Does life ever feel like one large pain in the back? Back pain is difficult to deal with on a daily basis, yet for so many people, this is a total reality. By certain estimates, as many as 85 percent of adults in the United States struggle with back pain at some point in their lives. The most common type of back pain experienced is in the lower back, and it can happen for any variety of reasons. Being in a car accident can cause you to experience lingering back pain for years after the accident. Accidents at work can lead to similar consequences.
Health & Wellness The Newsletter About Your Health And Caring For Your Body
IS IT BACK PAIN OR SCIATICA?
Does life ever feel like one large pain in the back? Back pain is difficult to deal with on a daily basis, yet for so many people, this is a total reality. By certain estimates, as many as 85 percent of adults in the United States struggle with back pain at some point in their lives. The most common type of back pain experienced is in the lower back, and it can happen for any variety of reasons. Being in a car accident can cause
you to experience lingering back pain for years after the accident. Accidents at work can lead to similar consequences. But sometimes the cause of your back pain isn’t as straightforward. Back pain can also develop for any number of common reasons — things that you do every day without thinking twice. An old desk chair that doesn’t provide much lumbar support can take its toll over time, as can wearing shoes that don’t have much support, or even gaining weight, particularly around the stomach area. Too many people consider back pain a normal experience of their lives and don’t immediately seek support that could make the pain an issue of the past. Working with a physical therapist is, hands down, the best thing that you can do when you are looking to overcome back pain. A physical therapist can identify the cause of the back pain and present you with helpful strategies that can strengthen your back and reduce the severity of your pain. Physical therapy for back pain often includes a combination of targeted massage, flexibility and range of motion training, muscle building, and targeted stretching techniques. Using these strategies in combination with anti-inflammatory medication, as recommended by your physician, is often considered the most-efficient approach to handling back pain and is recommended by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.
Understanding Back Pain
Being educated about your back pain can help you make the right choices to overcome it as quickly as possible. One of the biggest problems with back pain is that it lingers. This leads many people to deal with back pain for years on end without seemingly any end in sight. While there is back pain that develops as a result of strain or sprain, there is also something called low back degenerative disc disease, which happens when the discs in your spine weaken. This frequently develops as a result of repetitive back injury and can also develop as a result of age. With degenerative disc disease, the space between the discs begins to collapse and become unstable and will cause back pain to develop. When you work
with a physical therapist to overcome back pain as a result of degenerative disc disease, your physical therapist will begin by strengthening core muscle groups, which includes the abdominal wall, and will provide you with targeted massage and stretching techniques to alleviate pain. While some back pain is easy to identify as pain, such as is the case with degenerative disc disease, there are other situations in which the pain may be a bit more complicated to understand. One of the most common back issues experienced in the United States is sciatica pain, and this sort of pain is often a lot more difficult to identify — especially by those who aren’t familiar with the problem.
DISCOVER HOW TO LIVE PAIN-FREE
At Fritz and Kinetic Edge Physical Therapy, you will receive hands-on therapy treatments by our friendly, caring health experts during focused and individualized sessions. It’s time to get Fritz and Kinetic Edge Physical Therapy if: • You’re tired of living in pain • You want to feel better and move better • You have been in an auto accident or injured on the job • You want to prevent injury 1. Call and talk to your therapist 2. Discover why your pain has come back 3. Get your custom recovery program
www.fritzphysicaltherapy.com | www.kineticedgept.net
How can you tell the difference between back pain and sciatica pain? The answer is that sciatica pain is characterized by the following factors:
• The pain is radiating, shooting down the leg and sometimes even into the feet and toes
• Constant pain is only present in one side of the buttocks or leg • The pain becomes worse when you are sitting • The leg pain develops more as a burning, tingling or searing sensation, and not as a plain ache • There is a sharp pain that occurs at times, making it sometimes difficult to stand or walk Sciatica pain develops in the nerves that connect the lower back to the legs, and so while the pain itself is generated from the back, a lot of time, the experience of the pain is more largely associated with the upper legs. What’s more, sciatica pain doesn’t always develop like pain in the traditional sense. Sciatica pain instead causes a buildup of tingling, numbness and weakness in the lower back and upper legs, and the pain isn’t consistent either. The sensation will typically run through the leg in waves, causing discomfort at seemingly unpredictable times. PREPARE TO SWIM IN THE WATER SAFELY!
Swimming is a great recreational sport that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. But it’s important to know how to be safe while you’re in the water. These important swimming safety tips are what you should be aware of before you head out to the pool or beach. • Swim in designated areas supervised by lifeguards. • Always swimwith a buddy; do not allow anyone to swim alone. • Never leave a young child unattended near water and do not trust a child’s life to another child; teach children to always ask permission to go near water. • If you have a pool, secure it with appropriate barriers. Many children who drown in home pools were out
of sight for less than five minutes and in the care of one or both parents at the time. • Protect your skin. Limit the amount of direct sunlight you receive between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. and wear sunscreen with a protection factor of at least 15. • Drink plenty of water regularly, even if you’re not thirsty. Avoid drinks with alcohol or caffeine in them.
If you are experiencing back pain and you haven’t talked to a medical professional about the concern, then now is the time to take action. Working with a physical therapist can cut your time struggling with back pain literally in half.
If you want to return to a pain-free, active lifestyle, contact us today to schedule an appointment at Fritz: 412-278-1221 or KineticEdge: 724-900-5130.
Source https://www.spine-health.com/conditions/ sciatica/what-you-need-know-about-sciatica A 30 Second Self-Test For Sciatica
• Do you have back pain or leg pain with standing or walking? • Do you have a shooting pain in your leg when you stand up? • Do you need to sit down for a minute for the pain to go away?
1. Sitting on a chair, look down. 2. Straighten one leg, with toes in the air. 3. Repeat for the other side.
What it means: If your leg with pain, numbness or tingling does not go up as high as the other leg, you likely have Sciatica. Your next step is to see what is causing the pressure on your sciatic nerve. Call us to schedule an appointment...we can help you with that.
Exercise Essentials Try this simple exercise to relieve sciatica pain...
PIRIFORMIS STRETCH Lie on back. Grab knee with hands. Bring knee towards your opposite shoulder. Hold for 30 seconds then return to start position. Repeat 8 times.
The above exercise is designed to be performed under the instruction of a licensed physical therapist.
No Doctor Referral Necessary Whether you want to come in for a check-up, suffered a recent injury or you want to improve your health, a doctor referral is not needed. In the state of Pennsylvania you have direct access to chiropractic care and physical therapy!
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