Posts Tagged ‘Many People’
What Is Causing My Back Pain?
If you are experiencing Back pain and it is interfering with your daily life, you may be curious about your cause of Back pain. Back pain is a problem that so many people live with and many people have difficulty alleviating it. There are different treatments available, but in order to know how to treat your pain, you need to know the cause of back pain first.
Understanding The Cause Of Back Pain
The cause of back pain for many people is standing or sitting incorrectly. Often stand and sit hunched over. When the bones in your back are properly lined up as you would see in someone standing straight, your back can best support your body. When you are hunched over the weight of your body is displaced unevenly putting pressure on certain parts of your back. Many people sit in front of computers or at desks much of the day and end up hunching over rather than straightening their back. The same goes for people who spend most of the day standing in one spot. If you are like this in your daily life, that may be your cause of back pain.
Another cause of back pain is due to heavy lifting. This is a quick way to injure your back if you aren’t lifting properly. This is why it is best to always keep your back straight when lifting and focus on lifting with your legs rather than your back.
A common cause of back pain that occurs in older individuals is ageing and arthritis. This is unavoidable and may mean that you will need to see your doctor about pain killers.
Talking With Your Doctor
In taking with your doctor you will find that the cause of back pain is damage done to the spinal cord. This can be a very minor injury that causes back pain for a couple days or it could be a more serious injury that requires treatment. So if you correct What you think might be the cause of your back pain and yet the pain continues, make sure that you pay your doctor a visit. You may find that you need surgery or maybe just a prescription for some pain relievers.
There are many possibilities for your cause of back pain. For more information on cause of back pain, pain medications, and other treatments begin searching online. You don’t have to live in pain forever.
DOLA RAHEEM
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/What-is-causing-my-back-pain-109018.html
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Can A Hamstring Muscle Injury Be A Reason For Your Back Pain?
At large, back pain is predominantly caused due to improper positions of sitting and standing. But injuries in muscles or bone tendons also contribute to back pain in many people.
Your body is made of many different types of muscles, which aid in the locomotion of the different body parts. But, in all of them, the Hamstring Muscle is the most important. Hamstring muscles are a set of the most sensitive muscles that are present in your body. They are present in and around your lower limb. Being so sensitive, they are prone to injuries very easily. Hamstring muscles are located at the back of your thigh.
Hamstring muscles are basically present in a set of three distinct muscles. These muscles help in the movement of the legs, hip movement and also the knee movement. Pulling of the hamstring muscles, form the most common form of Muscle injury. The Muscle pull will generally start with a mild pain in the stretched area of the limb. If not taken care of in time, the pain may aggravate, moving towards the thigh area and eventually to the back.
With this cascading movement of pain, the magnitude of the pain will also increase. Eventually the pain will become sharp and unbearable. This pain can become so intense that it can even handicap you by acting as a hurdle in managing your day to day activities.
Therefore, the best advice here is to give a little more attention to your torn-out or stretched hamstring Muscle and avoid back pain. There is a set of procedures that you need to follow in dealing and curing your worn hamstring muscle.
Start with giving as much rest to the affected area and try to keep the movement in that part of the body as low as possible. Also, ice the area regularly. Icing provides relief to the tensed muscles causing back pain. Once you think that you have sufficiently iced the stretched area, compress the injury with the help of a bandage. Last, but not the least, follow the elevation process with the help of an elevation device.
And not to forget, exercises are the best help that you can give yourself in relieving back pain caused due to hamstring muscles. The exercises to be followed should be mild, concentrating more on the affected area, rather than the other body parts.
Just a little attention and care, you can avoid the back pain that can occur due to the pulling of the hamstring muscles.
Ashish Jain
http://www.articlesbase.com/medicine-articles/can-a-hamstring-muscle-injury-be-a-reason-for-your-back-pain-132639.html
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Back Pain Treatments Reviewed
Back Pain affects millions of people each and every year. For many, they’re lives are never the same.
Unfortunately, many people suffer for weeks, months and even years unnecessarily and one of the reasons is a lack of good information.
Much of the information that is given to people regarding back Pain is out-dated, inaccurate and often dangerous!
So the purpose of this article is to educate you about many of the treatments that are available for back Pain.
But before we get started, it’s important you know that very rarely is one treatment the answer. Back Pain is often times a complex problem and it often requires treatments that address multiple areas simultaneously.
Also, my experience working with tens of thousands of back pain sufferers has shown that, the people who get lasting relief are the ones who are constantly researching and experimenting with as many treatments as possible.
Ok, let’s review some of the many treatments that are available for back pain and sciatica:
Orthopedic Care
One of the first places many people go when they experience back pain is the orthopedic specialist (surgeon) and a visit usually last 5-10 minutes. They will typically look at the problem/symptomatic area and often fail to look at the body as a whole.
If you’ve been to an orthopedic specialist for your back pain, did they do a full body physical evaluation (takes 30 mins. or more)??? Not likely.
Here are some of the common treatments used / prescribed by orthopedic specialists:
Cortisone Shots
Cortisone is a catabolic steroid which is intended to reduce inflammation by killing off the tissue in the inflamed area… now let me ask you, does that make any sense to you at all?
Not only are these injections quite painful, but they rarely result in any pain relief and if they do it is short lived, usually 1-2 weeks if at all. Plus, it does NOTHING to identify or address the cause of the pain… it is only intended to treat the symptom. It’s for those reasons that we do not recommend them.
Anti-inflammatory Medications
Just the name should scare you away… just like cortisone shots, anti-inflammatory medications do not identify or address the cause of your pain and for many people, they deliver little pain relief. These medications also deliver serious side effects! The main reason they are prescribed is money… and if you don’t believe me, do the research and you’ll see for yourself. The drug industry is huge and unfortunately, they have a huge influence on the whole medical community, including the doctors.
I challenge you to find a drug that will fix your back problem… you’ll be looking forever because there is no way a medication can fix a physical problem so avoid medications at all costs!
Back Surgery
Surgery for back pain is very common and more often than not, the individual still has pain afterwards (or it returns within weeks) and sometimes even new problems! Very rarely is a surgery the answer…
For example, many people have surgery for herniated discs. The logic behind the surgery is if you remove the piece/portion of the disc that is putting pressure on the nerve the problem is solved.
Unfortunately, the same forces that forced that disc to protrude or bulge will likely force more of the disc out, or another disc out.
Surgery should always be the last resort… and even then I’d question it!
Physical Therapy
Physical Therapy is traditionally the next step after seeing an Orthopedic Doctor. That is if surgery is not recommended. So what should you expect?
The process will start with an evaluation and here may be the start of the problem… here is why…. the doctor has to write a prescription with a diagnosis on it.
You give the prescription to the PT and he or she will perform an evaluation… chances are the PT will simply confirm the diagnosis from the doctor, however the hope should be that they take the extra step to look for the root cause of your pain. They may but chances are they have several other clients in the office at the same time and simply do not have the time.
So without a comprehensive evaluation to identify the root cause of you pain they will simply treat your symptoms. We have just identified the second problem.
The health care industry is required to show improvement with each and every session so the push is to reduce your symptoms to show progress in order for them to get paid. The long and short of it is that yes your pain can be reduced but the root cause rarely gets addressed, meaning that the pain and your suffering will return again and again.
So what should you do? When selecting a Physical Therapy office you may want to ask how many patients the office sees in a day and how many PTs they have on staff… then ask how many patients can a PT work with in an hour. Do not be surprised to hear that a PT can see up to three patients in an hour. Do you think you will get the attention and proper treatments you need? I doubt it.
There is a little joke in Physical Therapy when treating patients and it has to do with what course of modalities you will get. The joke is called Shake and Bake and it refers to the fact that everyone gets the same treatment protocol… that way it can be timed so that your PT can see other people simultaneously.
What goes into a shake and bake treatment? It may start with a spin on a stationary bike or a trot a treadmill than you will get a 3 to 5 minute Ultrasound over the effected area followed by Electrical Stimulation to the area with a little Ice strapped to your body and to finish off your session you will get a hand out with exercises you should do at home. Certainly not a recipe for success!
Chiropractic Care
One of the most common treatments for back pain is Chiropractic Care. The approach consists of physical manipulations of bones and joints in an attempt to line things back up and it’s recommended typically 2-3 times per week.
The problem with this approach is that the same forces (muscles, tendons, and ligaments) will likely pull the bones and joints right back out of place again. Also, most (not all) chiropractors will spend 15 minutes with you if your lucky.
Ask people who see a chiropractor how long they’ve been going… I hear of people who have been going for 10-15 years and still don’t have a healthy back. Look, the fact is chiropractic care is lacking…
Unless the chiropractor combines the two approaches, it doesn’t make sense…
The ONLY way chiropractic care makes sense is if you are addressing the muscle imbalances that are pulling the bones and joints out of place to begin with and that requires strengthening and stretching exercises that are chosen specifically to correct your muscle imbalances.
Alternative Treatments for Treating Back Pain
Massage Therapy
Massage therapy, if done correctly can work wonders for people with back pain. This is not to say that it is the best choice and that it will work for everyone… however, most people will get great results from it if the massage therapist has a good understanding of muscle imbalances and how to work on them.
NOTE: Not all massage therapists are the same! Just like any profession, there are varying degrees of training and qualifications. When selecting a massage therapist please check to see if they are licensed and insured in the state where you will be seeing them.
You should also ask the massage therapist if they have training in one of the following areas: Orthopedic massage, Medical massage, St. Johns technique and/or has a comprehensive knowledge of muscle imbalances relating to back pain.
With that said the benefits are as follows. The root cause will be identified, your discomfort will be addressed and you root cause will be corrected all in an attempt to make you pain free and give you the tools you need to keep you that way. What to expect when you see a massage therapist.
All massage sessions are one on one allowing you the opportunity to converse with the therapist as well as get the attention you need to get results. You can ask questions about how you compare to other people.
Feel free to ask the therapist what approach they will be taking so that you know what to expect. The massage therapist has many different techniques they can use when to dealing with you back pain and some are better than others.
On the down side sometimes a therapist can get distracted with other problem areas, it is in your best interest to keep them focused on you back and associated problem areas. Like anything else you may need to try several different therapists before finding the one that works best for you and with you.
Post-rehabilitation Fitness Training
Another overlooked form of treatment that is very effective is post-rehabilitation fitness training. This includes targeted strength and flexibility work to correct / improve the individuals muscle imbalances. This is specialized knowledge that very few fitness trainers possess and there are certification programs designed specifically for this.
There are of course, limitations as to what they can do for you. For example, they can not diagnose a condition, prescribe any medications take x-rays, etc… however, if they are well trained they can pinpoint your muscle imbalances quickly and get you started on a fitness program that will restore balance to your body and likely eliminate your back pain.
Often times this can be combined with massage therapy and/or manual physical therapy for a total solution. If you decide to go this route, which I recommend you do, be sure to thoroughly check out the fitness trainer and ask to see their certification, insurance, references, etc.
Manual Physical (muscle) Therapy
Manual Physical Therapy is NOT the same as regular physical therapy… there are some major differences. Here are just a few:
• Manual therapy consists of hands on muscle work primarily whereas traditional physical therapy consists of heat, ice, ultrasound, electrical stimulation, etc
• Manual therapist will typically perform a much more thorough physical evaluation
• Manual therapists will usually be able to spend more time with each patient
• Manual therapy is more holistic in it’s approach and focuses the body as a whole unit… something lacking from nearly all traditional treatments for back pain.
So before you say, “I’ve already tried physical therapy”… did you try manual physical therapy? They are two very different treatment approaches and I highly recommend you consider manual physical therapy.
Conclusion
As you can see traditional treatments are the main stay of modern medicine… not necessarily for the patients benefit, but it’s just how the system works.
The system will not change until the system is confronted with a very powerful competitive force. That force may well be complementary or alternative care from the likes of Personal Trainers, Acupuncturists, Massage Therapists, Manual Physical Therapists, and the like.
So that’s what we’ve tried to do… force change. The traditional treatments that people have been receiving for decades just don’t work, and we have found a combination approach that not only works the best, but it’s safe, natural, and inexpensive.
Check out our “Lose the Back Pain” system now… it will show you how to identify the cause of your back pain and then show you the exact combination of steps to take to eliminate it.
If you have tried other treatments with little or no relief, you owe it to yourself to try this approach… so take charge of your health and get started now working towards not only a pain free back, but a healthy and balanced body! Only you can fix your back… all you need is the right approach!
Steve Hefferon
http://www.articlesbase.com/alternative-medicine-articles/back-pain-treatments-reviewed-94285.html
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Sciatica Exercises – the Good and the Bad
Sciatica exercises are an important part of both short and long-term treatment, but it is critical to choose the right exercises. Even commonly-recommended exercises for sciatica may not be indicated during times of severe acute symptoms, and some exercises may only make things worse.
For example, while commonly recommended to people with sciatica, exercises such as hamstring stretches and the yoga position, “downward facing dog” can be beneficial as part of managing one’s condition once the pain is reduced, these exercises can place tension on the sciatic nerve and aggravate an already inflamed and sensitive condition. In general, any Exercise that causes pain to increase in the leg and/or extend further down the leg should be completely avoided during the acute phase of sciatica.
During the acute phase of sciatica pain, McKenzie exercises provide one of the best and safest treatment approaches available – more effective than medication and epidural steroid injections in many people. Though often associated with spinal extension and mistakenly called the “McKenzie Extension Exercises”, McKenzie method may involve any number of spinal positions/movements. The whole point of the McKenzie method is to evaluate different positions/exercises to find what best produces “centralization” of symptoms.
McKenzie practitioners use the word “centralization” when the pain and other symptoms are relieved in the areas the greates distance away from the spine. To give an example, in a person with sciatica all the way down the leg to the foot, centralization might occur in which the pain left the foot and lower leg and then only extended down to the knee. Or, if sciatica symptoms started out going as far as the knee, centralization would be if the symptoms left the thigh and only went as far as the hip area.
A position or Exercise that results in symptom centralization is one that will be beneficial, even in situations where symptoms increase for a time in areas closer to the spine. For example, if you had sciatica and low back pain and tried one of of the McKenzie exercises and the sciatica completely went away but the back pain got worse, the Exercise would still be considered beneficial and it would be recommended to continue using it. In the long run, a sciatica Exercise that produces centralization will usually eventually result in improvement in all symptoms, even if more central (closer to the spine) symptoms get worse at first.
The simplest of the McKenzie exercises for alleviating sciatica is done by simply lying on one’s stomach on the floor or a firm surface and propping one’s chest up on the elbows. This places the lower spine in a gentle extension, which can help relieve sciatica by pushing bulging spinal discs forward, and away from the nerve roots that form the sciatic nerve, reducing pressure and irritation. Although you can maintain this position for relatively long periods of time, I recommend doing it for short periods of one or two minutes with a rest break of at least a few minutes in between. The frequent breaks prevent the low back muscles from tightening up as much, and yet still allows for good overall results. For more complex sciatica exercises, getting detailed instructions either through an illustrated guide or an experienced health care practitioner is advised.
George Best
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/sciatica-exercises-the-good-and-the-bad-365442.html
