Back pain can hinder your day-to-day activities. Left untreated, it can even lead to long-term joint, spine and nerve damage. As one of the most common physical complaints, over 80 percent of the U.S. population will suffer from it at some point in their lifetime. The pain itself can hinder your ability to reach, lean, kneel, lift or bend. It can also hinder your time spent with friends and family. Direct pain aside, minor aches and cramps associated with a back pain problem can make you irritable—ruining your good time.
N E W S L E T T E R A NEW YEAR A NEW YOU OVERCOME BACK
PAIN WITH BAY STATE PHYSICAL THERAPY
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OVERCOME YOUR BACK PAIN! IS BACK PAIN SLOWING YOU DOWN?
INSIDE : • How to Keep Your Back “Life-Ready” • Refer A Friend
• Patient Success Spotlight • Prevent Back Pain In Just A Few Minutes A Day
Back pain can hinder your day-to-day activities. Left untreated, it can even lead to long-term joint, spine and nerve damage. As one of the most common physical complaints, over 80 percent of the U.S. population will suffer from it at some point in their lifetime. The pain itself can hinder your ability to reach, lean, kneel, lift or bend. It can also hinder your time spent with friends and family. Direct pain aside, minor aches and cramps associated with a back pain problem can make you but the following are leading causes: • Spinal and core muscle weaknesses • Bad posture • Spinal muscle and tissue damage • Improper lifting form • Limited hip, spine and thigh muscle flexibility • Bad abdominal, pelvic and back muscle coordination irritable—ruining your good time. What Causes Back Pain? A few things cause back pain. The American PhysicalTherapy Association coverseachof these,
Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t seek treatment when back pain arises. Before they know it, they have a big problem.They might assume nothing— except for medication—can solve their back pain problem. Medication might mask the pain, but it won’t cure the problem’s root cause. Back Pain Solutions You’re in luck: Back pain can be helped! The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke covers a number of back pain remedies. These include the use of strength exercise, physical therapy and muscular re- education. Before you can treat your back pain, however, you need to knowwhy it started. Whether you’ve tweaked a muscle or have an injury, a well trained physical therapist can identify the source of the pain and provide individualized evidence based treatment to address it. Back Pain Prevention A little prevention goes a long way. If you want to avoid future back pain, you can make sure you’re being good to your back. Lift Properly You pick things up constantly. Even if you’re lifting something right, make sure you’re
facing theobject.Squat,keepingyourspinestraight. Lift with your leg muscles, as this will reduce the pressure placed on your spine. Use Good Posture When you’re standing, imagine a string is attached to the top of your head—lifting you up. This will keep your hips, spine, shoulders and neck aligned. If you’re sitting, don’t slouch. Use StrengthTraining Your body has hundreds of muscles. These muscles protect and control your spine. By lifting weights, running and swimming, you can keep them strong. Train your core muscles. In doing so, you’ll easily control quick, lifting movements. It never hurts to visit a physical therapist, either. Get regular check-ups, and make sure your body is in good condition. If you have a history of back injuries, pain or minor aches, don’t hesitate to talk to a professional. You deserve a pain-free life, and your back will thank you.
SCHEDULE A CONSULTATION TODAY GET RID OF YOUR NAGGING BACK PAIN!
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How to Keep Your Back “Life-Ready”
1. Make Good Posture A Habit When you are standing, feel that the weight in your feet is going through your arches. Stack your knees over your ankles, your pelvis over your knees, and your shoulders over your pelvis. Let your head be in a relaxed position without your chin poking forward. Good posture doesn’t mean holding yourself up like you’re in the army. You should be comfortable, though it might still take time to get used to a new posture, even if it’s a better one. While sitting, make sure you’re using the backrest without your shoulders slouching or yourhead far forwardandyour feetareon thefloor. 2. Lift Properly Picking things up is a normal part of our day. Even if you pick up something light, your back muscles have to lift the weight of your upper torso and control that movement. Make sure you always face what you need to pick up, squat keeping your spinestraightandpushwithyour legmuscles.This helps reduce theexcessivepressureon your spine. 3. Stay Flexible Flexibility is key to maintaining a healthy back. By keeping your body flexible, the normal forces of movement and lifting can be distributed across the spine, rather than focused on a few segments, which can then fail. An easy stretching routine every day can keep you feeling great and put a spring in your step.
4. Stay Strong You have hundreds of muscles, which control the movement of your spine. Major muscles that support the spine are called your core and include your abdominal, pelvic, spinal and hip muscles. By keeping your core muscles strong, you support your spine and have the ability to easily control lifting, quick movements, bending and a lot more. 5. Physical Therapy Our physical therapists are experts in evaluating spine and body movement. By having a regular checkup, you can make sure your body is in good condition to tackle the activities you love. If you
have a history of back pain, injury or are currently experiencingachesandpains,wecananalyzeyour problem and construct a treatment program that will work best for your individual problem. With soothing hands-on therapy and targeted exercises, we can help you return quickly to feeling your best. Even if you suffer from severe pain, we can help you get out of pain and living the life you deserve.
Call us today to schedule an appointment. 1-866-296-BSPT (2778)
SIMPLE TIPS FOR SHOVELING SNOW 30SECONDSELF-TEST FORBALANCE 1. Stand on a hard floor near a table or countertop for support.
Snow shoveling can lead to a number of health risks for many people, from back injuries to heart attacks. The following tips can help keep you safer when you set out to shovel: Warm up. Warm your muscles before heading out to shovel by doing some light movements, such as bending side to side or walking in place.
2. Bend one knee and lift the foot–if you’re left- handed,standonyour left legand lift the right foot; do the opposite if you’re right-handed. You don’t need to lift it high, just enough to keep it off the floor. 3. Now without holding onto anything slowly count the number of seconds you can hold that position without putting your foot back down.
Push rather than lift. Pushing the snow with the shovel instead of lifting can help reduce the strain on your body. Lighten your load. Consider using a lighter-weight plastic shovel instead of a metal one to help decrease the weight being lifted. Consider multiple trips. Consider shoveling periodically throughout the storm to avoid having to move large amounts of snow at once. Keep up with snowfall. Try to shovel snow shortly after it falls, when it is lighter and fluffier. The longer snow stays on the ground, the wetter it can become. Wet snow is heavier and harder to move.
4. Repeat the test 3 times, and then add up your total time and divide it by 3 to find your average balance time (for example, if test 1 was 4 seconds, test 2 was 8 seconds, and test 3 was 6 seconds, you’d add up 4, 8, and 6 to get 18. Divide by 3, and your average balance time is 6 seconds). If you could not complete this test without being unsteady, you likely are at risk of falling. Your next step is to see what is causing it by calling your local Bay State Physical Therapy Clinic today.
IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING BACK PAIN FIND OUR LOCATION NEAR YOU baystatept.com
STAFF SPOTLIGHT Sarah Freitas, DPT
Patient Success Spotlight John O’Keefe, Low Back Pain
Sarah Freitas has been with Bay StatePhysicalTherapy for10years starting as a clinical student and rehab aide in 2008. She graduated with her Doctorate degree from Northeastern University in 2009, and has been the clinical manager for the Abington office for the last 6 years. Sarah is now continuing to grow with Bay State Physical Therapy and will be the managing partner for the new location in Rockland. Sarah has very close ties to the town of Rockland as she considers herself a “Bulldog.” She graduated from Rockland High School in 2003 and was very
John O’Keefe has 15 year case of Low Back Pain as a result of an injury he sustained during deployment. He never received treatment while he was deployed, so when he returned back, 2 years later, his injury had progressed from pain, to numbness/tingling and weakness in his leg. The weakness progressed to causing his leg to buckle, when standing and walking. An MRI confirmed John had sustained spinal fractures and a disc herniation, which caused instability and nerve compression. John has initiatedavery specificandprogressivephysical therapy program to target core stability and strengthening for both static and dynamic postural support. The purpose of this program is to gain structural stability to reduce nerve compression and decrease the negative impact of his spinal fractures. John’s physical therapy plan of care also includes aquatic physical therapy to help improve pain free range of motion while exercising in a reduced weight-bearing environment. As a result, John’s pain and numbness has significantly reduced by 50%, compared to his pain prior to starting physical therapy. “I love it and I feel so much better when I leave. The pool is so helpful that it’s motivated me to get a membership here [the YMCA] to keep doing my exercises. I wish I could come get stretched every day”. Now, John is able to lift boxes at work with less pain and was able to help deliver turkeys to the underprivileged forThanksgiving (volunteer work is very important to him, and he was worried he wouldn’t be able to volunteer this season because of his pain).John is alsosleeping morecomfortably now, for approximately 6 hours each night, where previously he was only able to sleep 2 hours, secondary to pain. The attached photo shows John performing a core stability exercise to build postural strength and stability.
involved in theSchool’sacademics,athletics,andcommunityservice.She is excitedabout theopportunity tobring Bay StatePhysicalTherapy toher home town and be able to provide exceptional service while giving back to her community at the same time. Know someone who needs our help?
Do You Have Friends Or Family That:
� Can’t move without pain � Can’t spend time with family � Are afraid of falling at home
� Can’t walk for long distances � Can’t perform work tasks � Feel inactive and unhealthy
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How to perform a bridging exercise Lie on your back with knees bent and feet hip distance apart. Place your feet close enough so they can be touched by your fingertips. Inhale and lift the hips. Keep the chest open. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat 10 times.
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