Friday, August 31, 2007

Back Pain

90% of Americans have suffered with back pain at one point or another. Lower back pain is second (behind the common cold) in reasons for missing work as well. Millions of daily tasks can cause stress on our backs. Between poor posture during the day, and intra-abdominal disorders, taking care of our back has fallen as a low concern.

If you experience pain through your front, side or down your leg, it may be connected with your lower back pain (although some only feel pain in their back). The pain may become worse with movement, or with prolonged sitting like in a long car ride or at work.

To help with the pain, consider sleeping with a pillow between your knees on your side. The use of heat or cool therapy has also helped many with back issues. Most experts agree that a long rest period will help those with back related problems.

However, there are several methods of prevention to this extremely common threat. Exercising can be a real danger to back related problems. If you are using machines incorrectly or with poor posture, you’re putting your back at risk. Also, depending on your mattress, you could wake up feeling tight and tense in your back.

Abdominal crunches have been shown to decrease back pain. When they are performed correctly, they strengthen your stomach muscles which help your back as well. Stretching before or after any physical activity will be most helpful to your back. Consider stretching when you wake up if your back feels sore from the past night, or when you get up from sitting all day in the office.

Your back is your biggest muscle, yet most ignored. Take time to take care of it now and you’ll save yourself pain later on. Have you ever experienced severe back pain? What activities cause the most pain for you?



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