Ask any physical therapist the most common complaint they hear from patients and it will be “my back hurts” with the implication that the therapist should fix it. My first response is to examine the patient and then educate them. There’s no point in treating the patient’s pain without educating them on how to avoid it in the future. The patient needs to understand the spine, what will hurt it and what will keep it healthy and pain free.
The spinal column consists of 33 vertebrae: seven in the neck (cervical), 12 in the trunk (thoracic), five in the lower back (lumbar) and nine that are fused at the bottom (the sacrum and coccyx), the spinal column supports the skull and distributes the weight of the body through the pelvis and lower extremities. It protects the spinal cord, the body’s “nerve cable,” which passes through the column and sends out peripheral nerves to muscles and organs. Each vertebrae is separated by a cartilaginous disk that functions as a shock absorber. If one of these disks rubs against a nerve, pain is the result. There are many supporting muscles and ligaments in the back that when overused or injured, will cause pain.
Unfortunately, with our busy lifestyles, we sit too much and don’t exercise enough. We lift and bend incorrectly. Our posture is poor, we are overweight and we are under stress. All of this can contribute to back problems.
When it comes to prevention, the rule of thumb is to keep your back straight. When you sit, use a chair with good support and don’t slouch. A rolled towel or small pillow placed at the small of the back provides the support your back needs. When lifting, remember to bend your knees. It has been determined that just curving your back forward applies about 660 pounds of pressure to your lumbar disks.
Now that you have straightened up, it’s time to shape up. Your physical therapist can provide you with exercises that will strengthen your abdominal muscles, which in turn helps prevent back pain. There are also exercises to help relieve stress and tension, which can cause neck pain. Eating properly and losing extra weight will relieve stress on your back. Remember to take care of your back; it is never too late to “straighten out” a hurting back.
Sierra Canyon Physical Therapy is conveniently located at 27225 Camp Plenty Road, Suite 6 in Canyon Country. For more information, please call 661-298-0140.