Forget articles and blog posts trying to sell you the nextwonder drug, lotion or potion for backpain.

In order to get pain-free, it’s critical to understandhow andwhy back pain occurs as well as take a holistic approach in how to treat the pain.

And no, treatment does NOT have to mean takingpainkillers!

You may have symptoms in your legs and you may be unable to stand up straight. It’s possible to reverse this, however, care must be taken to identify the right course ofaction.

So in this guide, you’ll learn about back pain and its causesand you’ll also learn at 6 ways in which you can manageyour pain naturally.

Let’s begin!

Introduction

Low back pain affects nearly everyone at some stage of their active adult life and is one of the most common ailments. Whether your pain is mild, intermittent or chronic, you shouldn’t have to suffer in silence.

Back pain can even start without warning and for no obvious reason, interfering with simple, everyday tasks such as: sitting, getting in and out of the car, moving and sleeping well. When pain is acute, our usual response is to just try and get some relief immediately through drugs.

Sometimes it disappears as quickly as it arrived and as soon aswe have recovered, we forgetabout it until it reoccurs.

With a littlebit of knowledge and a few simple strategies,most people can learn to improve and manage their own symptoms. You just need to know what to do.

People’s Experience Of Back Pain

The majority of back problems are mechanical. This means the pain is caused by a problem with the moving parts of the spine.

Some movements or postures will aggravate your pain. Typically, your pain will be worse when your spine is in a ‘C’ shape, for example when you’re bending forwards or sitting in a slumped position for long periods.Most, although not all, back pain sufferers feel better when they are moving and changing position regularly, and worse when they stay still in one position for a period of time. Other people might have particular times of day with no pain, and some of course have constant pain, no matter what they do. The key is to understand your triggers and find strategies to help you alleviate the pain when it strikes.

But to do that, you need to understand your body.

Where Does Back Pain Come From?

Your spine is made up of a series of bones called vertebrae. They sit on top of one another like a row of cotton reels all strung together.

Your spinal cord is well protected as it runs the full lengthof the spine from head to pelvis within the safety of the bony ‘arches’ that are on the back of your vertebrae. The arches are connected together by a series of joints called facet joints.

Between each pair of vertebrae is a disc. This disc functions very much like a washer or shock absorber and separates the vertebrae. Each disc has a soft center with a ligamentous surround. The discs are able to alter their shape, allowing the spine to move as one vertebra moves on top of another.

Our lower back connects our upper and lower body,protects our spinal cord and bears the compressiveweight of our upperbody. From an engineering perspective, it is our lower back which is subject to the most mechanical stress and strain. It is thereforeno coincidencethat more back problemsarise fromthe lowerback than from anywhere else.

Your Spine

The vertebrae, discs and facet joints are supported by ligaments. Ligaments connect bone to bone and act likethe guy ropes on a tent, providingsupport to the spine. And just like guy ropes, if they are subjected to too much strain they will fail.

Overlying the ligaments are muscles. A movement iscreated when a muscle contracts. At each end of the muscle, it turns into a tendon, which is used to attach it to the bones.

Nerves branch out from the spinal cord and leave the spine in the gaps between the arches. The nerves have many functions within the body and transmit messages to and from our brains. Amongst other things, they tell our muscles when to contract, and provideus with sensation.

In our lower back, the nerves leave our spine and combine on either side to form the sciatic nerves. The sciatic nerves supply our legs and, when irritated, cause pain in our legs, often referred to as sciatica.

Your Spine (cont’d)

Our spines are ‘S’ shaped, with a very importanthollow inthe small of our back, known as the lumbarlordosis.

The lordosis is lost wheneverthe spine is curvedin a ‘C’ shape, such as when sittingslumped,liftingor bending forwards. When the lordosis islost for a prolongedperiod of time, the ligaments which link the vertebrae together areoverstretched and pain is produced. In just thesame way it is uncomfortable if you bend your finger backwards and hold it.

Overstretching your finger will result in pain telling you to stop doing it. Continuepushing, and theligament will eventually tear. Torn ligamentsare verypainful and wouldcontinueto hurt even when you’re at rest.

Back pain occurs in just the same way. If we repeatedly allow ourselves to slouch or adopt ‘C’ shaped postures, the ligaments which cross the vertebrae will be strained, and will produce pain. More severe pain will be producedif theligaments are overstrained. Unlike in the finger joints, the ligaments which support the spine and connect the vertebraealso form the retainingwalls of the discs.

Posture And Pain – What’s The Connection?

Overstretching can therefore affect the discs. This can result inthe disc losing its shock absorbency, and with a weakenedouter wall, the disc can begin to bulge. If the disc bulges farenough, it will affect the sciatic nerve and cause leg pain ornumbness, tingling or weakness.

To help you think more about how the discs work,consider again the structure of the spine, a string ofvertebrae like cotton reels. To allow flexibility, there isa disc between each pair of vertebrae. The disc ismobile and you can think of it moving a little like a barof soap between your hands.

As you bend forwards the disc moves backwards, just as when you close your fingers together a bar of soap would move towards your wrists. You can prevent the bar of soap moving any furtherbackwards by squeezing your palms together, just like when you come upright after bending forwards.

However, if you bend forwards or slouch for a prolongedperiodof time the disc material can move so far backwards that it becomes painful and the ligaments strain. If the disc material displaces far enough it canbe excruciating.

Posture And Pain – What’s The Connection? (cont’d)

Unfortunately,many back pain sufferers experience alifetime of pain simplybecause they’re not in possessionof the knowledge to prevent or manage it. Please don’t let that beyou.

Many of us spend much of our time with our spines ina rounded‘C’ shape with no lordosis. We rarely fully reverse this and stretch back as far as possible. We can therefore begin to lose our lordosis or ability to archbackwards. If this occurs over a long period, the spine can become quite flat and interestingly, this is a feature commonly associated with longstanding low back pain.

The effects of poorposture long term can be severe and result in pain, loss of elasticity and a stooped posture.

There are however, many ways in which you can helpmanage and prevent pain – and so here are 5 quick and east ways inwhich you can do that without taking drugs, injections or riskingsurgery!

5 Ways To Prevent & Manage Back PainNaturally

I often tell my patients “Motionis Lotion”.

Changing positionsregularly will alleviate the stress onyour muscles and give your muscles the rest they needto support you better.

If you’re sitting, stand up. If you’re bendingover, stand and arch backwards.

A 60 second break every 20 minutes isideal.

1. Take Frequent Breaks

You want to be sure that any exercises you are doing are the right ones for you and will work for you. A regularroutine of doing simple stretches and strengthening of your lower back muscles will result in a healthier and stronger back for you.

This is of particular importance if you’re now +40s when your muscles lose flexibilityand strength.

2. Daily Specific Back Exercise Routines

It’s not how much you lift, but how you do it.Here are some important rules forlifting:

ü Keep head high, chin tucked in, and back slightlyarched inward.

ü Keep weight close to body and stand upstraight

ü Use your legs to squat down. Maintaina wide,

balanced base of support. Don’t bend over at

the waist.

3. Proper Lifting MechanicsIt’s not how much you lift, but how you do it.Here are some important rules forlifting:

ü Keep head high, chin tucked in, and back slightlyarched inward.

ü Keep weight close to body and stand upstraight

ü Use your legs to squat down. Maintaina wide,

balanced base of support. Don’t bend over at

the waist.

3. Proper Lifting Mechanics

Keepinga slightly inward arch in your lower back is one ofthe keys to having a healthy back. When you sit, there is almost 10x more pressure pushing down on your spinethan when you stand tall.

If you sit in a slouchedposition, the inward archwill disappear and the stress on the spine is muchworse.

A “lumbar roll” can be placed behind your lower back when you sit. The lumbar roll will serve as a reminder to help maintain the inward arch. You can make a lumbar roll yourself. Simply roll up a bath towel and wrap tape or string aroundthe towel to help maintain the shape.

After using a lumbar roll as often as you can for a month or two, you will probably find yourself sittingwith a much betterposture automatically.

4. Think Posture

If you sleep on your side, using a pillowbetween yourlegs will lower the amount of twistingor rotationin yourspine.

Remember, your spine is not designed to twist.Having a pillow between your legs will keep your spinealigned and reduce stress to your lowerback.

You may be surprised to learn that your mattress has a key role toplay in the health of yourback.

A sagging mattress or one that is more than 6 to 8 years old will need replacing. And contrary to popularbelief, ahard mattress is not always best for yourback.

Rather, sleeping on a medium-firm mattress will giveyou more comfort for your back than a firm one.

5. Sleep With a Pillow Between Your Knees

There is not a quicker way to END backpain than by seeing a Physiotherapist.

If you are in any kind of pain at all, it’s vital you get aproper diagnosis BEFORE attempting to treat your backyourself. Until you know exactly what the issue is, youcould be doing more harm than good.

Seeing a hands-on manual Physiotherapist means you’re going toget very fast access to care that will relax and soothe those tight aching muscles, loosen and lubricate stiff and painful joints, and strengthen yourbody so that you can go back to doing the things thatyou love.

Hands-on manual therapy will unlock the healing power of your body for fast relief of pain. You may see an immediate relief in theback pain and stiffness you are currently suffering from.

A physiotherapist will also teach you stretches and specificexercises to help you manage your backpain.

Unlock your Own Healing Power with Physio

There are two key things you need toremember:

1. Move – being a fidget will prevent you sustainingpoorpostures for a prolonged lengthof time.

2. Look after your lordosis– support the hollow in thesmall of your back and maintain the ability to archbackwards.

Everyone’s back pain is different, and so you need to have your back examined by a trained expert and to identifywhich specific movement directions are key to help you.

There’s no “one size fits all” exercise for a painful lower back, but keepingthe two pointsabove inmind at all times can help prevent and relieve thepain, and stop it coming back again.

In A Nutshell…

We can help you resolve your back pain. Call us nowto arrange an appointment on 01285 654059.

This is especially important if you’re experiencingany of the following symptoms along with yourback pain:

ü Tightness orstiffnessü Leg or hip pain

ü Pins and needlesü Weakness

ü Difficulty walking

If you experience back pain with or without sciatica pleaseconsult with us. Our job is to help you understand the cause of your pain and how to resolve it as quickly aspossible.

We don’t believe in a ‘cookie cutter’ approach where all pain is treated equally and understand that each and every client hastheir own unique set of challengesand circumstances.

Instead, we want you to be able to get back to feeling like yourself again FAST and without the need for unnecessary drugs whichonly treat the symptoms, but don’t cure theproblem.

Call us on 01285 654059 to see how we can help you feel better today!

Health Advice Disclaimer: As with any medical condition, each person’s symptoms can vary widely based on many factors. The information contained in this report is not intended to replace a thorough physical examination, accurate diagnosis and prognosis conducted bya Licensed Healthcare Provider. No guarantee of specific results are expressly made or implied inthis report.

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