It has been said there is nothing new under the sun, and in this instance it is certainly true that Thomas Jefferson, Leonardo DaVinci, and Winston Churchill amongst others, recognised the benefit of working standing up.
In an article by Deena Wang on the MIT online newspaper "The Tech" she tells her own story of her back pain due to long hours of sitting at her computer desk, and how she discovered for herself the benefits of a standing desk.
Interestingly, I knew a lawyer years ago who had placed his desk on bricks to raise it and swore it helped him. So it's not really necessary to spend upwards of $100 for a ready made one.
Deena makes the point that there are other benefits to be enjoyed by standing as well as back pain relief. Coupled with the fact that sitting for long periods can be detrimental to our health this may be an option worth exploring. Find the full article here.
Tuesday, 28 January 2014
Thursday, 23 January 2014
Horse Rider Back Problems And Tips On How to Prevent Them.
As a very occasional horse rider over the years (I've fallen off a few) backpain caused by regular horse riding has not been an issue for me.
However I am aware that it is a very popular pastime and sport, and maybe a few readers of this back pain blog might find an article by Andrea Oakes on the horse and hound.co.uk website that I found today useful.
She asks just why it is that so many horse riders suffer from back pain, and is it something riders just have to accept and put up with as part and parcel of the activity, or are there positive steps that can be taken to curb it, or even avoid it altogether.
Andrea goes on to list seven of the most common back problems that affect riders, together with eight of her top tips for riders to maintain a healthy back.
Although obviously geared toward riders, there are a couple of tips the rest of us could find useful, and it's an interesting read anyway. You can use this link to find the article.
However I am aware that it is a very popular pastime and sport, and maybe a few readers of this back pain blog might find an article by Andrea Oakes on the horse and hound.co.uk website that I found today useful.
She asks just why it is that so many horse riders suffer from back pain, and is it something riders just have to accept and put up with as part and parcel of the activity, or are there positive steps that can be taken to curb it, or even avoid it altogether.
Andrea goes on to list seven of the most common back problems that affect riders, together with eight of her top tips for riders to maintain a healthy back.
Although obviously geared toward riders, there are a couple of tips the rest of us could find useful, and it's an interesting read anyway. You can use this link to find the article.
Friday, 17 January 2014
Exercise Might Not Always Be Best For Low Back Pain.
Readers of this back pain blog will know that for years we have been told that exercise is beneficial for those suffering with chronic back pain. Now, it seems that medical opinion has done another of it's famed u-turns.
In a story by Pauline Anderson on medscape.com she reports that randomized trials have shown no difference in pain, disability, or general health amongst patients with lower back pain and Modic Changes (MC's - oedema or fatty degeneration in the vertebral endplate) who followed an exercise regime, and those who adopted a routine of rest and load reduction.
A study involved 100 adult patients with chronic low back pain. One group, the rest group, were told to avoid hard physical activity and rest by lying down for an hour twice a day (lucky things). They were also allowed to use a flexible lumbar belt as required for up to 4 hours a day.
The other (exercise) group took part in supervised one-hour exercises once a week for the 10 weeks of the trial. This included exercises for stabilizing muscles in the low back and abdomen, exercises for postural stability, and light physical fitness training. They were also encouraged to continue with these exercises at home three times a week, and maintain a normal level of activity.
Without going into all the results here (they are in the full report which you can find here) at the end of the study no significant difference in general health scores was found between either group, also no serious problems or adverse effects.
So there you have it. You can ditch all your exercise equipment and loll about in front of the telly all day. I'm not convinced, they'll do another study soon that proves the opposite.
In a story by Pauline Anderson on medscape.com she reports that randomized trials have shown no difference in pain, disability, or general health amongst patients with lower back pain and Modic Changes (MC's - oedema or fatty degeneration in the vertebral endplate) who followed an exercise regime, and those who adopted a routine of rest and load reduction.
A study involved 100 adult patients with chronic low back pain. One group, the rest group, were told to avoid hard physical activity and rest by lying down for an hour twice a day (lucky things). They were also allowed to use a flexible lumbar belt as required for up to 4 hours a day.
The other (exercise) group took part in supervised one-hour exercises once a week for the 10 weeks of the trial. This included exercises for stabilizing muscles in the low back and abdomen, exercises for postural stability, and light physical fitness training. They were also encouraged to continue with these exercises at home three times a week, and maintain a normal level of activity.
Without going into all the results here (they are in the full report which you can find here) at the end of the study no significant difference in general health scores was found between either group, also no serious problems or adverse effects.
So there you have it. You can ditch all your exercise equipment and loll about in front of the telly all day. I'm not convinced, they'll do another study soon that proves the opposite.
Saturday, 11 January 2014
Brain Connectivity in Chronic Low Back Pain Patients.
If you can get through some of the jargon, and the inevitable acronyms (I hate them, they may just as well use the full wording each time as I always have to remind myself) you might find this story on the gnom.es website of interest.
It centers on research done at Harvard Medical School on the brain connectivity of chronic low back pain patients, using a new type of magnetic resonance imaging. Are you with me so far? OK, you're doing better than I did then.
In simple terms, as I understand it, the results obtained could lead to pain severity being objectively measured by examining brain activity.
So, instead of asking a chronic low back pain sufferer what their pain is like, it could actually be measured in a meaningful way.
Quite amazing, and could be pretty useful. Have a look here and see what you think. Good luck!
It centers on research done at Harvard Medical School on the brain connectivity of chronic low back pain patients, using a new type of magnetic resonance imaging. Are you with me so far? OK, you're doing better than I did then.
In simple terms, as I understand it, the results obtained could lead to pain severity being objectively measured by examining brain activity.
So, instead of asking a chronic low back pain sufferer what their pain is like, it could actually be measured in a meaningful way.
Quite amazing, and could be pretty useful. Have a look here and see what you think. Good luck!
Monday, 6 January 2014
13 Low Cost Drug Free Remedies to Beat Back Pain.
Firstly today may I wish all my readers a very happy new year. I'm back in harness after a fairly quiet Christmas. Except that over the past few days we have decided to move home and put our current house on the market.
When it actually happens I'm going to look after my back and get a removals firm to do everything. It might be an extra expense but I remember the last time we moved, and so does my back!
Found a great site the other day, well worth a look. aarp.org where there is lots of good information on all sorts of health subjects. Including of course back pain. So I thought I'd mention it to readers of this back pain blog.
The article that caught my eye initially was by Dorothy Foltz-Gray where she presents 13 ways you can help beat your backpain. It mentions low-cost, but in several cases these tips are no-cost, even better.
It also includes a short (just under 4 minutes) video presented by Martina Navratilova on the importance of a neutral spine, which I found pretty informative.
There is some good stuff in this article. Rather than go through it here I suggest you check out the full thing for yourself at this link if you are interested.
When it actually happens I'm going to look after my back and get a removals firm to do everything. It might be an extra expense but I remember the last time we moved, and so does my back!
Found a great site the other day, well worth a look. aarp.org where there is lots of good information on all sorts of health subjects. Including of course back pain. So I thought I'd mention it to readers of this back pain blog.
The article that caught my eye initially was by Dorothy Foltz-Gray where she presents 13 ways you can help beat your backpain. It mentions low-cost, but in several cases these tips are no-cost, even better.
It also includes a short (just under 4 minutes) video presented by Martina Navratilova on the importance of a neutral spine, which I found pretty informative.
There is some good stuff in this article. Rather than go through it here I suggest you check out the full thing for yourself at this link if you are interested.
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