all radiculopathies are associated with the sciatic nerve
- Increased compression on a nerve causing burning, numbness, tingling into your glutes, thighs and/or down the length of the leg
Common Misconceptions:
- MRI or x-ray findings are associated with your pain experience
- Most people over the age of 25 will have some remarkable finding on an image of the spine (e.g.