Back Pain

The majority of my clients come to me because of some kind of pain. Of those, back pain holds the lead. The pain is usually in the low back area and spreads down into the hips and legs, and/or up into the shoulders and neck. When the pain spreads it leads to additional symptoms that we therapists work to relieve in order to reveal the real culprit.

Back pain can be caused by a number of things:

1. Poor posture
2. Heavy lifting or just lifting wrong
3. Sitting for long periods without the proper support or posture
4. Wrong mattress or pillow
5. Standing for long periods of time
6. Lack of exercise or stretching
7. Accident (i.e. fall, trip, car accident, etc)
8. Sports, physical activity (Only if not done properly and not warmed up)

Ways to avoid or relieve back pain:

1. Massage
2. Stretches and exercise
3. Conscious of proper posture, lifting techniques, and warm-up before physical activity and cool down after
4. Drink plenty of water
5. Soak in the tub, use rice therapy bags or heating pads, and ice to prevent injury and relieve soreness

You would be surprised by how many people tell me that they don't stretch. Or how many warm up, but don't cool down after a work out or vice versa. There are reasons that people stress the importance of warming up and cooling down. You need to literally warm up the muscles in your body. They heat up, which increases your energy because heat is a by-product of making ATP, and this increases oxygen flow to your muscles. This also pumps more fluids, nutrients, etc through the joints. Cooling down has a similar affect, but allows the muscles to shake off any excess. This excess is what makes your muscles hurt. It has to go somewhere and if you don't get rid of it then it stays where it shouldn't. Your body is telling you there's a problem.

If you have to work all day standing on your feet there are still ways to help prevent pain. Wearing the right shoes. Investing in a great pair of shoes is absolutely worth every penny in the long run. A nice soak in the tub or a hot tub is a wonderful way to end a work day. However, this is unlikely for the majority of busy people. The next best thing is using a rice therapy bag. Heat it in the microwave for just over a minute, then sit back and enjoy the heat easing your tense, hard worked muscles. Alternating heat and ice is a good way to ease tension, reduce any inflammation, and just basically cover the bases. This is something I do after a long day giving massages. It keeps my arms and hands loose and flexible, keeps carpal tunnel at bay, and prevents aches and pain.

Have more ideas or suggestions? Please feel free to leave your comments in the comment section. I'd love to hear them! :)

~The Kneadonator