Let’s get right to it, shall we?
Chances are that if you are reading this, you’re dealing with some type of low back pain, have dealt with lower back pain, or know a loved one with lower back pain.
After all, it does have a lifetime prevalence of 60-70%, meaning that 60-70% of people in the world will have back pain at least one time in their life. That is a staggering number.
Our mission is to help as many of those people who are suffering from back pain and “just living with back pain”, to get out of that pain for good!
So, whether you’ve spent all weekend on the couch because you hurt your back a couple of days ago, you’re consistently struggling with pain or stiffness on the golf course, or you just deal with pain intermittently, we’re going to share 6 back pain tips that may just be all the difference in the world.
1. Not All Back Pain Is The Same
When you’re dealing with back pain, it can be easy to just simply think of it as “lower back pain” or “chronic back pain.” The reality is that there any many different back injuries. They can present differently and they can require different treatment strategies, so you have to know what it is before you can begin to really fix the issue! Some examples for you.
- Stenosis – Common in folks who are 50+. Pain with bending backward or with walking, stiffness felt in lower back, often times both sides but can be just one, can include lower extremity symptoms as well such as tingling, weakness, numbness.
- Disc injuries – pain with bending forward, can happen acutely (after picking up your golf back/lifting weights) or over time with repetitive movements in poor posture, can experience one sided symptoms more so than double sided low back pain, numbness/tingling down into the leg or in your glute can be present as well.
- Strain – localized to one side, pain with quick movements or in one particular direction, usually after lifting something and pain with stretching in one direction.
2. Don’t Stay Still
When you have back pain, it’s really important to not just stay still. However, it’s really important not to go out and push through it as well, which is why a consultation your sports medicine specialist is suggested. In most situations, staying still can lead to your back tightening up, guarding, increasing your pain, and delaying your recovery. It’s important to do some specific exercises as well to limit the negative effects of back pain, specifically weakening and atrophy of the multifidus (stabilizing) musculature. We’d love to give you a few options to start, but in order to give you the most effective exercises, we prefer to talk to you first. So give us a ring at 727-258-7225 or visit our website to have one of our specialists reach out to you!
3. Don’t Get a Cortisone Injection
This is one mistake that many people make, especially those who have been dealing with pain or stiffness for months or years and who have had failed treatments. Here’s what often happens. They go to their orthopedic because they’re not sure where else to go, they were just told to go there, or they resorted to that option because it feels normal as in it’s the “old way of doing things.” They get told to try to this steroid injection or take this pill, and then to come back and see him/her in 4-6 weeks or a few months later. They obviously do that they are in pain. They actually feel good initially, but after a while they notice that the same pain is coming back. Now that person feels lost, confused, and left with a few options: 1. Go back to the ortho to get more steroids, 2. Entertain the option of surgery, 3. Just deal with it and accept their pain, while stopping doing what they really love, or 4. Find another provider.
Shameless Plug: If you identify with the person above, we’re here to help. We pride ourselves in being able to give active solutions for active people, even those who have dealt with longstanding pain or have tried other options that have failed. We’re here for you.
4. It’s Not Always Because Of Your Back
Your back is a resilient structure. Many people with low back pain resort to blaming their back, and they also get told lots of things that promote fear and restraint. Just because you have back pain does not mean you are disabled, weak, or hopeless. It’s also important to appreciate that living with back pain can have a psychological and emotional impact. But, the truth is, you can overcome back pain. Now, the first thing to realize is that even though your back is where the pain is, it is often things around the back that are the true causative factors in the pain you feel. We HAVE TO address those areas, and here are few ways that we can do that.
- Hip mobility – joint mobilizations, targeted stretching, OMT, Active Release, Dry Needling, active movements
- Sacroiliac join stability – prolotherapy, PRP, Stem Cell Therapy (Autologous Microfragmented Adipose)
- Thoracic spine mobility – Joint mobilizations, OMT, Active Range of motion exercises
5. Your Movement Matters
How you move matters and how you move can place either good stress or bad stress on your back. If you’re a golfer, swinging in an anteriorly tilted posture (lumbar extension) can place excessive stress on your joints. If you’re a runner, running with anteriorly tilted posture can cause the same stress on your lumbar spine during your runs. Working on your movement patters in your work life, daily life, but also in your sport activity is important and that is one of our specialties. A great example would be our Home Golf Fitness Assessment.
6. Trusted Team
The last secret is to surround yourself with a trusted team, and that is what we are able to provide as an Integrated Sports Medicine Clinic. Surrounding yourself with providers you can trust, that understand you, that value your time, and that value your body can really be life changing. With a Sports Medicine Osteopathic Physician and a Sports Rehab Specialist, we have the ability to effectively treat 99% of injuries in house. (That includes your knee pain, your back pain, your arthritis, your sprains, your strains, your labral tears, etc). We don’t just want to relieve your pain, we want to fix it and we want to give you a plan to make you even better after your recovery!
Wrapping Up
- We hope that you were able to take a few things away from this blog and we hope that they are instrumental in helping you overcome back pain and living the active life that you were mean to live.
- If you think this blog was helpful, please let us know!
- Share it if you know someone that can benefit form this!
- Take action in giving us a call so we can get started on getting you back to 100%.
How to contact us!
Shoot us an email: info@jdli3p35op.wpdns.site (especially if the weekend or after ours)
Call us: 727-258-7224
Have us call you: Strategy Call