Low Back Pain - How To Avoid It
Lower back pain is the most common condition seen by chiropractors – because it’s a very common problem! It affects one in three people during their lifetime. Every day 2.5 million people in the UK suffer with back pain. It’s a leading cause of absence from work and one in eight unemployed people give back pain as the reason they aren’t able to work. So if lower back pain is this common, what causes it and what can you do to avoid it? Causes Thankfully, only a very small percentage of lower back pain is caused by serious pathology such as tumours, fractures and infections. More common causes of lower back pain include joint and muscle strains, intervertebral disc herniations (also known as a slipped discs) and degenerative changes in the spine and discs. These common causes tend to occur due to abnormal load on the spinal joints and tissues and poor control of the supporting muscles. The abnormal loads and poor muscle control come from our day to day lifestyles. Over time we’ve begun to live ever more sedentary lives. Sitting for prolonged periods at work desks, using PCs and laptops, texting, using social media and watching TV. You can even do your shopping from the comfort of a chair nowadays! This combined with poor posture, stress, incorrect lifting techniques, being overweight, lack of exercise etc, adds extra demands on your spine. How can I avoid low back pain? Although it’s common, lower back pain isn’t an inevitable fact of life! There are many simple ways to avoid, improve and prevent it. Here are Zest Chiropractic’s top 5 tips for lower back health. - Move more. Don’t sit for prolonged periods without getting up and walking around and ensure regular exercise is part of your routine. - Mind your posture. Slouching at school, at work or on the sofa at home can increase strain on the joints and soft tissues of the back. - Take care when lifting. Maintain the curve in your lower back as you lift, carry loads close to your body and don’t twist as you lift. - Visit your chiropractor. How can chiropractic help? Chiropractors are spinal specialists, we’re trained to diagnose the underlying cause of your back pain. By treating the cause, rather than just your symptoms, we can effectively help you manage this condition. Studies show that patients treated by chiropractors demonstrate greater improvement and satisfaction after one month compared to those treated medically. Also chiropractic patients show substantial decreases in pain severity, functional disability, and pain quality, in comparison to medical patients. The chiropractic approach to managing lower back pain includes specific adjustments to the spine and other body joints which restore movement; improve pain and allow the body to heal naturally. We also provide rehabilitation exercises to improve spinal stability and endurance, along with nutrition, ergonomic and lifestyle advice in order to promote a longer lasting recovery and prevent relapses. If lower back pain is concerning you or someone you know, call Zest Chiropractic today on 07736 030590 and see how we can help.