Spinal trap — best cures for back pain
November 7, 2008
Previously, the phrase "good posture" brought to mind either a violently perpendicular, ramrod-backed sergeant-major stance or a deportment class full of debutantes balancing books on their heads.
Today, the definition of good posture cleaves to a far more natural ideal.
"Ideally, your body should be aligned so that if you were to drop an imaginary plumb line from your ear it would pass down your neck, through your shoulder, hip and knee and just in front of your ankle into your heel," says Martin Knight, a senior spinal surgeon. "There should be a gentle curve to the lumbar lower spine, known as lordosis."
But if maintaining good posture seems simple in the abstract, the reality is very different. Modern life is filled with activities that could have been designed with the express purpose of causing us musculoskeletal grief.
Like most people, I spend around 60 per cent of my time hunchbacked over a desk, occasionally by way of vertebral variation cradling the phone between my neck and shoulder, while typing ever onwards. This is the kind of thoughtless behavior that explains why two-thirds of the working population suffer some kind of back pain.
Like all of us, I poke my head towards the computer or television screen for extended periods without acknowledging that the slender stalk of my neck was not designed to carry such a heavy weight — the human head can weigh as much as 5.4 kilograms - at such an angle for any length of time. And although my hamstrings have been saved much abuse by the fact I am not a habitual high-heel wearer, that other enemy of good female posture — the handbag that pulls the spine off course with every step — is my constant companion.
So what can we do with it? The first thing to note is although our sitting and standing positions are important, they do not exist in isolation — which is to say good posture is not simply a static thing. As fitness instructor Jayne Nicholls puts it: "I can teach you to stand with your pelvis in neutral and your stomach pulled in, but how much use is that? How many times a day are you standing still? Good posture is a dynamic matter as well, enabling you to perform efficiently and comfortably in all areas."
In other words, you are more likely to end up with less damaging ways of sitting, standing, working and driving if you have an integrated understanding of your body and learn to use it properly in the first place.
The most popular ways of doing this are yoga, Pilates and the Alexander technique. Many people head for classes on advice from their GP or other medical expert after a problem has developed. Others sign up as a pre-emptive strike against a modern lifestyle they realize offers them every chance of ending up looking like the bastard offspring of Quasimodo and the Witch of Endor and spending their declining years shuffling crab-like towards the chemist for those repeat painkiller prescriptions. But how do they measure up?
YOGA
"You have to be taught by someone who really knows what they are doing," says Knight. "If you already have a problem, they have to be able to identify exactly where that problem is. And it won’t necessarily make a bad back better. There is a danger with inexpertly supervised yoga that you will simply stretch what will stretch and keep the rest stiff."
Overall, Knight thinks it inadvisable to say a healthy person could and should do yoga, at least without a thorough check-up from a medical expert.
"If you are not taught to move properly, the spine will take that punishment for a long time — because it is so brilliantly designed — but there will come problems, possibly years later," he says. "Don’t be led into thinking because there is no pain now, it cannot be damaging."
PILATES
Exercises that do not seek to improve flexibility offer less chance of injury to the unwary, and Pilates is frequently offered as part of post-operative rehabilitation to patients.
"It can help people improve their posture, provided that their postural problems are purely muscular," says Tim Hutchful, of the British Chiropractic Association. "It’s not so good for joint problems. And a lot of muscle pain can actually be caused by an underlying joint problem."
If you haven’t been referred by a medical practitioner, Hutchful recommends a check-up by a chiropractor or other expert before embarking on a Pilates course.
But Pilates can teach you how to isolate and use specific muscles properly and therefore help protect against doing inadvisable things with them as you - literally - move through life.
"Someone may be able to touch their toes," Hutchful says, as an example. "But if that gross movement isn’t evenly distributed among all the parts that are supposed to bear the load - calf muscles, hamstrings, hips, lumbar spine and so on - they can still have back problems. Pilates can teach you how to use each part properly."
THE ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE
This is a more fundamental approach to good posture than either Pilates or yoga. It aims to teach people to regain the natural poise we all had as children.
"It’s about unlearning bad habits and giving you a gentle awareness — at the back of your mind all the time — about the right, loose, free, natural way we all used to do things at one point in our lives," says Noel Kingsley, Alexander teacher and author of Perfect Poise, Perfect Life, as he repositions my head with one hand, hips with another.
The experts have minimal beef with the Alexander technique, although Hutchful points out it will be of little help to those with joint problems, which Alexander teachers are not (and do not profess to be) able to work on.
Source: Guardian News & Media
Scoliosis and Its Common Impacts
October 3, 2008
Scoliosis is a common orthopedic condition affecting millions of individuals. In fact, more than a half million doctors’ visits occur each year regarding the evaluation and treatment of scoliosis.
What is scoliosis? In medical terms, it describes lateral (side to side) curvatures of the spine (aka: the mid and/or lower back).
Occurring at any age, scoliosis most commonly develops between the ages of 10 and 15. Girls are more commonly affected than boys. The condition may be inherited or the cause may be unknown. In any case, scoliosis can be puzzling and should be evaluated and monitored properly to ensure the best outcome at any age.
Our bodies have specific spinal curvatures from front to back, as well as a straight line appearance from top to bottom. Because we stand and walk on two feet, we constantly use muscle control to keep us upright, while fighting external forces such as gravity. In most cases, "normal" spinal curves allow us to move and function correctly, and allow the body to be more resistant to injury.
On the other hand, abnormal curvatures can cause problems. In some individuals, lateral (or sideways) spinal curvatures can develop, which change the "normal" straight line appearance of the spine. If the curvature is measured larger than 10 degrees (side to side), it can be called a scoliosis. Curves less than 10 degrees are not classified as a scoliosis and may just be postural compensations. Some curvatures may be accompanied by increased front to back curves (kyphosis), may involve rotation of the spinal bones (vertebrae), or even contain more than one curve. Whether from daily activities, poor posture, specific injury, or even due to genetics, any change in "normal" curvature will affect spinal movement, position and function.
In most cases, the cause is unknown. In other cases, trauma, postural problems, developmental issues, neurological diseases, or other conditions may be causally related. Some scoliosis may be related to muscle spasm, biomechanical compensation, or leg-length inequality, which can often be addressed conservatively. Other scoliosis may be more complicated and may require more invasive treatments.
How is scoliosis evaluated? A thorough history and physical examination, including a postural analysis and spinal screening, is usually the first step in evaluating a spinal curvature or diagnosing scoliosis. Only if clinically appropriate and necessary, X-ray evaluation can determine the location and degree of the curvature, as well as monitor other associated factors. Depending on each case, additional diagnostic testing and/or repeat X-rays may be necessary as often as every 3 months to as little as once every few years to monitor abnormal findings.
Symptoms differ in each person. Fortunately, 4 out of 5 people with a scoliosis have curves less than 20 degrees, which are usually not detected by the untrained eye and have no symptoms. In most small curves, pain is not an issue and progression of the curve does not occur. In severe cases, pain and limited physical activity may be evident, in addition to possible harm to internal structures.
Will the scoliosis progress? In most cases, scoliosis remains mild, does not progress, and requires little treatment, if any. In other cases, growing children may have rapidly progressive curves which require more frequent check-ups and more aggressive treatment. One group of concern will be young females who have a scoliosis greater than 25 degrees and who have not had their first menstrual period. This concern is due to rapid growth during this developmental period. In addition, adults with pain and progressive curvatures must be monitored more closely.
Successful treatment doesn’t mean reversing the curve, but it means managing it and stopping it from getting worse. Curves under 20 degrees are usually "treated" with careful observation and conservative options, since most mild scolioses don’t progress or cause physical problems. Specific therapeutic exercises and stretching, electrical stimulation and spinal manipulation have been successfully utilized in the management of scoliosis. For curves between 25 and 45 degrees, in addition to those who are not at skeletal maturity, conservative care to include bracing may also be recommended. Bracing depends on the type and site of curvature. Surgery may be an option for curves greater than 45 degrees and progressive, and/or when internal organ function is affected.
Most people with scoliosis lead normal lives without complications. Physical activity is usually well-tolerated and encouraged. Since none of these therapies alone have been shown to consistently reduce scoliosis or to make the curves worse, an integrated approach to the treatment of scoliosis using your medical doctor as well as a chiropractic physician is a proven and effective treatment option.
Dr. Todd Joachim, a chiropractic physician, practices in Marion. He specializes in the conservative treatment, rehabilitation and management of musculoskeletal injuries and conditions including scoliosis, while using non-surgical chiropractic treatment options. Questions regarding chiropractic care or health concerns can be addressed to dr_todd_dc@yahoo.com
Source: marionstar.com
Arthritis of Spine Targets Young Men
October 2, 2008
It’s a disease that affects between 150,000 and 300,000 Canadians, strikes males three times as often as females and is literally a pain in the backside.
Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a mouthful to say, so some people call it "poker back." Having it can wreak havoc with your golf game, and make just getting around the house difficult.
New advances in diagnosis and treatment may help catch AS early and greatly ease the negative effects of this disease.
AS is a type of arthritis that usually affects the spine. According to a recent paper by Dr. Saeed A. Shaikh of McMaster University, "ankylosing spondylitis most commonly has its onset while a patient is in their 20s, although late teenage years are also relatively common for initial symptoms."
He adds that the disease "has a predilection to affect young males." It also has a strong genetic component, with a gene called HLA-B27 showing up in 93 per cent of the patients with AS, but is seen in only six per cent of the general population.
According to Shaikh, it can still be very difficult to diagnose, and "on average, there is a seven-to-10-year delay in the diagnosis of this disease from the onset of symptoms."
It doesn’t help that, he says, "the majority of back pain sufferers do not seek care from healthcare providers. Young men tend to be the segment of the population that are the least likely to do so."
So, you young guys, being tough and sucking it up when confronted with an aching back may work against you.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technology can reveal the earliest signs of this disease, especially inflammation in the sacroiliac joints, long before anything would show up on a conventional X-ray. (The sacroiliac joints connect the sacrum — the wedge-shaped bone at the bottom of the spine — to the pelvic bones.)
If left unchecked, AS can cause chronic back pain, stiffness, especially in the morning, as well as fatigue and pain in the joints. There can also be consequences elsewhere in the body, including eye infections, psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease. In advanced cases, bony spurs can grow out from the edges of the vertebrae, fusing together parts of the spine and making movement even more difficult.
The Arthritis Society of Canada has plenty of good, objective information on this disease on its website, arthritis.ca. It says treatment usually starts with a non-steroidal anti-flammatory drug, like the ones you probably have in your medicine cabinet. Corticosteroids are sometimes given by injection into the affected join to provide short-term relief. For severe cases, there are disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs such as methotrexate and sulfasalazine. Of course any medication can have side-effects so the benefits need to be weighed against the risks.
A new class of AS treatments involves biological response modifiers, sometimes just called biologics. These drugs work by plugging up the pathway that leads to inflammation. According to the Arthritis Society, they "recently have been shown to have the potential to slow or even halt the progression of AS in some people."
You can tell there’s big money in biologics, since the company behind one of them, Remicade® (infiximab), has sponsored a very high-quality website called ihaveoptions.ca. On it, an unidentified, but very trustworthy looking guy in a white coat reviews the treatment options. While the information is medically vetted and factual, with links to other sources, it’s still useful to remember that the pharmaceutical company Schering-Plough Canada Inc. pays the bill for this website.
Most of the biologics are given by intravenous injection, at intervals of several weeks or months. Because of their cost, which the Arthritis Society estimates at $15,000 to $25,000 per year, most provincial health plans restrict them to patients whose disease cannot be controlled by conventional treatments. And because they depress the immune system, there are certainly people who should not be taking them at all.
Of course, there are some excellent non-pharmaceutical approaches to ease this disease. They range from stretching exercises to physical therapy to trying to maintain good posture. A physiotherapist can be very helpful in showing you how.
Moderate physical activity is desirable, but the Arthritis Society cautions against contact sports such as rugby or hockey, or falling down sports like skiing, because a person with AS may be at greater risk of spinal fracture.
Most experts agree that people with AS will always be aware of their disease, but advances in diagnosis and treatment can keep it under control. Famous people with AS reportedly include baseball player Rico Brogna and Mötley Crue guitarist Mick Mars.
Then again, former world chess champion Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik may be a more relevant example for most of us. The discomfort of sitting at a chessboard actually forced him out of the game.
But with medication for his AS, he was back for the 37th Chess Olympiad in June 2006. For now at least he seems to have his disease in check.
Tom Keenan, I.S.P., is an award-winning science writer, professional speaker and professor at the University of Calgary.
Source: canada.com
You Don’t Have To Be Perfect To Be Free Of Back Pain
September 30, 2008
Would you have back pain if every part of your body were perfect? The answer has to be… No, it’s pretty safe to say you wouldn’t have any pain if your body were perfectly aligned, perfectly balanced and in a perfect state of being.
But here’s the thing—you don’t have to be perfect to be pain-free. In fact, you can have serious conditions like Spinal Stenosis and even a Herniated disc and still have no pain—regardless of the type of job you have or how you think the condition developed or even the unique situation that you find yourself in today.
Don’t believe it? The prestigious New England Journal of Medicine just reported it.
They published a study in which researchers performed an MRI on 98 people who had no back pain. And the researchers found that nearly two thirds of them had some kind of abnormal disk condition.
The researchers conclude:
"Many people without back pain have disk bulges or protrusions… Given the high prevalence of these findings and of back pain, the discovery by MRI of bulges or protrusions in people with low back pain may frequently be coincidental."
That’s right. They called having a bulging or protruded disc and having back pain a coincidence. Proof positive that you can have a condition and not have pain. Indeed, there are millions of people with existing back problems right now who do not even know that they have the condition and surly don’t have any pain at all.
How do you become one of those people?
Living with the condition and living pain free.
Let me say something that may be uncomfortable for you to hear. There is a good chance your condition will never go away. That may sound scary, but it is possible. Herniated disks don’t typically un-bulge themselves and then heal them self to the way they were when you were 15. Spinal Stenosis doesn’t come and go.
And yet, you can still live without pain. In fact, you probably already have.
If you have gone just one minute of one day since your last flare-up without pain, you’ve proved you can have your condition without pain.
How can this be? If the condition didn’t go away, what changes? It all has to do with the alignment of your body, the position of your pelvis, the curvature of your spine and the stability of your body as a whole as you go through your day.
Now, there are a couple of ways to try to relieve that irritation permanently. Sure, you could have surgery. That’s one option to treat your pain. But most surgeries fail within 3 to 5 years. Why? Because they don’t address the reason why the condition became symptomatic in the first place. In other words they don’t fix what’s really causing your condition to develop–they just remove the irritant that is causing the pain.
So what does? I understand you think you’ve tried everything—chiropractors, physical therapy, cortisone shots, acupuncture, massage, anti-Inflammatories and probably 20 others. But ask yourself one question. Answer it truthfully.
Has anyone ever looked at your body as a whole and told you specifically what your postural dysfunctions are and what specifically is causing your body to look like it does?
Furthermore has anyone spelled out for you why your pelvis is the way it is? Did they tell you specifically which muscles are tight, which muscles are weak and then give you a very specific and very targeted corrective program to achieve postural balance and stability, which is the single more important thing you can do to alleviate your pain and gain control of your life?
Stability is Everything when looking for pain relief
The only way to stop the irritation is to bring your body back to a more neutral, more balanced and more stable state. When you do that, everything works better—your back, your hips, your shoulders, your SI joint, everything. Once your body is balanced and stable you can do all the things you love to do and do them with the confidence that you are safe, strong and protected against further injury.
As the NEJM proved, you don’t have to be perfect to eliminate pain. You just need to work toward creating a more balanced and neutral state for your body. When you work toward pelvic stability, you help your spine maintain a neutral position. Then you can use your body as it was intended to be used.
That’s how you can have the condition and not have pain. You most likely won’t need surgery. You won’t wake up every morning stiff. You can return to your life and do all you want to do.
Why is Muscle Balance Therapy so different?
First, you should understand that there is no single set of exercises that can specifically help a Herniated disk or Spinal Stenosis or any condition for that matter. So I urge you not to search the Internet for back pain exercises and just do any old stretch or exercise without knowing the underlying reason you are doing it for.
You must also understand that the Corrective Exercise Program you will get form Muscle Balance Therapy is not based on your diagnosis but rather on corroborating evidence from both physical and visual assessments that are used to ensure you are doing the correct and safest program possible for you and your current condition.
Muscle Balance Therapy is based on the biomechanical principle—the more balanced and stable your body is the better your body will work and the less pain you will be in. So before we start we must first know which muscles are out of balance, meaning we need to know specifically which muscles are tight and which are weak. Once we know those, then we can create a very specific and targeted stretch and exercise program to restore balance. And again that only comes from doing the specific assessments…
Let me just review this point one more time, there is no such thing as a single exercise for and medical diagnosed form of back pain like a herniated disc or Spinal Stenosis. So when you ask me will, I just had and MRI and was just diagnosed with 4 Herniated Discs, Degenerative Disc Disease all levels, Spinal Stenosis and oh I was born with Scoliosis and 17 years ago I was in a major auto accident, will your system work for me the answer is will always be yes…
In fact, I tell everyone it great to know your specific diagnosis but now forget about it, you can not change the facts and you can not change the past. Rather, focus your energy on the things you know you can change and as you restore balance you will restore function.
That brings us to the third unique aspect of Muscle Balances Therapy and that is that we have to perform what we call the Unbalanced Workout. This means that you will not benefit from just blindly strengthening or stretching all your core muscles. That is not the way to do it.
The reason is that you could be stretching or strengthening muscle groups that do not need to be stretched or strengthened and you can make your condition worse. Here is the secret: The difference between having pain and not having pain is in millimeters of movement and the more specific the physical approach the faster and safer the results will be.
The fourth difference is not in our exercises, because there are no new exercises in the world. Rather, it’s the confidence you get knowing that the exercises that you are doing are working the muscles in the best way possible for you and your situation.
The Secret
Everyone understands that one approach can not be the answer to every possible circumstance, and we know that, so here is the secret, as you work with Muscle Balance Therapy and address root cause issues like physical balance and postural stability, please understand that we encourage you to seek out those same modalities that failed you before, they all have value in the process of healing but not until you address the important stuff first.
You know the list of things that you have tried; I contend that this time Massage, Inversion, Supplements, Trigger Point Therapy, Heating Pads to name a few will all work to speed your healing and help you achieve optimal health for the rest of your life.
Is Muscle Balance Therapy perfect? It’s close. Does everyone get 100% pain relief? Most do.
I can say with all honesty that there is 100% chance you will improve from your current state. We have a list of 50 ways that your body and life will benefit and 100% pain relief is by all measures a bonus. So it boils down to this: Would you be happy with 80%, 60%, even 50% reduction in pain yet able to do all the things you love to do? Would that improve your quality of life?
I have dedicated the last 15 years of my life and endured both personal and professional sacrifice to create a safe, systematic approach to addressing all forms of back pain that can be used by young and old alike. And I have never been closer then I am right now with the concept of Muscle Balance Therapy to be able to say that you have just learned one of the best lessons anyone with back pain can hear.
I’m not promising miracles, but I do promise a complete and thorough as well as safe approach to managing, treating and even eliminating your pain.
I have seen amazing results again and again for those people that put in the effort and believe in them self knowing that they are doing the right thing.
Let me leave you with this last thought and one that I believe holds the most power. The human body is intrinsically designed to heal its self, we as individuals just need to give our bodies what is needed and remove what is not needed, Muscle Balance Therapy puts that power to heal yourself back in your control.
If I could barrow a line from my good friend Bob Proctor, the cure to ignorance is knowledge and the answer to fear, worry and doubt is study, understanding and faith. Faith builds enthusiasm and enthusiasm accelerates healing. How good it that!
So if you don’t believe me that you can have your condition and not have pain let me teach you what is possible. If you worry and are filled with doubt I urge you to study what is already available to you and the more you know the better off you will become.
That is true for all things and will be true till the end of time.
Sources
1. Jensen, M.C., et. al. Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Lumbar Spine in People without Back Pain. N Engl J Med 1994; 331:69-73
2. Bob Proctor, The Winners Image, ©1995 –2008
Source: postchronicle.com
10 Things You Don’t Know About Back Pain
September 23, 2008
Here are 10 things you probably don’t know about back pain and its causes:
- Back pain affects 8 out of 10 people at some point in their lives and it costs the United States between $20 and $50 billion yearly.
- Back pain is the most common orthopedic complaint and also the most common cause of disability in people less than 45 years old.
- Low back pain is the second most common reason to visit a doctor in the developed world.
- About 1% of people living in the United States of America are chronically disabled due to back pain.
- Back pain can be felt going down into the buttock, back of the thigh, and below the knee into the calf and ankle. When this happens it is known as ’sciatica’.
- It is time to see your doctor as an emergency if symptoms of bowel and bladder are present as these may signify compression on the spinal cord.
- Cancers of the breasts, lungs, kidneys, prostates and thyroid glands can present as back pain.
- It may be important for your doctor to examine your abdomen, pelvis, rectum and major arteries when you complain of back pain. This is because; diseases of the abdomen, chest, rectum(such as rectal cancer) and pelvis may refer to the back of the spinal cord. Sometimes back pain may be the only sign of such serious diseases.
- Back pain can cause emotional problems such as low mood, depression, stress, and anxiety.
- Risk factors for developing back pain include overweight, female gender, older age, previous history of back pain, lack of physical activity, smoking, job dissatisfaction and wide spread pain.
Managing Back Pain Taking New Direction
September 22, 2008
Degenerative back disease can be a chronic problem for many Americans. Replacing the diseased disc is now an option for some of these patients.
The Spine Center at the University of Colorado Hospital is taking part in a nationwide clinical trial testing a new model of a replacement disc.
Kathy Hassebrook traveled from Aberdeen, S.D., to take part in this specific clinical trail.
For the past 10 years, she’s experienced increasing back pain and what she calls a lack of back structure. She’s tried back injections, physical therapy and wearing a back brace. Nothing worked.
“I’ve had the options given to me to either live with it, which I’ve done, and when it got to the point that it got so bad that it was affecting different things in my life, there’s two surgeries that were recommended,” said Hassebrook.
Golfing and bowling have been off limits , but it was a recent trip to Thailand that solidified her decision to have surgery.
“There was an elephant ride I was not on! And, I was afraid of the long flight,” said Hassebrook.
Missing that elephant ride was her last straw. She decided to enroll and was accepted into the clinical trial.
Dr. Vikas Patel leads a team of spine surgeons who are testing the newly designed artificial disc.
“This new disc is a third-generation type of disc where they are combining aspects of previous implants that we believe are better. These trials are important in general to make certain when new technologies come out they are thoroughly tested and carefully followed to make sure they are better than what’s currently available,” said Dr. Patel.
The new disc incorporates added mobility.
“It allows a bit of sliding and translating motion,” said Dr. Patel. He said it will act even more like a natural spine disc.
Because Kathy is part of this clinical trial, she can not know if her replacement will be with the new disc or an older version. To her, either disc will be fine.
“The good news is that I get one of the discs and I don’t have a fusion surgery scheduled. I either get the one being studied in the trial or one that is already FDA approved,” said Hassebrook on the day prior to her surgery.
The minimally invasive surgery to remove the diseased disc and implant the new one took about three hours. Kathy was walking within the first day.
She flew back to Colorado for a seven-week check up. There’s no doubt in her mind, she said, the surgery was a success. To prove it, she wore high-heeled boots to her appointment. That was something she could not do until after the surgery.
“I was hopeful, but it’s like I stepped back 10 years and it worked,” said Hassebrook.
Not knowing what disc was implanted is not even an issue.
“I’m guessing maybe I have the new one, but either way it worked. I’m happy,” said Hassebrook.
Kathy’s experience will join that of about 300 other patients to determine which disc may help future patients the most.
If this disc is approved by the FDA, it could be available in about three years.
The clinical trial is still accepting new patients.
For more information visit The Spine Center at University of Colorado Hospital
Source: TheDenverChannel.com
Neck Alignment and Neck Pain
September 19, 2008
Many people have been to a chiropractor. If you are one of them, and you came in for a neck and/or shoulder problem; or headache, you may have been advised by the chiropractor to take a lateral (side-view) cervical (neck) x-ray. The reason for doing so was to determine if the seven vertebrae that comprise the neck are in proper alignment relative to one another. The chiropractor may have gone on to say that if the neck is not aligned, it recruits the neck muscle to balance the weight of the head in an inefficient manner, causing neck strain and possible headaches. Also, abnormal alignment may lead to increased pressure in the discs and facet (rear) joints of the vertebrae resulting in arthritis, and possible nerve encroachment (pinching).
So, the question is, is this true? I believe the analysis has merit. It basically transfers engineering principles to the human body.
Most chiropractors will explain to their patients that the neck, when viewed to the side (x-ray) must form a gentle arc, with the convexity in the front of the neck. When the alignment is reversed (convexity at the back of the neck), or if the neck is like a straight line (no curvature), it causes problems in the joints, which can lead to things like a stiff neck, headaches, and even arm symptoms (pain, numbness, tingling).
Consider the arc. Even centuries ago, ancient civil engineers knew that an arc imparts strength to a structure. Ancient roman aqueducts had arched ceilings to prevent them from caving in. If you look at a bridge, you will notice that it has an upward arc to support the traffic that crosses it each day.
The head weighs about 8-10 pounds, and is supported by the neck. If the neck has an arc, the arc acts like a spring, balancing the weight of the head so that minimal neck muscle contraction is required. But flatten out the curve, and more neck muscle contraction is needed to hold up the head. Reverse the curvature, and the demands increase. And, pressure increases in the discs and facet joints, causing them to wear out faster.
It’s believed that the curvature of the neck is formed during infancy. When an infant lies on its stomach and raises its head, it forces the neck into an arc. This starts the process of shaping the neck into the gentle, forward-convexity arc.
The things that cause the arc to flatten include poor posture, prolonged or repeated forward bending of the neck, such as when sitting at a desk looking down, or at a computer monitor; and accidents like whiplash and sports injuries to the neck.
So, if you are experiencing neck pain and/or headaches, or symptoms like tingling in your arms/hands, go see a chiropractor and have your neck x-rayed. The information will be useful in diagnosing the problem, and deciding on a proper treatment plan.
Dr. Dan
Source: San Francisco chiropractor
Tips: Biking and Back Pain
September 18, 2008
Hey,
I am an avid biker and cycle almost everyday. But lately I have been getting terrible back pain. Could improper posture while riding cause this? And if so how should I sit?
— Biker Chick
I think biking is a great form of exercise and transportation, but not if it is killing your back. I think the issue could be three fold. To see what I think you can do to reduce your pain, just read more.
The first thing to check is your bike fit. I am wondering if you adjusted your bike in any way recently because slight adjustments can create serious changes in your body mechanics. Raising the seat too high could cause some serious back pain. Adjust the seat of the bike so when pedaling your knee is just shy of being totally straight on the down stroke. Have someone look at you from behind while you ride to make sure you are not rocking your pelvis side to side as you ride. For more tips read How to Fit a Bike. You can also have your bike adjusted professionally at most bike stores.
Another culprit of back pain could be your posture. Like sitting and standing, you shouldn’t slouch when you are riding. Don’t round your back, but keep the spine long and straight. Tip forward from your pelvis to reach your handlebars rather than bending at your waist. Your shoulder blades should not be up by your ears either.
Your back might also be weak and the ligaments lining the spine could be aching from being in an overstretched, rounded position. While biking, it is good to put a little tension back into the stretched ligaments by occasionally exaggerating arching your back. While riding, I often hyperextend my spine by doing the arching half of the popular yoga warmup cat and cow. Off your bike you should do back strengthening and core exercises. Nothing feels better than doing some back extension moves on an exercise ball after getting off a bike, or post spin class. I also have found that the Superman exercise, which requires no equipment, can really help to strengthen weak backs and alleviate back pain. It is important to stretch your legs — quads, hamstrings and calves — after riding. Try this piriformis stretch when you are out riding, it can help reduce back pain as well.
Hope my answer helps you get back in the saddle again.
Source: FitSugar.com
Non-Surgical Treatment for Lower Back Pain
September 15, 2008
With the advancement of technology, a new treatment technique called non-surgical spinal decompression (NSSD) has emerged. It has proven to be one of the most effective methods in low back pain treatment and is widely used all over the world.
With a variety of treatments available now for low back pain relief, most people prefer non-surgical treatment methods. Non-surgical treatment, usually referred to as the onservative treatment, includes heat, physical therapy, hydrotherapy, electrical nerve stimulation, spinal bracing, chiropractic care, epidural steroid injection, tissue mobilization and therapeutic spinal traction.
Low back pain is usually caused by degenerative disc, excessive stress to the back, arthritis of the spine, minimal movement, malpositioning of vertebrae and by problems in ligaments and tendons in and around the spine, spinal cord infection, Piriformis syndrome and other spinal conditions. Low back pain symptoms vary in different people depending on whether the pain is acute or chronic. X-rays and MRI scans are used for determining the source of low back pain.
Low back pain can be successfully treated either with non-surgical treatment methods, conservative care, or surgery. With limited success in eliminating disc problems completely, back surgery is opted only when the non-surgical methods become ineffective. Patients suffering from low back pain can achieve equally beneficial success as those obtained from surgery with non-surgical treatment methods.
Physical therapy is one of the most popular non-surgical treatment methods for low back pain. The non-surgical treatment methods are very effective even for chronic low back pain. The conservative methods make use of manually or mechanically created forces to stretch spinal muscles to alleviate back pain. With the advancement of technology, a new treatment technique called non-surgical spinal decompression (NSSD) has emerged. It has proven to be one of the most effective methods in low back pain treatment and is widely used all over the world.?Drugs such as Opioids and Narcotics are used to treat acute back pain. For chronic low back pains, NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) are used.
With the latest advancements in the medical field, low back pain relief is possible for most patients. Mild symptoms of back pain should not be ignored and the right treatment should be taken.
Source: www.internet-3.info
Back Pain Hits Record High
September 14, 2008
DON’T pick up a duster this weekend. More Brits than ever are suffering with back problems and most of us believe housework and cleaning really are a pain, a new survey reveals.
A massive 52 per cent of the population now gets back pain – up five per cent in just a year – a poll for the British Chiropractic Association has found.
Spring cleaning and housework are the most common perils, with 47 per cent of sufferers saying they have caused problems.
Driving is the main trigger for 31 per cent of sufferers and 23 per cent said it makes travelling difficult.
Tim Hutchful from The British Chiropractic Association says: «Back pain in Britain is continuing to rise at an alarming rate and poor posture continues to be the main culprit.
«The study has highlighted what a detrimental effect back pain can have on people’s lives.
«The major thing it prevents people from doing is exercise – adding to our increasing sedentary lifestyles.
«But lack of sleep and driving shows the extent of how back pain really is affecting every aspect of our lives.»
Obesity and lack of physical fitness are also known to contribute to back problems, and may be a factor in the rising number of sufferers.
Many problems can also be avoided by taking care when lifting heavy weights. Experts advise keeping the back straight and bending from the knees.
-
Recent Posts
- Spinal trap — best cures for back pain
- Scoliosis and Its Common Impacts
- Arthritis of Spine Targets Young Men
- Watchung Chiropractor Works to Ease the Pain
- Pain Isn’t Just a Symptom of Arthritis
- You Don’t Have To Be Perfect To Be Free Of Back Pain
- How to Keep Healthy Back
- O’Fallon chiropractor talks about his business and move
- VCU Researchers Seek Relief for Back Pain
- What To Expect From Chronic Back Pain Medications
-
Advertisement