Just a quick post today as it's Christmas eve and I expect many of us are rushing around doing all those last minute things we never think of until it's almost too late.
I want to thank all my readers for taking the time to peruse my little blog and occasionally contributing with suggestions/ideas etc.
So, a very happy back pain free Christmas and New Year to you all. May Santa bring you all you wish for, but as the saying goes be careful what you wish for, you just might get it!
I'm taking a little break until the New Year, so back in 2014. My, how the time flies.
Tuesday, 24 December 2013
Saturday, 21 December 2013
Back Pain Can be Aggravated By Exercise.
Edge on the net.com contributor Kent McGroarty highlights common exercise moves that can in fact be dangerous if not performed correctly. With people coming to exercise more and more, many, if not most, without proper consultation and training.
Backs can be particularly susceptible if certain exercises are not done in the right way. here are a few of the ones to careful of if you don't want to aggravate your back ache.
The good old fashioned sit-up can cause back injury due to the shearing forces placed on the vertebrae and discs, resulting in small disc ruptures.
The leg extension machine is one to avoid as it can cause lower back pain as well as leg and knee problems.
The pec deck and behind the shoulder press should also be given a miss, commonly leading to torn ligaments and rotator cuff tendon injuries.
There are more effective, and less destructive ways of getting a similar workout. Giving the same benefit with a minimal risk of injury.
Interestingly kettlebells (see my previous post) are mentioned here as well. They do seem to be the in thing at the moment.
I guess it's common sense really. Exercise is fine if approached in the right way, and certainly in then early stages get someone who knows what they are doing to take you through some exercises suitable for your particular situation.
If you want to take a look at the complete report use this link.
Backs can be particularly susceptible if certain exercises are not done in the right way. here are a few of the ones to careful of if you don't want to aggravate your back ache.
The good old fashioned sit-up can cause back injury due to the shearing forces placed on the vertebrae and discs, resulting in small disc ruptures.
The leg extension machine is one to avoid as it can cause lower back pain as well as leg and knee problems.
The pec deck and behind the shoulder press should also be given a miss, commonly leading to torn ligaments and rotator cuff tendon injuries.
There are more effective, and less destructive ways of getting a similar workout. Giving the same benefit with a minimal risk of injury.
Interestingly kettlebells (see my previous post) are mentioned here as well. They do seem to be the in thing at the moment.
I guess it's common sense really. Exercise is fine if approached in the right way, and certainly in then early stages get someone who knows what they are doing to take you through some exercises suitable for your particular situation.
If you want to take a look at the complete report use this link.
Wednesday, 18 December 2013
Ease Your Back Pain With a Kettle bell Workout
Now this article by Tara Pope that I found on the well blogs page of the New York Times website I found quite interesting.
I don't know about readers of this back pain blog but I always thought that kettlebell workouts were the choice of eastern european athletes, in particular for muscle building.
It seems that using this ancient piece of equipment could be just the thing for easing back pain, along with neck pain and shoulder pain.
Most people with back pain tend to avoid weight training for fear of aggravating their symptoms. However a Danish study, carried out by Lars L. Anderson and his team, has shown that correctly done, strength training can reduce pain and prevent re-injury.
In the past most research in this field has focussed on traditional weight training exercises. The Danish researchers however studied the effects of using kettlebells. So called due to their superficial resemblance to a tea kettle.
Kettlebells require a different technique to the more usual lifting type weight training, which involves the swinging and lifting of the weights. A tricky thing to get the hang of for beginners.
The study recruited 40 middle-aged women who had back, shoulder, and/or neck pain. These volunteers were assigned randomly to a kettlebell workout regime or a control group who were just encouraged to exercise.
The kettlebell group did 20 minute sessions two or three times a week for 8 weeks.
The result was that those women that used the kettlebells reported less pain as well as improved core muscle strength, as compared with the control group. The actual figures showed as a 57 percent reduction in lower back pain, and a 46 percent reduction in neck and shoulder pain.
Pretty impressive I would say. The full report contains much more detail as well as safety issues that need to be considered. I think it's a most interesting read. You can find it here.
I don't know about readers of this back pain blog but I always thought that kettlebell workouts were the choice of eastern european athletes, in particular for muscle building.
It seems that using this ancient piece of equipment could be just the thing for easing back pain, along with neck pain and shoulder pain.
Most people with back pain tend to avoid weight training for fear of aggravating their symptoms. However a Danish study, carried out by Lars L. Anderson and his team, has shown that correctly done, strength training can reduce pain and prevent re-injury.
In the past most research in this field has focussed on traditional weight training exercises. The Danish researchers however studied the effects of using kettlebells. So called due to their superficial resemblance to a tea kettle.
Kettlebells require a different technique to the more usual lifting type weight training, which involves the swinging and lifting of the weights. A tricky thing to get the hang of for beginners.
The study recruited 40 middle-aged women who had back, shoulder, and/or neck pain. These volunteers were assigned randomly to a kettlebell workout regime or a control group who were just encouraged to exercise.
The kettlebell group did 20 minute sessions two or three times a week for 8 weeks.
The result was that those women that used the kettlebells reported less pain as well as improved core muscle strength, as compared with the control group. The actual figures showed as a 57 percent reduction in lower back pain, and a 46 percent reduction in neck and shoulder pain.
Pretty impressive I would say. The full report contains much more detail as well as safety issues that need to be considered. I think it's a most interesting read. You can find it here.
Friday, 13 December 2013
Combined Regimen Reduces Lower Back Pain.
According to a study funded by the U.S. Department of Defence, a regimen of core strengthening exercises was no better than traditional sit-ups for preventing back pain in soldiers.
However, combining both exercise programs, together with a short educational session on back pain strategies did lower the incidence of treatment for back pain.
Reported on the Air Force Medical Website, the prevention of low back pain in this military study involved over 4,000 soldiers. Participants were split into four treatment groups. Core stabilisation exercises, Core stabilisation exercises plus an educational session on back pain coping strategies, traditional lumbar exercises, or traditional lumbar exercises plus the educational session.
Researchers tracked participants incidence of low back pain over two years following the intervention. There was no difference in health care visits for back pain in the groups who received exercise only, however there was a 3% decrease in those seeking care for low back pain amongst those who had received the additional education program.
Well, you can make of that what you will. I suppose 3% of a large number of military personnel would translate into a considerable cost saving. As for us civilians maybe more education and knowledge about our problems could mean less pain.
Although I suspect most of us know pretty well as much as those treating us. If you want to read the full report click here.
However, combining both exercise programs, together with a short educational session on back pain strategies did lower the incidence of treatment for back pain.
Reported on the Air Force Medical Website, the prevention of low back pain in this military study involved over 4,000 soldiers. Participants were split into four treatment groups. Core stabilisation exercises, Core stabilisation exercises plus an educational session on back pain coping strategies, traditional lumbar exercises, or traditional lumbar exercises plus the educational session.
Researchers tracked participants incidence of low back pain over two years following the intervention. There was no difference in health care visits for back pain in the groups who received exercise only, however there was a 3% decrease in those seeking care for low back pain amongst those who had received the additional education program.
Well, you can make of that what you will. I suppose 3% of a large number of military personnel would translate into a considerable cost saving. As for us civilians maybe more education and knowledge about our problems could mean less pain.
Although I suspect most of us know pretty well as much as those treating us. If you want to read the full report click here.
Sunday, 8 December 2013
Shingles Can Cause Back Pain.
I found this article on the connection between shingles and back pain interesting, having suffered with shingles myself. I've only had the one attack and it didn't affect my back, thank goodness, but some back pain blog readers may relate to this.
As reported on the news8000.com website it seems that a lady went to her chiropractor with pain in her upper right shoulder and back. She thought it was related to lower back pain.
However the pain got worse, and a few days later a rash appeared, which was diagnosed as shingles by her doctor, who put her on antiviral medication. This eventually dealt with the rash, but the pain remained.
Apparently I was one of the lucky ones, as one in five of those diagnosed with shingles suffers complications which result in after shingles pain (PHN), resulting from nerve damage caused by the virus.
This pain can be severe, and last for months, even years. With debilitating effects.
As the lady in question says "If you are over 50 and have unexplained pain, ask your doctor if it might be shingles." The reason being that early diagnosis and treatment can lessen , and even possibly prevent, the development of the virus and lower the risk of PHN.
To read the full story use this link.
As reported on the news8000.com website it seems that a lady went to her chiropractor with pain in her upper right shoulder and back. She thought it was related to lower back pain.
However the pain got worse, and a few days later a rash appeared, which was diagnosed as shingles by her doctor, who put her on antiviral medication. This eventually dealt with the rash, but the pain remained.
Apparently I was one of the lucky ones, as one in five of those diagnosed with shingles suffers complications which result in after shingles pain (PHN), resulting from nerve damage caused by the virus.
This pain can be severe, and last for months, even years. With debilitating effects.
As the lady in question says "If you are over 50 and have unexplained pain, ask your doctor if it might be shingles." The reason being that early diagnosis and treatment can lessen , and even possibly prevent, the development of the virus and lower the risk of PHN.
To read the full story use this link.
Friday, 6 December 2013
Back Pain Has a Direct Link to Posture.
Following on from my post about the Royal walk (click here if you want to remind yourself), this short article on zeenews india.com seems to confirm that Prince Charles is doing something right for his back, albeit unwittingly.
Now a new study, led by Alex Ruhe of Murdoch University, Perth, seems to show that backpain has a direct linear link with a persons posture.
In the study researchers used 200 patients who had low back pain, mid back pain, and neck pain (not sure if each patient had all three, probably not). Asking them to rate their pain at the start form 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst pain).
They were then stood on a solid plate with pressure sensors attached to each corner, and measurements were taken of body sway with their eyes closed, and changes of weight shift recorded. (I hope these volunteers were recompensed well!)
The results were then compared to data from healthy individuals subjected to the same regime.
It was found that body sway increased with higher pain intensities, the increase followed a linear fashion, and results were consistent for the three types of pain.
So, in simple terms yes, posture is important, and my dear old Dad was probably right in constantly telling me not to slouch, and stand up straight. I should've listened!
You can read the full article here.
Now a new study, led by Alex Ruhe of Murdoch University, Perth, seems to show that backpain has a direct linear link with a persons posture.
In the study researchers used 200 patients who had low back pain, mid back pain, and neck pain (not sure if each patient had all three, probably not). Asking them to rate their pain at the start form 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst pain).
They were then stood on a solid plate with pressure sensors attached to each corner, and measurements were taken of body sway with their eyes closed, and changes of weight shift recorded. (I hope these volunteers were recompensed well!)
The results were then compared to data from healthy individuals subjected to the same regime.
It was found that body sway increased with higher pain intensities, the increase followed a linear fashion, and results were consistent for the three types of pain.
So, in simple terms yes, posture is important, and my dear old Dad was probably right in constantly telling me not to slouch, and stand up straight. I should've listened!
You can read the full article here.
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