Posts Tagged ‘Back Muscles’
Causes And Remedies Of Back Pain During Pregnancy
Pregnancy is a very crucial time period in the life of a woman. It is a joyous period but at the same time it can become a source of worry and uncertainty. Several changes occur in the body of a woman during pregnancy. Most of these changes have a direct or indirect effect on the spinal cord of the woman, which can later turn in to mild or severe back pain.
Both lumbar and posterior pelvic pain can occur in a woman after pregnancy. Many people believe back pain is a normal phenomenon during and after pregnancy. Wherein it is not. There are certain factors that cause pain in the back of a woman after delivering the baby. They are:
Weight gain: A woman can gain as much as a quarter of weight in her body during pregnancy. This kind of tremendous weight gain stresses the back of the expecting mother.
Change in the center of gravity: The weight that you have gained during pregnancy is carried in the front and the back portion of your trunk. This development leads to the change in the center of gravity in a pregnant woman.
Imbalance in the muscle: With the change in the center of gravity, there also occurs a muscular imbalance in the body. This imbalance in the body creates strain, especially on the back.
Fatigued Muscles: During pregnancy the muscles tend to fatigue soon. This results in poor postures of the body.
Hormonal surges: The hormones produced during pregnancy can create laxity in the pelvis. This hormone surge coupled with a change in the center of gravity gives rise to a decreased joint support.
Apart from these there are several other activities that can increase your back pain at the time of pregnancy. These activities create a pressure or load on the spine with the pelvis and hips. Some of these activities are walking, running, rolling on the bed, twisting, lifting heavy objects, bending forward and climbing stairs.
So to do away with your back pain problem, you need to follow a conservative management program. This conservative management effort should include appropriate exercises and the use of proper medications. All these efforts will promote and support your proper posture.
Apart from this, it is also important for you to pay regular visits to your physical therapist in case of prolonged and severe pain.
Always remember, back pain is common place during pregnancy but it should not be taken as a necessary part of it. Try to make your pregnancy as pleasant as possible. This will facilitate in easier delivery of the baby. So address your back pain as quickly as possible.
Ashish Jain
http://www.articlesbase.com/women’s-issues-articles/causes-and-remedies-of-back-pain-during-pregnancy-100071.html
Five Effective Household Back Pain Treatments
Back pain treatment comes in lots of forms, from exercise to pain mediction. Standard and most widespread back pain remedy is treatment by cold and hot compresses. In severe cases surgery can also be used.
A few words of caution – in case that after a couple of weeks of treatment you do not experience any improvement or you experience any of the subsequent symptoms call your doctor right away:
-Leg pain, bellow the knee
-Leg or groin numbness
-Excessive sweating, fever, weakness, vomiting or nausea
-Bowel movement or urinary control loss
Here are some examples of back pain treatments:
1. Resting crucial to permit your body to heal after back injury. frequently used with people who experience acute pain. nonetheless do not lie motionless for to long as a little movement can help you relief the stiffness caused by lying still. It might also warm up the back muscles, thus providing further relief.
2. Use cold/hot compresses this home back pain remedy can be used separately or you can alternate between the two. One of the best and fastest back pain treatments, you should feel almost immediate improvement.
Warmth relaxes the back muscles, dilates the blood vessels, which helps to improve blood flow, thus providing injured area with increased oxygen which helps reduce the muscle spasm and pain.
However be careful when using this treatment because prolonged heat exposure can have a negative effect on abdominal region organs. Under no circumstances should you sleep with heating pad. Use it instead for 20 30 minutes max.
Cold packs however are used more to reduce inflammation (sports injuries for example) and back pain caused by arthritis. Cold packs work the opposite way from heat packs. Cold decreases blood vessel size and reduces blood flow to the affected area. Just like with using heat packs avoid prolonged usage.
You can buy special liquid packs which can be heated or cooled and used as back pain treatment. You can find those in every pharmacy.
Or you can use the old fashioned way and place a bag of ice or frozen vegetables, wrap it in a cloth and apply to the injured area. Similarly you can use towels soaked in hot water.
3. Exercise for back pain this is a long term and the best approach to this problem. It will reduce stiffness and relieve the spine compression which will help reduce the back pain.
In the same time suitable exercises will provide additional strength to the muscles of the legs, abdomen and buttocks. This will provide better support for your body in the middle area.
Physical therapist or your doctor will provide training regimen suitable for you.
4. Massage another favorite home back pain remedy. It increases blood flow to the injured area and relaxes lower back muscles at the same time.
You can find registered massage therapists by searching online or through the yellow pages.
A word of caution here, if you have chronic back problem and you need prolonged massage therapy you should get registered trained therapist, because massage by untrained person can cause more damage then good.
5.Using non-prescription medications – a wide variety of medications is used as back pain treatment, ranging from pills to ointments and creams.
Medications such as Tylenol or Aspirin can be used as pain suppressors. Icy Hot, Ben Gay and Zostrix are examples of topical medications (cream, ointments).
Non-steroidal and anti-inflammatory medications are used for swelling reduction. Some of these are Advil, Motrin, Aleve and Orudis.
If non-prescription drugs prove to be ineffective your doctor will provide stronger prescription medications.
And once again at the end – if you constantly feel pain even after a few weeks of therapy go and see your doctor.
Nikola Govorko
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/five-effective-household-back-pain-treatments-74915.html
Back Pain Exercise: Natural Pain Relief
Your back, just like the rest of your body, needs regular exercise to be healthy and strong. It needs a regular fitness regimen to keep it performing at peak efficiency.
Back pain exercise involves exercise of not only your back muscles, but also of those that support your back. The abdomen and thigh muscles are in the second group. You will want to exercise both groups to avoid or alleviate back pain. You may also want to add healthful fish oils to your daily diet to lubricate your joints. This is especially important as you age, since aging joints become more susceptible to painful problems.
Back Pain Exercise You Can Do At Home
A good physiotherapist or chiropractor will be able to teach you many useful exercises for reducing back pain, but these five will get you started.
1. Back, hip, and leg muscles. Stand with your back against a wall. Place your feet shoulder-width apart, your hands on your hips. Inhale and exhale deeply and evenly as you gently slide your back down the wall until your knees are at an angle of about 90 degrees. Count to five, and then gently and slowly slide back to your original position. Repeat five times. This will stretch and strengthen important back, hip, and leg muscles.
2. Abdomen muscles. Lie on your back on the floor. Firmly place your feet flat on the floor. Your knees should be bent and raised toward the ceiling. Lean forward until your head and shoulders leave the floor, trying to touch your knees with both hands. Hold the position as you count to 10. Relax and repeat 5 times. This will strengthen the abdominal muscles that help support your back.
3. Back muscles. Stand with hands on hips, feet slightly apart. Move your hand backward onto the small of your back. Keep your knees straight. Gently bend backwards at the waist as far as you can. Be careful not to bend so far that you increase your back pain. Hold the bend for 2 to 3 seconds. Return to your normal position. This back pain exercise will strengthen the muscles in your back itself. It will also loosen tight back muscles.
4. Hip and back muscles. Use a straight back kitchen or dining chair for this exercise. Stand behind the chair, holding the chair back with both hands. Lift one leg up and back, keeping its knee straight. Return it slowly to position, and lift the other leg up and back in the same way. Repeat 5 times with each leg. This exercise will strengthen hip muscles that support your back, as well as the back muscles themselves.
5. Back and hip muscles. You may want a mat under you for this one. Lying face down on the floor, tighten the muscles in one leg and raise it from the floor. Hold the leg up while you count to ten, and then lower it slowly to the floor. Lift the other leg, count to 10, and lower it slowly to the floor. Repeat 5 times with each leg to give added strength to your back muscles and the hip muscles that support them.
CAUTION: Back Pain Exercise Demands Warm-up!
You’ve heard it before, but this word of caution is important. Before beginning your back pain exercise, talk to your physician about what you plan to do. You may want to show these exercises to him or her and get advice. Then set aside time to exercise regularly, at least every other day.
Back pain exercise demands warm-up, so schedule at least five minutes at the start of your exercise period for that. Warming up lowers blood pressure, improves blood flow to the heart, increases muscle temperature and makes muscles more pliable. Warm up with some type of slow, rhythmic movement. Walking is a good warm-up for your back pain exercises. Use an easy walking pace, inhaling and exhaling evenly and deeply to send oxygen to your muscles.
Back pain exercise has benefits for the rest of your body also. Think of your back as the main core of a healthy body. By giving it simple, low impact exercise each day or every other day, you will strengthen your muscles, preparing them to protect and support the painful area throughout the day.
Get Even More Help for Back Pain
While back pain exercise is a long-term solution to your back pain, you want to reduce your pain right now. You don’t want to wait. You want treatments that will give relief while you make muscles stronger.
Anna Hart
http://www.articlesbase.com/medicine-articles/back-pain-exercise-natural-pain-relief-104719.html
Back Pain: Some Ways To Avoid And Treat It
Back problems are responsible for literally millions of lost working days throughout the World. What can you do to avoid becoming a victim of back pain?
Hot and Cold. Oddly enough, both hot and cold treatments are effective for back pain. Which one to use depends on the type and the cause of the pain.
Cold packs are useful for reducing inflammation and are good for relieving back pain in the first two days or so after minor back pain begins. Use an ice pack on the affected area for twenty minutes or so, leaving about 40 minutes between sessions.
Heat treatment is particularly useful for muscular pains in back, shoulder and neck areas. Apply a heat wrap – the wheat-filled ones that can be microwaved are good – or a covered hot water bottle to the area to bring relief. Heat increases blood flow to the affected area, which in turn delivers extra nutrients and oxygen to the injury, speeding recovery.
Become a careful gardener. Due to the bending involved, gardening can often trigger back pain – a reason why many people are wary of doing any garden activity. However, if long sessions are avoided and work done on a ‘little and often’ basis, different sets of muscles are exercised without straining any one group. Changing tasks regularly also helps spread the load.
Swimming and other water activities such as aqua-aerobics are also good for aiding back muscles. The water nullifies some of the effects of gravity, reducing spinal compression and loading. Again, the secret is to build up to greater levels of activity, letting your body become accustomed to the exercise whilst strengthening vital muscle groups.
Take care when reaching and bending. Sudden, unexpected movements are one of the most common causes of back injury – even sudden bending to tie a shoe lace can cause back trouble (take it from one who knows!) as muscle groups become ‘confused’ and act against each other. The results can be excruciating and immediate, so take extra care! Surprisingly, this type of injury can be as easily sustained by young people as by seniors.
Consider supplements and alternative remedies. Glucosamine Sulphate is accepted as being an aid to the rebuilding of cartilage and this includes the tissue supporting spinal discs. Magnetic wristbands are also known to give relief to back pain as well as pain from sprains and bruising.
One for the ladies – don’t wear high heels for long periods. They may make your legs look great but they also tip your pelvis and accentuate your natural spinal curve, which can lead to back and knee problems. Okay for a night out but try to wear lower shoes at other times.
One for the men – find a new home for that bulging wallet other than your hip! Sitting on a fat square of leather stuffed with cards and cash may be good for your credibility put it can play havoc with your sciatic nerve – and sciatica is no joking matter.
Whilst mild back pain caused by muscular strain is usually temporary and easily controlled, other back problems such as slipped discs can be debilitating and chronic, affecting the sufferer to such a degree that mobility is badly impaired. In these situations a mobility aid may well be useful, and a visit to your physician or osteopath is vital.
Steve Dempster
http://www.articlesbase.com/non-fiction-articles/back-pain-some-ways-to-avoid-and-treat-it-79454.html
Living With Back Pain
In this day and age, it is often quite common to hear someone complain of back pain. Sedentary work days spent hunched over a computer, moms lifting heavy children, jobs that require physical labor – they can all result in back pain. And when you add to this equation the fact that as a society, our waistlines are continuing to expand then you may notice the correlation of this with increased back pain. Extra weight can not only cause back pain but exacerbate an existing condition.
While pain medication may seem like the answer when it comes to eradicating back pain, the truth may lay in much more holistic forms of treatment. It’s true that medication will undoubtedly have an effect in reducing pain but it’s really only treating the symptom rather than the underlying problem.
Rather, there are far more comprehensive ways to address back pain so that you are not reliant on medication to get through the day pain free. Exercise, believe it or not, is one of the best forms of back pain treatment and prevention. Injury to the back may initially stem from the weakness of muscles. It stands to reason, therefore, that if you work to strengthen those muscles, the injury will heal and pain will be eliminated. Exercise also does much to prevent back pain before it even begins. However, keep in mind that exercises such as weight lifting and low-impact aerobic exercise – especially when you are already experiencing a back injury or back pain – should be strictly supervised by your doctor. A medical professional can help design an exercise program based on your specific situation; thus working to address those muscles that will most contribute to your recovery. In the beginning, a simple walking program may be implemented, allowing you to get your body moving without putting unnecessary stress on your joints.
In line with an exercise program is also a program of stretching, yoga, or Pilates. The back muscles are enormously affected by the strength of the body’s core – the midsection of the body where the abdominal muscles reside. If you have weak abdominals you will have a weak back. Working to strengthen this area will give your back the support it needs and help reduce back pain. A stretching program also fosters flexibility, working to loosen stiff joints and muscles which can work wonders for back pain management.
If you are experiencing back pain it is best to see your doctor right away. In many cases, a chiropractor can be enormously instrumental in helping the patient alleviate back pain. Work with your medical professional to find the best course of treatment for you.
Michelle Bery
http://www.articlesbase.com/medicine-articles/living-with-back-pain-134263.html
