There are easy ways to take care of your back in order to prevent pain.

5 Basic Ways to Help Avoid Back Pain

Anyone can get back pain. In fact, back pain is far more prevalent than you imagine. According to the American Chiropractic Association, at any given moment 31 million Americans are having back pain, the single leading cause of disability on the planet.

Because the human back is a complex structure of bones, cartilage, muscles, ligaments, tendons and nerves, there are lots of ways for it to get into trouble. The most obvious way to communicate problems is through pain. However, even back pain is complex and hard to talk about. When did you start having back pain? Is it a dull pain or sharp? Is it more like burning or pounding? How long does it last? When does it start and stop? Where do you feel it? Does it interfere with activity? In addition, if it’s bad enough, chances are a person will start to move differently in an effort to compensate for the pain – and this can trigger a different pain in a related area.

Much back pain can be prevented by incorporating a few simple healthy-back habits into your daily life. If you were born without a congenital (present from birth) back or spinal problem, here are five tips for maintaining back health and avoiding pain:

1. Good posture – Proper alignment of your “stack” of backbones is important, whether you are standing or sitting. As you are reading this, try slouching down and curving your shoulders forward just to see what it feels like. Now straighten up, lifting your head and chest while drawing your shoulders evenly and gently back. Feel the difference? When you are standing, make sure your weight is balanced over both feet and your hips tucked in. While sitting, try to feel your weight balanced over the “sitting bones” in your pelvis. Good posture puts the least stress on the interactive components of your back.
2. Change of position – Whether standing or sitting, do not stay in the same position for long periods. Your back was made to be dynamic. Take time to stretch your arms or do a gentle spinal twist by keeping your hips facing forward while rotating your head and chest gently to the right and left. The very small joints between each vertebra, or backbone, allow flexibility while at the same time keeping range of motion within reasonable limits. Changing position helps keep the flexible parts in good working condition.
3. Safe lifting – Try to avoid lifting objects so heavy you have to strain. When you lift heavy things, remember to first plan your feet firmly on the ground at least hip distance apart with weight evenly distributed. Instead of bending over, lower your hips down as you squat. Use your core abdominal muscles to protect your back by tightening them, then grasp (don’t jerk) the object and straighten up, using your leg muscles to do the work.
4. Exercise – A regular exercise program that includes aerobics, strength training and stretching is good for your whole body and helps with posture improvement. Exercise also helps release tension in the neck, shoulders and lower back (tension contributes to back pain and injury). While it may not seem obvious, strengthening your core muscle groups in the stomach and abdominal area. Pilates exercises, when done properly, can help prevent back pain. If you already suffer from back pain, both Pilates and yoga can have therapeutic benefits BUT first consult your doctor, then work with a personal trainer or physical therapist to design a program tailored for your needs.
5. Lose weight – Experts agree that carrying extra pounds puts a definite strain on your back’s architecture. A common cause of facet joint pain (the small joints between each backbone) is wear and tear due to the increased pressure caused by excess weight. This leads to bone-on-bone contact, increasing the risk of compression, nerve pain, and ruptured or herniated disks between backbones.

If you are experiencing back pain that refuses to go away, or begins to get worse, proper diagnosis of the source is essential. Today’s medical imaging, especially advances in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), can provide anatomic information about bone and soft tissue to assist a doctor in identifying even a complex source of pain, and determining a therapy plan.

Also, new MRI-guided minimal-to-noninvasive treatments are now available that may be able to help patients avoid a protocol of injections and even surgery.

The Sperling Medical Group offers MRI diagnosis and MRI-guided Focused Ultrasound (MRgFUS) for facet join pain in the neck and lower back. For more information, contact the Sperling Medical Group.