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To
Your Health
e-newsletter
A newsletter designed to help you live a
healthier, happier life.
Back Pain Remedies
- Numb it. After activity-related discomfort, ice
acts as a local anesthetic by numbing the tissue, and reduces inflammation,
which usually is a factor in low back pain. Make your own ice pack by
freezing dish soap in a plastic bag, or freeze water in a paper cup and get
an ice massage.
- Warm it up. Heat
helps blood circulate in the affected area of the low back, and blood brings
healing nutrients. Some prefer moist heat - a hot bath or other form of
moist heat.
- Keep it warm. Some people feel more pain relief with
continuous, low level heat, which is available with commercial heat
wraps (e.g. ThermaCare, and ACE).
- Use your brain. Employ powerful relaxation
and distraction techniques in order to make your brain ignore at least
some of the pain signals it receives and help you feel more in control of
your situation.
- Get a massage. Nothing helps like a good back
massage to loosen up the muscles and get the blood flowing.
Posture and ergonomics
- Look at your chair. If you’re reading this, chances are
you spend a reasonable amount of time at your computer. Make sure the back
of the chair
supports the inward curve of your lower back, your chest is open, arms on
armrests, upper back is straight and your feet are flat on the floor.
- Use a lumbar support (or rolled towel) for your office
chair and car.
- Don’t slouch. Ever. It stresses the back.
- Replace your office chair with an exercise ball. Sitting
on the ball introduces an element of instability, and over time the muscles
used to balance on the ball become stronger..
- Use pillows. Support your spine while sleeping by using pillows
to reduce stress. One very supportive position is to lie on your side in the
fetal position with a pillow between your knees.
- Avoid standing. At least for long periods of time. If you
have to, make sure one leg is resting on a step or something a few inches
off the ground, and switch feet every few minutes.
- Push. If you have to move a heavy object, always push –
don’t pull.
- Get household help. Have someone else vacuum, load and
unload the dishwasher, lift grocery bags and other household chores that
require bending and place stress the low back. You can chip in with the
chores that don’t stress your back.
Exercise
- Stretch your hammies. Tight hamstring muscles put stress
on the lower back. Stretch them every morning and evening.
- Stay active. Don’t rest for more than a day or two when
back pain is at its worst. Prolonged inactivity makes the pain worse.
- Walk as much as possible. Carry a pedometer to know
you’re walking 10,000
steps a day. A treadmill has less impact on the spine than walking on a
sidewalk
- Try an elliptical trainer. The tracks never touch the
ground, so there is almost no impact on the spine.
- Biking is good too. For people who feel better leaning
forward, try an upright exercise bike. For those who feel better reclining,
try a recumbent bike (with a lumbar back support)
- Water therapy is gentle. The water provides buoyancy and
mild resistance, but no impact or stress on the back.
- Strengthen your core. Abdominal and back muscles need to
be specifically targeted with strengthening exercise in order to support the
spine.
- Try a strengthening program. Most forms of exercise ball
programs, tai chi, pilates, and yoga all focus on strengthening the core
trunk muscles.
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Relaxing Tips
Learning to relax
is like learning any new skill: It takes practice to become good
at it.
Taking care of yourself through a
combination of massage, relaxation & exercise will decrease any
stress in your life ...more
Breathe Easily
"Breathing from your diaphragm oxygenates your blood, which helps
you relax almost instantly," says Robert Cooper, Ph.D., ...more
Stress is a fact of life, but being stressed out is not. We
don't always have control over what happens to us, says Allen Elkin,
Ph.D., director of the Stress Management Counseling Center in New York
City, ...more
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