Health & Wellness The Newsletter About Your Health And Caring For Your Body
Are You Experiencing Lower Back Pain? Chances Are, It May Be Caused By Another Issue
Your spine is a complex part of your body – it requires proper posture, flexibility, coordination, and strength, in order to do its job correctly. When one of these elements isaltered,yourspinecanemitpainful responses thatcansettle inother nearby parts of the body. According to the National Institute of Health, approximately 80% of adults will experience lower back pain at some point in their lives. Back pain is actually the mostcommonly reported locationofpainacross theglobe.Buthowoften is the source actually another part of your body? PAIN IS USUALLY CONNECTED: Your spine is a lengthy structure, and pain can travel along it. Let’s say you are prone to neck pain – perhaps you have a slouched posture from sitting at a desk all day and the pressure radiates in your shoulders. Or, maybe you’ve had a previous injury, such as whiplash, that still elicits painful stings every now and then. Now, let’s say you begin feeling pain in your lower back in addition to your neck pain. Why does this happen? Basically, the pains are connected to each other. Your head weighs about 10- 12 pounds, which is roughly the weight of a bowling ball. When you slouch, or compensatepainby realigningyourbody,yourbackmuscleshave toworkextra hard to keep you from toppling forward. Have you ever been so tired that your head begins to bob and it jolts you awake? That’s because your head is heavy! The weight from the motion wakes you back up because your body isn’t used to carrying it in that way.
This isalsowhypain inyour lowerbackmayoccurasa result.Yourbackmuscles are working in overdrive and may be constricting to try and hold you up. If you noticeneckandbackpainat thesame timeasoneanother, trysittingupstraighter – it should help ease some of the stress! IS YOUR NECK THE CULPRIT? The most common combination of pain is in the neck and the back. If you are experiencing both, it is most likely stemming from the neck. Wedon’ttypically thinkabout it,butweuseournecksfora lotofourdailyactivities. Even simple things, such as turning to grab something out of the cupboard or looking over your shoulder when backing out of a driveway, use a lot of neck muscles. When you do simple tasks such as these, do you find yourself turning your entire body, as opposed to just your head? If so, you could experience back pain along with your neck pain. When you have limited motion in your neck, your body compensates by twisting more than it usually would, thus over-rotating your lower back.This could cause a source of pain or general discomfort in the area, due to abnormal overuse. If youareexperiencingneckpain,backpain,oracombinationofboth,ourphysical therapists would be more than happy to meet with you for a consultation to discuss how they can help. Call us today to talk to an expert about how we can relieve your aches and pains!
Schedule Your Appointment Today! Kewanee: 309.852-2200 Galva: 309.932.8100 Stark County: 309.695.4010.
www.kptrs.com
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