Archive for 'what causes back pain'

Men, Women, and Children — Simple Solutions to Eliminate Back Pain

Thursday, October 30th, 2014 at 4:24 PM  

Men:
Where do you keep your wallet? Many of you probably answered, “your back pocket.” Did you know that this could be causing your back pain?

When you sit down with your wallet in your back pocket, it presses into your muscles, which can cause pain in your low back and buttock. The squeezed muscle can press your sciatic nerve causing the pain to travel down your leg.

If you’re suffering from back pain, try keeping your wallet in an external bag or a front pocket. Or simply decrease the thickness of your wallet by taking out any extraneous items, such as old receipts or credit cards that you no longer need or use.

 

Women:

Those fashionable Jimmy Choos or Manolo Blahnik’s, which are known for their height, may actually be increasing your low back pain. But don’t switch out those high heels for the increasingly popular ballet flats or stylish sandals because flats can stretch and strain the muscles in the calves and thighs causing pain in the buttock and low back.

You don’t have to forgo fashion for comfort. Wearing low, comfortable heels can save your back from unnecessary pain. Remember to wear shoes that fit properly as well – ill-fitting shoes can cause you to tighten your leg and buttock muscles causing low back, buttock, and leg pain.

 

Children:

Now that school is back in session, many kids are carrying heavy books in their backpacks. Often, the heavy, incorrectly worn backpacks can cause poor posture and strain on muscles. Parents, have your child(ren) pack their backpacks so that the heaviest books are placed towards the back of the bag. This way, the heaviest part of the bag is closer to the back of the child. (see picture) Also, remind your child(ren) to use both straps on both shoulders. This helps distribute the weight evenly, as opposed to placing strain on one shoulder. Another option is using backpacks with rolling capabilities.

Similarly, all you ladies who stuff your shoulder bags with everything from lipstick to workout weights, carrying a heavy bag on your shoulder every day can be the source of your aching neck and back. While those oversize totes conveniently contain everything you might possibly need in a day, the accumulated stress on your neck and spine from “pocketbook overload” can lead to serious strain on your muscles, tendons, nerves, and ligaments, causing serious body aches. So what does a fashionable woman on the go do?

  • If you absolutely must carry a tote, lighten the load – try to take out the items you don’t really use or need.
  • Switch the bag from one shoulder to the other often, minimizing the amount of time you strain the shoulder and neck muscles.
  • Try using two lighter bags instead of one big one. Splitting the load and carrying them on both sides distributes the weight evenly.

And don’t forget; no matter what you carry, having good posture helps reduce back pain.

children backpack

Parents:

Lifting your baby 50 times per day, or bending and lifting up to get your active toddler out of his/her sibling’s hair, are innocent movements that can indeed cause low back pain. Good posture and proper lifting techniques can help parents avoid the increased risk for low back pain. Some key pointers:

  • Keep your feet (shoulder width) apart, your back straight and bend your knees to reach for your child.
  • Use your leg muscles, which are bigger and stronger than your back muscles, to lift your child. After you bend over, bring your child to your chest, bring your back to the upright position, and then straighten your legs. If you straighten your legs before bringing your body upright, you’re using your low back muscles to lift your child. However, if you straighten your legs last, then you’re using your leg muscles.

Keep in mind; this is a good tip for lifting anything heavy!

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Is Bad Weather To Blame For Your Lower Back Pain?

Wednesday, August 6th, 2014 at 9:30 AM  

A New York Times article Weather May Not Affect Back Pain, printed mid-July, cited a study showing that weather may not affect back pain. The purpose of the study was to explore the often-heard complaint from patients diagnosed with persistent pain related to muscles and bones (musculoskeletal pain) that weather changes cause an increase in pain. The study was based on an analysis of 993 patients who had seen their physician in 2011-2012 complaining of an episode of sudden back pain. These were not patients with a history of back pain.

So this article does not actually examine patients who already have back pain to see if the pain is increased with bad weather. In my practice, at NMPI, I have patients who can tell me a snowstorm is coming 3 days before it occurs. Although studies of the association between weather and pain are not uniformly supportive of the connection, a study done in 1995 of 558 patients with chronic pain found that 2/3 experienced an increase in pain and most of them prior to the occurrence of the bad weather.

bad weatherI have patients whose pain is so severe with bad weather that they can hardly get out of bed. Although there is no good scientific explanation for this association, some suggestions have been offered. When the barometric pressure falls, the air pressure in a painful joint may continue to be a little higher than the air pressure on the outside of the body, causing an increase in pain. Another explanation is that cold and/or inclement weather decreases the amount of time you are outside and active. Patients with musculoskeletal problems (i.e. muscle pain and arthritis) often feel worse with inactivity. In addition cold weather causes the blood vessels in the hands and feet to constrict, which can decrease the amount of available oxygen, resulting in increased muscle pain.

If your history indicates that bad weather causes an increase in your pain, it is likely that your flare up is most likely not an indicator of physical deterioration. Additional pain can be reasonably treated with increased medication for the brief period of weather related pain.

 

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It is important to understand what any diagnosis means in relationship to your back or leg pain.

Thursday, September 12th, 2013 at 10:37 AM  

I have heard from a number of group members who have been diagnosed with spinal stenosis. The diagnosis is often made based on what is found on a CT scan or MRI without the expected corresponding signs and symptoms. It is important to understand what any diagnosis means in relationship to your back or leg pain.

Spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the space formed by the bony segments that together make up the vertebra (the bones of the spine). The space in each vertebra is connected to the vertebra above and below to form the spinal canal, through which the spinal cord passes. Narrowing of the canal in the lumbar region, called lumbar spinal stenosis, could squeeze the spinal cord. When you are standing up, the curve in the spine makes the narrowing worse and may cause pain radiating to the leg. Many patients found to have narrowing don’t have the signs and symptoms that would indicate that their back and leg pain was caused by the narrowing. Bending over when you walk, having more pain if you straighten up, and having to wait a few minutes when you sit down for the pain to go away, are all symptoms that suggest the spinal stenosis was truly the cause of the pain; just finding narrowing with imaging isn’t enough.

Other imaging diagnoses such as degenerative disc disease, degenerative osteoarthritis, bulging or herniated disc, and facet arthropathy, may also be misleading. Just because there is an anatomic finding on an image doesn’t mean it is the cause of the pain. If some form of exercise relieved the pain, the most reasonable explanation would be that much of the pain was related to soft tissue, such as muscle and tendon and not to the imaging diagnoses.

 

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