2 Tips to Avoid Back Pain

Today’s Blog Post comes from Dr. Bellinger’s April 2010 Newsletter that he mails to his patients every month.

Back pain is no fun. It is also a MAJOR problem for our healthcare system and economy. Here are some important facts about back pain, according to the American Chiropractic Association (ACA):

• 31 million Americans experience low-back pain at any given time.
  
• One-half of all working Americans admit to having back pain symptoms each year.
  
• Back pain is one of the most common reasons for missed work. In fact, back pain is the second most common reason for visits to the doctor’s office, outnumbered only by upper-respiratory infections.
  
• Americans spend at least $50 billion each year on back pain, and that’s just for the more easily identified costs.
  
• Experts estimate as much as 80% of the population will experience a back problem at some time in their lives.
  
• Most cases of back pain are mechanical or non-organic—meaning they are not caused by serious conditions such as inflammatory arthritis, infection, fracture or cancer.
  

There are two different types of mechanical stress that can cause back pain. First is a blatant injury to the lower back area. . This can be anything from a car accident, sports injury or slip and fall. This cause of back pain is easy to understand. Trauma to your spine causes injury to the soft tissue (ligaments, muscles and disks). This is why the first tip is to make your home, work area and car as “back safe” as possible. Home and work should be kept uncluttered so you do not slip and fall. This is especially important at night, when lighting may be dim. A seatbelt should always be worn while driving and your headrest should be checked and adjusted to your height to minimize damage from a crash. If you are in a car accident, you should be examined by a doctor trained to handle these types of injuries. Chiropractors are well-trained in the diagnosis and treatment of car accident injuries. Back pain caused by the trauma of car accidents and falls is obvious.

What’s not obvious is the other type of mechanical stress: MICRO-TRAUMA. Micro-trauma is a small amount of bad force applied to your back or spine. This small amount of bad force does not seem to be a big deal and usually does not cause pain or discomfort right away, but over time, micro-traumas add up and can cause major problems. An example of such a micro trauma is incorrect posture – either sitting, standing or sleeping. Either one of these three, over time, can ruin the structural integrity of your spine and cause major pain. That’s why tip #2 is to make sure you have the proper bed and chair and always keep good posture. If you need advice on any of this, your Chiropractor is an expert and can help you. And you should try not to stand, sit or lay in one position too long. Motion is important – when in doubt, change position! Prevention of back pain is one of the most important things you can do in your life. Minimizing both big and small stresses on your spine is one important way to accomplish this goal.

Additional Reading Resources:

• Glastonbury Chiropractor offers non surgical solutions to lower back pain
  
• Specialized treatment for Sciatica, Herniated Disc, Bulging Disc, and Degenerative Disc
  
• Common Back Pain Patient
  
• Lower Back Sprain vs Lower back Strain
  
• Back Pain While Standing
  

CT Spine and Disc Center is located in central Connecticut- Specializing in patients who suffer from sciatica, disc degeneration, bulging disc or herniated disc in the lumbar spine. Call us at 860-633-8756 to see if you are a candidate for non surgical spinal decompression

Back Pain When Sleeping Or After Sleep...

Sometimes when you sleep for an extended period of time in one position it can cause soreness in the back when you wake up. The same thing can happen when in one place for many hours. Here are a few things you can try to get better quality sleep and not wake up with a sore back:

• If you have an extra comforter/sleeping bag, place that under you to change to consistency of your mattresss.Maybe it needs to softer (or straighter). Check your mattress (is there a bow or a dip in there? ). Recently I had a patient who had an issue with her bed and it caused a lot of lower back pain.
  
  
  
• Use a different neck pillow- try to choose a cervical support pillow with a neck roll.
  
  
  
• Use something under your knees when you sleep (this is how I sleep)- I just put a pillow under my knees if I sleep on my back and between my legs if I am on my side. You can also use positioning products such as the knee elevator (for back sleeping) or the Spinal Relief pillow (for side sleeping)
  
  
  
• Do some stretches right when you get up specifically for your lower back. When you get into the hot shower- let the water hit the lower back area and bend down slowly and to the side. Don’t extend back to much as this is not good for your back.
  
  
  
• You should also need to get adjusted…go see a chiropractor to get treated and see what he says. You can also get some muscle work on your back. Plus, get some biofreeze (pain relief gel) that you can massage into the lower back muscles
  
  
  
• If your back pain has been going on for some time, Use a hot pack on your lower back in the evening time while watching tv (gel packs work great).
  
  
  
• Finally, sleeping for an extended period of time (over 9-10 hours) - try to avoid that. It can be avoided, so just get up and move around, stretch in the a.m. You can always take naps later.
  

Pay attention to what you are doing during the day also – and see if that is somehow contributing to your lower back. Sounds simple, but certain activities can bring on the pain moreso. For example, wearing heals for a greater part of the day, standing for a long time, exercising without doing a stretch before or after, doing a certain exercise (for example elliptical machine/rowing machine)




CT Spine and Disc Center is located in central Connecticut- Specializing in patients who suffer from sciatica, disc degeneration, bulging disc or herniated disc in the lumbar spine. Call us at 860-633-8756 to see if you are a candidate for non surgical spinal decompression

Additional Reading Resources:

• The Power of Vitamin D: better sleep, better mind
  
  
• When Lack of Sleep Can be Deadly
  
  
• 6 Ways to Get A Better Nights Sleep
  
  
• Understanding Non Surgical Spinal Decompression: FAQ's
  
  
• Research about Non Surgical Spinal Decompression
  

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New Study Shows Smoking Linked To Chronic Low Back Pain

A recent Canadian study showed that regular smokers were more likely to have chronic low back pain. The study looked at survey data of over 70,000 people and showed that the daily smokers had about an 8% higher likelihood of back pain than the non-smokers.

The Study was published in the Clinical and Investigative Medicine.

We know smoking regularly has a lot of negative effects on the body, here’s yet another one. But you must remember, this is only one factor. If you stop smoking it may be only one piece to the ‘lose the pain’ puzzle.

Mental health (stress), proper rest, fitness, diet, sleep, and posture play the biggest role with your back. In fact these factors play a major role in your overall health. The most important thing to know is that you must take action to get rid of your back pain. Look at your lifestyle- if you know you smoke too much- cut back. If you know you don’t do any exercise- start doing some.

Source: Cigarette smoking and chronic low back pain in the adult population

CT Spine and Disc Center is located in central Connecticut- Specializing in patients who suffer from sciatica, disc degeneration, bulging disc or herniated disc in the lumbar spine. Call us at 860-633-8756 to see if you are a candidate for non surgical spinal decompression

Additional Reading Resources:

• Low Back Rehab: A Vital Tool To Keep Your Lower Back Pain Away
  
• Two Stretches for Lower Back Pain Relief
  
• How are NonSurgical Spinal Decompression and traction different for treatment of chronic lower back pain
  
• Understanding Non Surgical Spinal Decompression: FAQ's
  
• Research about Non Surgical Spinal Decompression
  

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Shedding Pounds Will Help Shed Your Back Pain...

Hello. Dr Bellinger here. I’ve seen hundreds of patients in my chiropractic and spinal decompression office. One thing I can tell you about back pain is that if you take off extra weight you are carrying, it will most often reduce your pain.

Extra weight causes extra pressure on your spine. This intern creates more pressure on nerves and stress to the discs. Muscles and ligaments along the spine also have to work harder to support the added load. This will also leave you at an increased risk for a back injury as well as speed up the wear and tear process.

Often times now we find that children that are obese accumulate extra breakdown and degeneration to their spine, discs, and joints. To illustrate the example try carrying around a 50lb back pack all day for just one day to see what your back might feel like with an extra 50 lbs. Now imagine doing that for 10 years.

Extra weight also can create postural shifts. For example, individuals with a large belly, it tends to pull their pelvis forward and create a hyperlordosis. This is an increased curvature of the low back spine. So, not only does the big stomach put increased stress on the back muscles and spine but it also causes spinal shifts that will automatically create nerve pressure.

Chiropractor and Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression specialist, Dr Bellinger can help put together a specialized plan to get your back healthy and loose the extra weight.

CT Spine and Disc Center is located in central Connecticut- Specializing in patients who suffer from sciatica, disc degeneration, bulging disc or herniated disc in the lumbar spine. Call us at 860-633-8756 to see if you are a candidate for non surgical spinal decompression

Additional Reading Resources:

• Overweight?? Discs will degenerate faster
  
• A big belly causes swayback posture
  
• Increased weight makes the pain worse but is not always the exact cause
  

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Can A Disc in the Lower Back Just Go Bad?

Yes and no. Over time we will get some degeneration in our spine no matter what. Just from work, sports, physical activities, slips and falls etc . . . your body will have some wear and tear. However, that degeneration should be minimal and not cause major back pain.

What typically happens is that an injury happens to part of your back (one of your discs may sustain an injury); then over the years wear and tear and stress accumulates at that “weak spot.” Often times then something irritates that disc enough to cause nerve pressure and pain.

So you see, it doesn’t really go bad on its own. Usually something got the injury started and then it gets worse as time goes on. Sometimes it can be something very simple- a long trip on a plane, a cough, bending and lifting a child.

Here’s an example: Fred never had back pain his entire life, but after helping his neighbor move some furniture the next day he had lower back pain and soreness. The pain went away after a couple days. Fast forward six years . . . Fred presents with severe pain in the lower back that he appears to have just “woken up with” one morning. X-ray and MRI revealed one level of his spine had significant degeneration and a bulged disc.

What had happened, most likely, is that Fred injured his low back about six years ago while moving furniture; in fact, he may have had an injury even prior to that. Stress and degeneration have accumulated at that level in his spine until finally there was enough pressure and irritation to cause low back pain.

Until now, the only thing naturally that really helped with disc degeneration and bulging discs was seeing a chiropractor for spinal adjustments. Now we have a newer and more advanced method to help that gives substantially better results than anything out there. To learn more click this link: How Non Surgical Spinal Decompression Works.

CT Spine and Disc Center is located in central Connecticut- Specializing in patients who suffer from sciatica, disc degeneration, bulging disc or herniated disc in the lumbar spine. We offer different treatments for chronic and acute lower back pain. Call us at (860)633-8756 to see if you are a candidate for non surgical spinal decompression

Additional Reading Resources:

• What Tests Will My Doctor Do To Help my Lower back Pain?
  
• Can My Back Be Causing More Than Just Back or Leg Pain?
  
• Lower Back Pain and Its Many Causes
  
• Understanding Non Surgical Spinal Decompression: FAQ's
  
• Research about Non Surgical Spinal Decompression
  

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