Day 300 of 365 - Doomed to Back or Neck Pain?
Reportedly, 80 % of us will experience acute or chronic low back pain in our lifetime, and 40% of us will experience neck pain. Sometimes these locations of pain are due to a sudden injury, like whiplash, but often they come on gradually. Since so many people experience low back or neck pain, we might think it is just something else that we have to live with, that we're doomed to always have it. That's not necessarily so.
The structure of our spinal column is such that we have a natural small inward curve in both the low back (lumbar) and the neck (cervical). When one of these curves is compromised, so is the other, because the spine is all interconnected. These curvatures are lost when the back is rounded or the head is tipped forward. When this happens on an ongoing basis, the ligaments and soft tissues that support and reinforce the spinal joints become overstretched.
What are the causes of back and neck pain that don't come from an acute injury? Well, it may be no surprise to hear that it mainly comes from poor posture while sitting, bending, lifting, standing or lying in awkward positions. While pain may come on suddenly as a result of excessive strain, as in lifting a heavy weight, or from an impact, like a fall or car accident, it can also occur as a cumulative result of ongoing poor posture. Rounding forward in those postures gradually causes stretching and micro-tears in soft tissues, which cause pain.
We often think we are feeling muscle pain, but true muscle injury usually heals fairly quickly. Ongoing pain is more likely occurring in our soft tissues, which support our muscles and joints. If we continue to strain these areas by pulling apart the healing tissues with our poor postural habits, the pain will recur and scar tissue will form, limiting our flexibility.
To prevent or relieve this cause and this pain, the primary strategy is to counteract the harmful posture with its opposite. Since our tendency when doing any of the offending postures for long periods is to slump and flex, the corrective movement is extension postures to balance things out and to get our flexibility back.
When sitting for long periods, sit ideally with lumbar support to the lower back and frequently get up to move around. After vigorous activity, instead of resting by sitting and slouching, restore the low back curve by standing and doing gentle back bends five or six times. When you have to stand for long periods, stand tall. If your low back hurts in bed at night, make sure your mattress does not sag and consider using a lumbar support.
To avoid or manage neck issues, interrupt prolonged neck bending and avoid protruding the chin, as we tend to do, for example when sitting at the computer. For sleep, a pillow should support both the head and neck, filling the natural contour of the neck without tilting the head forward or back. After vigorous activity do not relax by sitting or lying with the head in a protruded posture.
Many years ago, physiotherapist Robin McKenzie learned in his clinical practice that particular exercises were of great help to the majority of his patients and that they should be used very early in treatment of pain. This was counter to the general advice to rest and not move when in acute pain. He developed a series of seven simple exercises or poses each for the back and the neck, that patients could do on their own at home to experience relief and regain flexibility. If you just do an internet search for The McKenzie Method you will find descriptions and videos demonstrating these. There is also a book called 7 Steps to a Pain-Free Life, which clearly describes and illustrates the approach.
I have had the opportunity to learn and practice some of these exercises to manage my own low back pain over the years. Many years ago, I strained my low back at work. I heard a little pop but did not immediately feel any pain. It was only a couple of hours later that I could not stand up straight, was tilted to one side and was having pain. Based on what I read in McKenzie's book, the damage was likely worsened by soon after the event being in a sitting position for a period of time. I had likely overstrained ligaments or torn soft tissues, and then worsened the scenario by continuing to pull those apart while being in a sitting position. Awhile later, my body compensated to protect the area, resulting in my low back pain and inability to stand straight.
Fortunately, I saw a chiropractor who knew about the McKenzie Method. While I did take time off work to heal, I used the strategies from his approach to help relieve my pain and give me back mobility. The two key things I did, in terms of posture, were to avoid sitting as much as possible and to frequently lie on the floor on my stomach or on my back with lumbar support. A key concept in this approach is to be in these different corrective positions for short periods, several times a day. That is more beneficial than doing one prolonged session. This was really helpful. After I was past the acute stage of pain, it became important to continue practicing postural corrections to prevent flare ups.
With our modern lifestyle of being generally sedentary with short bursts of intense activity or exercise, it is pretty easy to develop habits that are counter to our natural physical design. Being mindful of doing what we can to balance these out can prevent pain and suffering over time, or manage what does occur.
The structure of our spinal column is such that we have a natural small inward curve in both the low back (lumbar) and the neck (cervical). When one of these curves is compromised, so is the other, because the spine is all interconnected. These curvatures are lost when the back is rounded or the head is tipped forward. When this happens on an ongoing basis, the ligaments and soft tissues that support and reinforce the spinal joints become overstretched.
What are the causes of back and neck pain that don't come from an acute injury? Well, it may be no surprise to hear that it mainly comes from poor posture while sitting, bending, lifting, standing or lying in awkward positions. While pain may come on suddenly as a result of excessive strain, as in lifting a heavy weight, or from an impact, like a fall or car accident, it can also occur as a cumulative result of ongoing poor posture. Rounding forward in those postures gradually causes stretching and micro-tears in soft tissues, which cause pain.
We often think we are feeling muscle pain, but true muscle injury usually heals fairly quickly. Ongoing pain is more likely occurring in our soft tissues, which support our muscles and joints. If we continue to strain these areas by pulling apart the healing tissues with our poor postural habits, the pain will recur and scar tissue will form, limiting our flexibility.
To prevent or relieve this cause and this pain, the primary strategy is to counteract the harmful posture with its opposite. Since our tendency when doing any of the offending postures for long periods is to slump and flex, the corrective movement is extension postures to balance things out and to get our flexibility back.
When sitting for long periods, sit ideally with lumbar support to the lower back and frequently get up to move around. After vigorous activity, instead of resting by sitting and slouching, restore the low back curve by standing and doing gentle back bends five or six times. When you have to stand for long periods, stand tall. If your low back hurts in bed at night, make sure your mattress does not sag and consider using a lumbar support.
To avoid or manage neck issues, interrupt prolonged neck bending and avoid protruding the chin, as we tend to do, for example when sitting at the computer. For sleep, a pillow should support both the head and neck, filling the natural contour of the neck without tilting the head forward or back. After vigorous activity do not relax by sitting or lying with the head in a protruded posture.
Many years ago, physiotherapist Robin McKenzie learned in his clinical practice that particular exercises were of great help to the majority of his patients and that they should be used very early in treatment of pain. This was counter to the general advice to rest and not move when in acute pain. He developed a series of seven simple exercises or poses each for the back and the neck, that patients could do on their own at home to experience relief and regain flexibility. If you just do an internet search for The McKenzie Method you will find descriptions and videos demonstrating these. There is also a book called 7 Steps to a Pain-Free Life, which clearly describes and illustrates the approach.
I have had the opportunity to learn and practice some of these exercises to manage my own low back pain over the years. Many years ago, I strained my low back at work. I heard a little pop but did not immediately feel any pain. It was only a couple of hours later that I could not stand up straight, was tilted to one side and was having pain. Based on what I read in McKenzie's book, the damage was likely worsened by soon after the event being in a sitting position for a period of time. I had likely overstrained ligaments or torn soft tissues, and then worsened the scenario by continuing to pull those apart while being in a sitting position. Awhile later, my body compensated to protect the area, resulting in my low back pain and inability to stand straight.
Fortunately, I saw a chiropractor who knew about the McKenzie Method. While I did take time off work to heal, I used the strategies from his approach to help relieve my pain and give me back mobility. The two key things I did, in terms of posture, were to avoid sitting as much as possible and to frequently lie on the floor on my stomach or on my back with lumbar support. A key concept in this approach is to be in these different corrective positions for short periods, several times a day. That is more beneficial than doing one prolonged session. This was really helpful. After I was past the acute stage of pain, it became important to continue practicing postural corrections to prevent flare ups.
With our modern lifestyle of being generally sedentary with short bursts of intense activity or exercise, it is pretty easy to develop habits that are counter to our natural physical design. Being mindful of doing what we can to balance these out can prevent pain and suffering over time, or manage what does occur.
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