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. How can you tell the difference between back pain and sciatica pain? The answer is that sciatica pain is characterized by the following factors: • 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 • The pain is radiating, shooting down the leg and sometimes even into the feet and toes
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. 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. For more information about overcoming back pain, contact us.
Source: https://www.spine-health.com/conditions/sciatica/what-you-need-know-about-sciatica
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Caribbean Orca Bean Salad
INGREDIENTS • 1 cup of green beans cut into 1″ lengths • 1½ cups dried beans, soaked overnight in water to cover plus 1 Tbsp raw apple cider vinegar/2 (15 oz) cans pinto beans and/or black beans rinsed & drained • 1 cup chopped yellow pepper • ½ cup chopped red onion • 3 celery ribs, halved & sliced thin
• ½ cup chopped green onions • ½ cup raw apple cider vinegar • ¼ cup olive or avocado oil • 4 garlic cloves, finely minced • 2 tsp dried oregano • ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper • 1 tsp ground cumin • ¼ tsp dried mustard • ½ cup fresh, chopped cilantro
INSTRUCTIONS Rinse the beans. If using dried-soaked beans, add to about 6 cups of water, bring to a boil, then simmer 1 – 1½ hours until cooked but not mushy. Rinse and cool. Bring a pot of water to boil and quickly blanch the green beans for less than 1 minute. Strain through a colander and allow to cool while assembling the rest of the salad. Mix the pinto and black beans, the chopped pepper, red onion and celery plus the cooled green beans in a glass storage container. Create the salad dressing by combining the vinegar, oil, and spices except the cilantro. Marinate at least over night, then stir in the freshly chopped cilantro and serve. Find more healthy recipe makeovers at www.OurNutritionKitchen.com Contributed by Marie Cecchini Sternquist, MS CHHC who uses Functional Nutrition and Nutrition Response Testing to address inflammatory processes that prevent true healing.
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