(According to the American Medical Association in conjunction with the American Physical Therapy Association)
THE TRUTH HURTS
2 to 1 -The number of women affected is more than men
8 – The number for every 10 people that are impacted by back pain and the percentage of people who develop chronic back pain problems that impact their lives
24 – The percentage of people living with disability due to back pain
35 – The average age when the first episode of back pain shows up
47 -The number of average days taken away from your productivity because of back pain
500 Million – The dollar amount spent on managing back pain related health issues in the US.
In this ongoing US opioid epidemic, it’s more important that ever to recognize that these statistics don’t have to stay like this. Other countries have lower opioid use than the US because they teach their people that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. Let’s put some effort into prevention and we can not only lower these statistics but improve our quality of life.
Here are some quick pointers to prevent back problems:
- Stretch before any strenuous physical activity (in fact it would be wise to engage in a regular stretching program like active isolated stretching to keep muscles limber and balanced)
- Moderate exercise for at least 20 – 30 minutes, 3-4x/week
- Don’t the slouch when standing or sitting. It’s a symptom that you can’t hold yourself up against gravity.
- Lumbar and upper back support. Don’t give in to poor chair design. Make sure you are fully supported wherever you sit.
- Move. Switch sitting positions often and periodically walking around can actively improve blood flow and stretch muscles to relieve tension
- Transitions. Make sure you’re bending directly to your target. Bending and twisting at the same time causes 90% of back spasms
- Shoes count. Wearing heels and/or flip flops all the time can impact how your back compresses over time
- Sleeping position. This is a tough one because if we can’t sleep we can’t heal so if you start to have pain, try a different mattress to see if you body wants a harder or softer surface. When possible sleeping on your back is recommended by most doctors. If you have scoliosis, you may be hurting yourself by not knowing which side you should sleep on. Contact a Schroth Therapist in your area to make sure you’re doing the right thing for your body.
- Smoking. If you smoke, try to quit; smoking reduces blood flow to the lower spine and causes the spinal discs to degenerate. It also takes the body more time to heal from trauma.
- Vitamins. Also, to keep your spine strong, as with all bones, you need to get enough vitamin D and calcium-magnesium every day. Especially for women, this becomes important with hormone shifts that can leach calcium from the bones and lead to osteoporosis. Poor bone density can lead to collapse of the spine.
Final Thoughts
With successful holistic alternatives available now, there are only a few good reasons to turn to pharmaceutical or surgical band-aids especially since research shows that only 50% of surgical or pharmaceutical interventions actually get rid of the underlying issue. If you have pain, go see your medical professional immediately to rule out anything serious. If you don’t have pain, now is the time to work on these things because it’s much easier to prevent pain than it is to treat it.
Last but certainly not least, keeping your spine strong also requires sufficient amounts of daily, balanced exercises to offset how much we sit in a day. At the very least, get out there and walk every day. Stretch your legs, stretch your arms, get the blood flowing and, if you’re really motivated, then it’s time to address your work station set up.
If you’d like further information on postural re-education and how to address your home office set up as part of your body awareness, contact us at hello@backbonecushion.com. We will help get you and your back on track!