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

Can Going To The Gym Help My Back Pain?

The answer to that question, is that it depends. Not only that, it may depend on a few factors.

First, does movement or light exercise make your back feel better? If so, going back to the workout routine may help. Getting your body moving, blood flowing, muscles loosened, etc. often will help. It really depends on the injury, however. Often I will see a patient who has really strained his back and needs some healing time before working out. If you work out too soon or too hard, you may risk re-injuring your low back; making things worse. This is why some of you reading this may have been sent to physical therapy immediately following an injury and felt like it made you worse. If things aren’t healing and you are pushed too hard or push yourself too hard with certain exercises, you run the risk of re-injury.

What I would recommend is to get things healed first, then slowly start with light exercise, then work up to your usual routine. For a disc issue I would recommend a spinal decompression consultation.

During any particular treatment in our office, whether it's spinal decompression, chiropractic, muscle work, etc. our doctors will advise you on proper exercising for maximum benefit.


CT Spine and Disc Center is located in Glastonbury 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:

• Back Pain Exercise Program
  
• Our best lower back support products.
  
• Glastonbury Chiropractor
  
• Understanding Non Surgical Spinal Decompression: FAQ's
  
• Research about Non Surgical Spinal Decompression
  

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Tips For Heavy Lifting That Can Save Your Low Back...

Here's 5 tips on lifting that can help you avoid back pain or a back injury:

1. Get help- have someone help you lift awkward shaped or extremely
heavy items. Also, use a cart or dolly if possible. If you already have a back injury then you may want to avoid heavy lifting altogether. Why chance it?

2. When possible, lighten your load- break up loads into smaller pieces
or quantities. It may take slightly longer but well worth it. Don't become a statistic.

3. Use your legs when lifting and lift and release something from a
straight-on position, never twist your body. Twisting is one of the most common ways to injure the back because it puts torsion stress on the discs and ligaments.

4. Minimize your reach and widen your stance. Your back doesn't have
to work as hard if you broaden your base and limit your reaching for things.

5. Hold items close to the body and at waist level. This is where you
are strongest and safest.

Keep these tips in mind when lifting. They will help prevent low back pain
and help you keep minimal stress on your low back discs.



CT Spine and Disc Center is located in Glastonbury 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:

• Spinal Decompression may allow you to lift again.
  
• If you are going to do a certain amount of lifting, here's our back support belt
  
• Lumbar support belt video- Dr Bellinger shows how to use it.
  
• Over lifting can cause back problems
  
• Our lower back rest for lumbar support.
  

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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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