10% of Carry Load

10% of Carry Load

10% of Carry Load

Back pain is known to everyone, from people in their twenties to people in their nineties. It is widespread to the point where Tylenol commercials on TV are directed specifically to viewers with back pain. Indeed, back pain is ubiquitous. This is because there a number of things that many people commonly do in their day-to-day lives, without realizing that they actually cause back problems. Three of these things are sitting, improperly bending and lifting items, and over-packing bags.

These days, the number of jobs that require sitting for hours on end at an office desk in front of a computer is quite high - even students in high school and university spend hours sitting at computers, or even sitting in lecture halls without computers, hunched over their desks taking notes and writing tests. Then many of these people go home to relax, and sit in front of their television to watch a film or a few episodes of their favourite sitcoms. Sitting is probably one of the top five ways that people develop back problems. Sitting, especially when hunched over, makes your lower back flex, according to Dr. Hisey of the Texas Back Institute. It deprives the discs in the spine of nutrition that it receives from blood flow when we move or stand. With the lack of nutrition and stress on the lower back muscles, the back will become sore when the body is sitting for hours at a time, and this can cause prolonged pain. Nowadays, when nearly everything can be done from a mobile phone or laptop instead of requiring a person to go out and walk somewhere, back pain will likely become even more prevalent. The best way to prevent back pain from sitting is to indeed get up and move - walking twenty minutes a day, or simply getting up to get a glass of water every twenty minutes will help the back. Stretching is also a great way to increase blood flow to the discs in the back, and strengthen muscles.

On that note, doing housework may give your back some good exercise, but improper bending and lifting is another main cause of back problems. When people don't lift properly, they place stress on the back, making it work harder than is necessary and sometimes even causing spinal disc displacement. This actually happened to my own father, several years ago. He is quite the handyman, and was always working on some kind of renovation project. He never allowed my sister, my mother, or me to help when lifting is involved, because he wanted to protect us - instead, he added more stress than necessary to his back. My father knows what proper lifting entails, and how important it is to the safety of his body and his back, but when things were too heavy and he had no help, he would have had to exert even more effort, likely twisting his body and using his back in unsafe ways. As a result of long-term stress, one of the discs in his spine did displace - and off he went to the hospital. He is doing much better now, but this event shows just how dangerous improper bending and lifting can be, and that even for those of us who are aware of how to safely use the body to lift, if we are not careful it can cause major back problems. Safe lifting does not include twisting the back to create leverage, as natural as it may feel. It involves bringing the object as close to your body as possible, bending your knees - not your waist - and keeping your back straight. You must lift by standing up and using your legs, not your back. Finally, improper bending and lifting is not only a problem with heavy lifting - simple things like using a dishwasher and taking the garbage out can also cause back pain if not done properly.

A third way that people often develop back problems is over-packing a handbag, duffel bag, backpack, or any other bag that is used to carry items. People do not realize how heavy their bags are when they are so stylishly designed with zippers and compartments that make it so easy to overload. The American Chiropractic Association recommends that any bag you use weigh no more than 10% of your body weight when fully loaded. Over-packing causes stress on the back, as your shoulders overcompensate and force your spine to realign in unbalanced fashion. The best way to carry your things is to either carry less, or divide the weight into two bags so that not all the weight is carried on one side of the body.

These are three main ways that people tend to develop back pain, often without realizing it. Being aware allows us to be careful - making sure to carry lighter loads, to use proper ways to lift heavy items and ask for help if you doubt your ability, and exercising are three ways to help prevent developing chronic back pain in the future. Exercise does not have to be working out hard - it simply means giving your back a break. Getting up and going for a quick walk will work. Find ways to increase blood flow before you sit back down, and your back will thank you.

If you find you do develop chronic back pains, a chiropractor can help. According to the National Library of Medicine, chiropractors use their hands to manipulate the spine, moving one joint to the end of its range, and then thrusting so that the spinal vertebrae are back in line. These alignments are meant to help reduce pain and improve your mobility so that your body can heal itself. Chiropractors also use stretching and movement exercises to help patients increase their range of motion for the same purposes, and massages are another method that chiropractors use to treat back pain. However, if you take care of your back, you may be able to prevent any visits to the chiropractor.




10% of Carry Load

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