Posts Tagged ‘low back pain’

Back Pain Tips: At-Home Back Pain Tips

Monday, November 28th, 2011

back pain tipsBack pain is a common complaint — in fact, it’s the fifth most common reason that people see a doctor! If you are experiencing severe back pain it is recommended that you consult your physician for advice on treatment. However, in the mean time you can use these tips at home to cope.

Back pain tips dos and don’ts:

  • Back pain can be treated like any other muscle pain — with gentle massage and light exercise.
  • Try an over-the-counter pain reliever that also blocks swelling. Anti-inflammatory pain relievers such as ibuprofen should do the trick.
  • Massage the area with an over-the-counter muscle pain-relieving cream, gel, or ointment.
  • Make sure to maintain descent posture, to the best of your ability – this means sitting, standing, sleeping etc.
  • Sleep on a mattress that gives you the right amount of support.
  • Avoid ANY heavy lifting.
  • Wear comfortable and supportive shoes.

Do you have any back pain tips that have helped you to cope? Please let us know and comment on this post!

Pain in Low Back | Can Sheep Help Treat Back Pain?

Wednesday, August 10th, 2011

sheep treat pain in low backA recent article in the Herald Scotland discussed the the fact that millions of people who suffer with chronic low back pain could now be offered relief from sheep… Yes I know, sheep… it sounds strange, but the article further explains how synthetic discs made from sheep tissue may serve as an excellent resource to those who need disc replacements due to pain in low back!

Experiments performed on rats have already shown great success. Professor Lawrence Bonassar, of Cornell University, New York, used tissue engineering techniques to create a biological disc from sheep cells that is composed of a gelatinous core surrounded by collagen proteins. Researchers transplanted the synthetic discs into the spines of laboratory rats. Using scanners, it was verified that implanted discs resembled natural ones and fitted properly within the space occupied.

In last weeks article farmers teased one another that these animals, who have given them pain in low back for centuries may now actually be beneficial in the treatment of it!

 

 

 

Sciatica Alternative Treatment: Exercises For Sciatic Nerve

Monday, June 27th, 2011

It is hard to know what he best thing to do for sciatica pain is, many people worry that exercises for the sciatic nerve may cause more damage rather than good. Although it is challenging to exercise when pain is a factor, exercises for the sciatic nerve can be very beneficial as a form of sciatica treatment.

Research shows that lower back pain and hip pain resulting from sciatica are more painful during the morning when getting up from bed more than anytime of the day. Though bed rest is bad for sciatica pain, it can assist with an acute attack of pain or during the initial 48 hours after pain onset. However lying down and resting your back after 48 hours will only make things more serious. When we sleep or lie still, the muscles and other spinal structures become brittle and weak so that they are not able to give enough support to the back. This makes the back very prone to anxiety and damage triggering more discomfort.

With that said, it is important for those with sciatica and low back pain to perform exercises for the sciatic nerve. These exercises will help to alleviate pain, as well as prevent the recurrence of sciatica through strengthening structures of the back.

exercises for sciatic nerveThere are many exercises for the sciatic nerve that can be used to treat sciatica and low back pain. When implementing these exercises it is extremely important to be careful and do them only as instructed by a professional as doing the exercises the WRONG way could hurt your back even more. According to livestrong.com the following are specific exercises for sciatic nerve pain that may be beneficial:

* Strengthening of core muscles: Sciatica exercises work in conditioning and strengthening main muscles in the abdomen and back to provide greater support for the back. Yoga as well as stretching exercises for sciatica are very effective in pain alleviation of taut and inflexible muscles. This is particularly valid for patients with piriformis syndrome. Patients who maintain regular stretching and conditioning exercise programs recuperate sooner from acute flare ups and future pain occurrences are prevented.

* Hamstring stretching: While doing various stretching and conditioning exercises, it would be suitable to include the hamstring muscles situated on the back of the thigh. The lower back gets more stress and strain from tight hamstrings and this can intensify the underlying causes for sciatica pain.

* Specific diagnosis: The next exercises should specifically target the underlying reason of sciatica pain like a herniated disc. If no appropriate diagnosis is done on the patient’s cause of pain then exercises should not be performed so as to avoid any incidents.

* Exercising properly: It is a frequent mistake to self help with DVDs or the world wide web when it comes to sciatica. Unfortunately, many of these videos only present the exercises without showing appropriate form and how certain muscles would feel while conducting these moves. As a result, these exercises may worsen the trouble. Different sciatica exercises can be learned safely and quickly with the guidance of an experienced and licensed specialist like a physical therapist or chiropractor.

* Aerobic exercises: A great supplement to these exercises is cardio conditioning like aerobic exercises since they help improve blood movement that will provide more fluids and nutrients to the muscles and other support structures. Walking and swimming are some of the ideal forms of aerobic exercises which are also low impact activities.

 

 

How to Alleviate Sciatica Pain: Cat Cow Yoga Pose for Lower Back Pain

Friday, June 24th, 2011

The following is a video which gives detailed instructions on the cat cow yoga pose for low back pain. This yoga technique has been found to provide great relief to people who are suffering from low back pain and sciatica symptoms. I would encourage you to follow along and try this technique at home!

Exercises For Sciatic Nerve : Therapeutic Climbing

Friday, May 13th, 2011

therapeutic-climbingThere are many exercises that are beneficial to treating back pain and sciatica. One new exercise that is beneficial to treating chronic low back pain is called therapeutic climbing. According to a recent study published in Spine magazine therapeutic climbing is a new and superior treatment for low chronic back pain. Health Day News states that this exercise improves perceived health and physical functioning for people who are suffering.

There are many other forms of treatment for back pain and sciatica, but researchers wanted to compare the effects of therapeutic climbing to find out if it compared to other successful methods. According to an article posted today on the DoctorsLounge.com “Kai Engbert, Ph.D., and Michaela Weber, from the Technical University Munich in Germany, investigated the physical and psychological effects of therapeutic climbing, and assessed whether it was comparable or superior to other forms of exercise for patients with chronic low back pain. A cohort of 28 patients underwent a four-week therapeutic climbing or standard exercise regime, including four guided training sessions per week. Patients completed questionnaires before and after the program assessing their physical and mental well-being.

The investigators found that there was no difference before or after the treatments in pain-related disability measured by the Hannover Functional Ability Questionnaire. For the Short Form-36 (SF-36), significant improvements were seen in two of eight subscales for therapeutic climbing, and in one subscale for standard exercise. According to the SF-36 physical functioning and general health perception subscales, significantly larger improvements were seen in the therapeutic climbing group.”

There findings has lead them to the conclusion that therapeutic climbing for low back pain is just as good if not better than standard exercise.

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