It Hurts When I Work
The world doesn’t stop for back pain. That means you may get a few days off because of back pain, but eventually you have to go to work. The best thing to do is learn some office moves and positions that will keep your spine muscles from tightening and your spine from compressing. [...]
How Do I Know When Surgery is the Answer
Most back pain isn’t treated with surgery as much anymore. Surgery is too risky. But if you are considering whether to have surgery, you should make sure you’ve tried everything else first. Spine surgery should always be a last choice and not a first option. That means you might have to [...]
Baby Makes My Back Hurt
When you’re pregnant, developing back pain is very normal. The pain can range from mild to severe, but you just have to try and manage the pain as best you can. There are some things you can do that will probably relieve a lot of the pain. You can make sure you [...]
What the X-Rays Show
Usually, if the doctor decides he or she needs to actually look at the bones of the spine, an X-ray is ordered. But even if you get an x-ray that doesn’t mean you’ll suddenly have all the answers. The x-ray can only show bones and not muscles, tendons or ligaments. So if [...]
What Kind of Test is That?
When you visit your doctor for the first time about your back pain, there are several simple tests he or she will do. The doctor wants to find out if you have any spine problems or if the pain is coming from the muscles surrounding the spine. Diagnosing the source of back pain [...]
Did My Cholesterol Drug Cause the Problem?
There are plenty of wonder drugs on the market for every ailment. The new cholesterol preventing drugs are on the list of “great discoveries” – for now. Apparently drugs like Lipitor are statins, and statins can cause muscle weakness if used for long periods of time. In fact, some people are claiming they [...]
I’m Deconditioned
There’s a term in the back pain field that’s called deconditioning. Conditioning is when you improve your muscle tone through strength building activities. Deconditioning is the exact opposite. You begin to limit what you do because your back hurts. Just like conditioning makes your back muscles stronger, deconditioning makes your back [...]
Upside Down
If you have back pain and want to try something that will make it feel better, test a back pain inversion table. The table is easy to use and can be purchased for use at home. Basically it’s a tilting table. You lie on it with your feet under a support so you don’t [...]
Losing Control
Most back pain can be handled with traditional home treatments. But one problem deserves immediate attention by a physician. If you can’t control your bowels or bladder, you need to see a doctor right away. Loss of control can indicate something is compressing the nerves in your lower spine. I don’t [...]
Be Careful Lifting That Box
There’s a right and wrong way to lift. Lifting something the wrong way is one of the main reasons give for back sprains and muscle pulls. You hear people say they “threw their back out” and it usually happens after trying to lift something improperly. People use sloppy lifting posture when [...]