Posts Tagged ‘lower back pain’

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The Best Sleep Positions to Help Sciatica

Thursday, October 14th, 2010

From the Desk of Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com

Finding a good night’s sleep with sciatic pain seems nothing short of impossible. There are really not words to explain just how hard it is to wake up in even more pain than you were when you went to bed. Dealing with this lower back pain during the day is hard enough, getting through this at night seems almost impossible.

If you do not have one already, get a journal and keep track of your sleep. Make a note of the position that you fell asleep in and the position that you woke up in. Also note your pain level when you go to sleep and when you wake up.

Side Sleepers – try to sleep on the opposite side that the pain is on. Another good trick is to put a pillow in between your knees while you sleep, this will help to keep your spine straight while you are sleeping.

Back Sleepers – put a pillow or two under your knees while you are sleeping. The trick here is to support your legs without putting stress on your lower back. Usually one or two pillows will do the trick.

Stomach Sleepers – unfortunately, if you have sciatic nerve pain and lower back pain, the worst position to sleep in is on your stomach. The reason is because it puts enormous strain on your lower back and sciatic nerve. Your best bet is to try sleeping on your side. Make note of which side you lean your head towards when you sleep and try to sleep on your side facing that direction.

Link: EZine Articles
http://ezinearticles.com/?What-Are-the-Best-Sciatica-Sleep-Positions-to-Help-You?&id=5105519

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Get Lower Back Pain Relief

Saturday, October 9th, 2010

From the Desk of Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com

Lower back pain may have different causes than upper or entire back pain. The lower back serves a different role from the other parts of the back, as is it the sole support for the entire upper body. The lower back takes on the majority of the stress from everyday life and injuries. Bodies bend, rotate, and extend at the waist; the lower back is always a part of that process and is affected by most body movement. Protecting the core and lower back are essential to maintaining healthy body movement.

A lumbar strain is when the ligaments, tendons, or muscles of the lower back are stretched too far and become strained. The tissue tears usually as a result of overuse, although improper use or accidents are sometimes to blame. The most effective way to relieve and eliminate a lumber strain is to take pain medication and rest to allow the back to heal. Massage and heat therapy can help to soothe the pain.

Lumber radiculopathy because a problem after there has been damage to the discs of the back. More often than not, disc damage is caused by use in daily life. The discs wear down and allow for nerve irritation, and can sometimes cause a hernia. This type of condition is more severe and requires a more serious form of treatment, sometimes leading to surgery.

Link: EZine Articles
http://ezinearticles.com/?Get-Lower-Back-Pain-Relief&id=5097706

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How to Relieve Lower Back Pain While Sitting

Tuesday, October 5th, 2010

From the Desk of Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com

Whatever your problem is in your lower back, you need to realize something about your spine first. It revolves around the subject of loads being placed on your spine, especially the lower back. There is a biomechanical structure that exists regarding different positions that your body is in. For example, when you lay down, the amount of stress that is on your spine is the least. Axial load and gravity place an increased amount of pressure on your back when you stand. Last, but definitely not least, your back is under more stress when you sit, and especially if you sit in a crouched position.

Pain can be the result of a herniated disc that is pressing on a spinal nerve root, or it can be a muscle strain for example, that is causing all the problems.

When it comes to back pain, many physicians will request that their patients use a lower back support to help offload their lower spine. This is achieved by the increase in intercavitary pressure that helps to free up discs or strained muscles for example. It will not free up an involved kidney problem and you should talk to your doctor about other options if this problem exists for you.

Link: EZine Articles
http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Relieve-Lower-Back-Pain-While-Sitting—What-Works-and-What-Does-Not—Relief-Options&id=4755794

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The Economic Impact of Lower Back Pain

Saturday, September 25th, 2010

From the Desk of Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com

A study conducted a few years ago indicates nearly 90 billion dollars is spent each year on individuals who have pain in their lower back. The exact amount spent on pain treatment for the lower back accounted for nearly 1/3 of that total.

When you miss work, it can be sometimes written off as a one day problem.  However, as your back pain gets worse, you may actually be fired from work because no employer wants to keep a long term pain sufferer on board too long.  Let’s be real about this.  Time is money and it is hard to keep on staff that may blame their employer for the origination of a back problem.

If you have ever hurt your lower back, then it is time to start thinking about support your back to help reduce your pain.  Good posture can be promoted with the use of a low profile, light weight support and this can greatly help to prevent further back issues from happening.

Medically speaking, a quality lower back support can off load hurting spine elements by biomechanically effecting your back.  With the increase in intercavitary pressure (like feeling a hug around your mid-section) many people will almost instantly find a sense of relief.  The other great thing about back supports is that they are easily concealed by the use of a simple t-shirt. 

Link: EZine Articles
http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Economic-Impact-of-Lower-Back-Pain—How-To-Get-Relief-Without-Breaking-The-Bank!&id=4987009

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Early Pregnancy Lower Back Pain

Tuesday, September 21st, 2010

From the Desk of Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com

Lower back pain often occurs in the first trimester of pregnancy and is pretty common. A lot of times the pain can be one of the first signs of pregnancy. Two most common causes of the pain are your expanding uterus and the hormonal changes.

The expanding uterus can cause a change in posture putting a strain on the lower back. Hormones produced during pregnancy affect the back and can cause pain. Another reason might be your spine might be out of alignment.

A good way to alleviate the pain during your pregnancy is to pelvic tilts, they will strengthen the back and reduce the pain. Try to avoid lying flat on your back because the weight of your uterus may press on the vena cava.

Start an exercise program to stretch and strengthen back muscles, legs, and abdomen. Swimming for example is a great way to strengthen the abdomen and lower back. The buoyancy takes the strain off your joints and back.

Avoid high heels and wear comfortable shoes such as flat heels. As your belly grows and your balance shifts, high heels will throw your posture even more out of whack and increasing your chances for pain.

Posture is very important. Always stand upright. Pregnant women tend to slump their shoulders and arch their backs as their bellies get bigger, this can put an additional strain on the back.

Link: EZine Articles
http://ezinearticles.com/?Early-Pregnancy-Lower-Back-Pain&id=3759012

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Do You Wake up with Lower Back Pain?

Tuesday, September 21st, 2010

From the Desk of Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com

Do you wake up in the mornings with aching lower back pain? Does back pain keep you from sleeping well at night? Does it take you awhile to get moving in the mornings? Does your low back hurt if you have been sitting on your couch or in your car?

Over time, our spines can develop problems just like our eyes, heart, or teeth. Due to accumulated injuries, misalignments and joint stiffness can occur. When time is added in as a factor, chronic stiffness of the joints can occur, leading to the slow deterioration of the joint surfaces. When this happens, you usually are informed that you have arthritis and there is nothing that can be done.

However, unless your joints are totally fused through damage and deterioration, there are some things that you can do to help the situation. The reason you are the sorest in the morning, while lying down, or while sitting, is that the longer period of inactivity allows your stiff joints to stiffen even more. After you are up moving around for awhile, the natural movement of your body helps to alleviate some of the stiffness and discomfort. So guess what, doing some exercises and stretches that increases the mobility of your joints, will decrease the amount of pain you experience.

Link: EZine Articles
http://ezinearticles.com/?Do-You-Have-Lower-Back-Pain-When-You-Wake-Up-in-the-Morning?-Find-Out-What-You-Can-Do-to-Help&id=4629649

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How Icing Increases Recovery of Lower Back Pain

Tuesday, September 14th, 2010

From the Desk of Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com

When an acute episode of lower back pain occurs, ice is the first line of defense to help reduce your pain. An episode could be a slip and fall, car accident, sudden twist, or picking up something heavy that immediately causes lower back pain.

Ice will cause the blood vessels in the area surrounding the injury to vasocontrict. That means that the blood vessels will close down and reduce the blood flow to the area. Vasoconstriction is important because the body’s initial reaction to pain, stress, and trauma to an area is inflammation.

Ice should not be applied directly to the skin. Rather it should be placed in a in a towel, paper towel, pillow case, etc in order to prevent frostbite or irritation to the skin. After an injury, you should ice 10 minutes every hour to every other hour.

If your pain is the result of a twisting incident, you may want to ice your gluts as well because rotational movements are generated from your gluts and when they are irritated, they can cause lower back pain.

The last key point to consider while icing for the reduction of your lower back pain is posture or position. If you have injured your lower back, it is best to lie on your stomach with a pillow under your stomach and have the ice pack on your back.

Link: EZine Articles
http://ezinearticles.com/?Lower-Back-Pain-Relief—How-Icing-Increases-Recovery&id=4891297

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Exercises for Lower Back Pain

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010

Since a lot of manual workers have problems with their backs due to excessive stress, exercises for lower back pain can help them a lot if they learn how to do them correctly.

Lower back exercises can help you get rid of the pain or at least reduce it. Your pain will disappear faster if you exercise on a regular basis, as this will also improve flexibility and strengthen the muscles. All these benefits contribute to the reduction of chances of an acute back pain attack happening.

There are two components of exercises that can be done for lower back pain. First is the increased flexibility and strength, plus the body conditioning overall. You can get your body in great condition if you do some cardiovascular exercises (biking, walking or swimming) on a regular basis.

Your lower back will also improve if you lose some of the extra weight. In the beginning you should start slow, but in time you should get to 20-40 minutes of exercise in each session, with 3-5 sessions per week.

The second component of these exercises will make your back muscles more powerful and flexible. Besides your lower back, exercises will also improve your other muscles and abdominals. With exercise you will be able to keep the back of the thigh loose, which decreases the chance of injury.

Link: EZine Articles
http://ezinearticles.com/?Exercises-For-Lower-Back-Pain—How-to-Get-Rid-of-Your-Back-Pain-Naturally&id=1891893

Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com

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Lower Back and Leg Pain

Saturday, August 28th, 2010

One major cause of lower back pain is muscle imbalances. The other is trauma to your body core. Like falling, sitting for long periods of time and traffic accidents. Those are just a few of the many examples.

The obvious conclusion is to fix one of those two conditions. If you can not help but sit all the time then at least counter the low back pain caused by sitting to much. Do this by countering the muscle imbalances in your body.

Any therapist experienced in neurological release can help you learn stretching techniques to help build and correct a muscle imbalance. An exercise therapist can analyze and help you for specific imbalances. Here is a quick self test to help you understand, realize and provide some relief from leg pain, knee pain or low back pain by performing your own neurological release.

This is the quick self test, if you are sitting, legs at a 90 degree angle, grab your leg just above your knee, right past the joint. Now dig your index and middle fingers into your muscles on the outside. You should feel your IT band and one of your quadriceps attachment point. Your thumb should be around the medial-us (the “head”) of your knee. Now you should dig your fingers into that area and in the general vicinity of the muscles. When you find a knot or sore spot dig into it. Then slowly extend your leg. You may feel a jump or muscle twitch. These are good things as you are releasing tight muscles that are causing the imbalance in your knee joint. By restoring some balance your knee, leg and lower back you may have some pain relief. If you get any relief then you may want to look into muscle imbalances and SMR.

Link: EZine Articles
http://ezinearticles.com/?Lower-Back-Pain-and-Leg-Pain&id=4845066

Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com

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How to Avoid Back Pain

Friday, August 27th, 2010

Back pain can occur due to various reasons. However, it is better prevented than cured. There are ways to avoid lower back pain and prevent it from aggravating. Typically, one of the major causes of this condition is carelessness. Bad posture, poor fitness level, too much weight lifting, strenuous work etc can lead to pain. A little carefulness can go a long way in preventing this condition.

Aggravated condition often leads to major complications. It may require surgery or long-term medication if the problem persists. Besides, there are other factors too that can affect this condition. It may get chronic with the passage of time and the older it is, the more damage it would have caused to your spinal cord. Our spine is indeed the backbone of our survival. You must care for it.

Light to moderate exercise is the key to keep this problem at bay. Spend half an hour everyday for keeping yourself fit. Watching your weight is not only good for your physical appearance, it also exerts less pressure on the back. Excess body weight can strain your back and cause pain.

If you have hectic lifestyle and have to do the running around ever so often, then it is important to wear comfortable shoes. This will prevent lower back pain and keep your energy levels up. Tired feet is equal to a tired back and tired mind.

Spread your body weight equally on both your legs. Do not stand on one foot by exerting the entire body weight one side. Also, keep your back arched while standing and sitting. Your posture plays an important role. Standing and sitting erect is an effective remedy for backache.

Link: EZine Articles
http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Avoid-Back-Pain&id=4882505

Dr. Alan Weidner
http://www.massage-chair-relief.com/

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