Summer Travel Plans? Watch Your Back!
If you're planning a trip, watch your back. Summer is the time for travel, but it can also be the cause of low back pain. Air travel in particular is hazardous to spinal health. Slouching for several hours in an ergonomically dysfunctional coach seat compresses the discs between the vertebrae and makes any pre-existing spine condition worse. And there’s no break once you get back on the ground, as you lunge forward to yank your heavy suitcase off the luggage carousel. Then there’s all that walking through the airport that slowly compresses the low back, so that if you have even a hint of arthritis in your lumbar spine joints, you can anticipate a spike in pain. But there are things you can do to make travel more bearable for your back, say our physical therapists:
• Sit with your bottom fully lodged at the back of the airplane seat and place a firm cushion in the small of your back.
• Select an aisle seat and get up and move around as often as you are allowed. If you wait until the pain starts, it's too late.
• Don't be a hero at the luggage carousel. Take your time. Bend your knees, not your back and avoid twisting your spine. Heavy suitcase? Ask for help.
• If your back acts up as you stroll, pick up the pace and lightly contract your abdominals as you walk. Increasing your core strength is a great long-term prevention strategy as well.
Labels: back pain, Low back pain, musculoskeletal systems, posture
Posted by Spine and Sports Medicine on 3:28 AM
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Pain and Pregnancy
Back pain during pregnancy probably won't come as a surprise, but that doesn't mean you should ignore it.
According to a February 2007 study in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, despite a high prevalence of musculoskeletal pain during pregnancy, few women receive treatment for their low back pain. According to Clayton Skaggs, DC, the study’s chief author, 85 percent of women surveyed reported that they had not received treatment for their musculoskeletal pain, and that 85 percent of women who experienced pain in a previous pregnancy reported pain during their current pregnancy.
“Based on the findings of this study, doctors of chiropractic and other health care professionals need to expand the musculoskeletal care available during pregnancy,” says our very own Brian Fradet, at Spine and Sports Medicine. “As a proactive step, health professionals should consider screening for back pain as part of early obstetrical care to help identify musculoskeletal risk factors and allow for early education and treatment.”
So, say something. You don't have to grin and bear it.Labels: back pain, Low back pain, musculoskeletal systems, physical therapy, posture, pregnancy
Posted by Spine and Sports Medicine on 10:14 AM
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My wife, the Fish
My wife is a swimmer, always has been. She says she actually feels more comfortable in the water than she does on land. I think, perhaps, she was a fish in her past life, but that’s another story.
Like many sufferers of back pain, she responds well to water, and some physical therapy centers provide aquatic physical therapy. Our own Dr. Kessler of Spine and Sports Medicine says, "Water supports the body and minimizes the effect of gravity, making it easier for patients to start an exercise program. Aquatic therapy can be very helpful for elderly patients and disabled patients who may not have the strength to do some of the exercises outside the aquatic pool.”
Some of the most important properties of water that make exercise easier are buoyancy, viscosity, and hydrostatic pressure. These properties can counteract gravity, provide resistance, and improve muscle blood flow.
…And I thought water was just good to drink.Labels: Aquatic therapy, back pain, muscular strain, musculoskeletal systems, physical therapy
Posted by Spine and Sports Medicine on 6:58 PM
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Knee Problems, will it be the end for Tiger
I guess knee pain doesn’t have to be the end of a person’s active life. Take Tiger Woods. He just won the U.S. Open.
Woods, like all professional athletes, demands more from, and puts more stress on, his joints than the average person. In mid-April, Woods underwent surgery on his left knee to remove fluid build-up in the joint and repair cartilage damage. It was the latest of several procedures on the joint.
Healthy knees are lined with cartilage, which act as shock absorbers. Arthritis or injury can damage cartilage. According to our medical director Dr. Kessler of Spine and Sports Medicine, “Unlike the shoulder or hip joint which provide some degree of stability from the bone structure, the knee depends 100% on ligaments, muscles, tendons and cartilage to hold everything together. This is why the knee is so prone to injury when external forces and stresses are applied.”
Labels: Knee Pain, muscular strain, musculoskeletal systems
Posted by Spine and Sports Medicine on 6:46 PM
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Pain and Posture
It’s one of those things passed on from parent to child without even thinking. I’ve even found myself saying it. “Sit up straight… Don’t slouch.” My kids hate it as much as I did when I was young, but over the years I’ve seen there’s more than a little truth to this age-old nag.
Bad posture alone doesn’t cause severe back pain, and the kind of sloping, slouching, shoulder droop my kids sometimes exhibit as they’re sitting in front of the computer isn’t going to land them directly in the emergency room, but it’s bound to have an impact on their musculoskeletal systems.
"Everyone can benefit from good posture," says our medical director Dr. Kessler. "Poor positioning of the body can be improved and it’s never too late to start trying to correct postural problems."
The spine is a complex arrangement of bones, joints, muscles, ligaments, discs, a spinal cord and nerves. In a healthy spine the vertebrae, facet joints and discs are vertically stacked, held together by a system of ligaments that help support the alignment while allowing movement within a safe range. Comprised of three natural curves that form an S-shape, the spine is properly aligned when a person’s ears, shoulders, and hips are in a straight line. Without support from strong, flexible muscles, the back loses its three natural curves.
When poor posture sets in, muscles, joints and ligaments take more stress and strain than intended, causing fatigue, muscular strain, compression of blood vessels, and pain. In addition, faulty posture can affect the position and function of major organs.
Time, old injuries and bad habits take their toll on the spine as a person ages. But new treatments and better diagnostic tests can help keep back pain at bay throughout an entire lifetime.
"The spine goes through the aging process just like any other part of the body," says Dr. Kessler. "For patients with a history of back pain who are currently experiencing symptoms that are interfering with activities, the first step is proper diagnostic testing to determine the cause of the symptoms and the severity of problem. A series of imaging tests over a period of time can help determine the correct course of treatment.”
Computer use is one of the common causes of difficulties related to posture and positioning. One of the first things that happens with computer use is the user's head starts to move forward. Once the head moves forward, posture is thrown off and the body compensates for the shift. The neck moves forward, the shoulders become rounded and a compensatory sway in the back develops. The result of this poor posture is pain, muscle aches, tension and headaches.
Unfortunately, many of us adopt these habits in a whole variety of everyday positions - not only sitting at a desk, but also standing, walking, carrying things, even lying in bed. High heeled shoes, boots, tight clothing and wide belts can also shift our center of gravity and move us out of normal alignment.
Treatment goals for correcting postural problems include restoring range of motion, increasing flexibility and strengthening weak muscles. These goals can be accomplished through exercises and practice. Muscle relaxation techniques, massage and stretching exercises are also used to relieve pain and muscle tension.
"Of all the things that happen to our body," Dr. Kessler says, "poor posture is one of the easiest to correct."
Try telling that to my kids.Labels: back pain, muscular strain, musculoskeletal systems, posture
Posted by Spine and Sports Medicine on 8:56 AM
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