N E W S L E T T E R
GETTING TO THE CORE OF BACK & NECK PAIN
Back and neck pain are two of the most common issues that American adults experience, putting a huge physical and economic burden on working Americans by being both two of the leading needs for medical intervention and two of the most common causes people have to miss work. While these may feel like two separate issues, it issomewhatcommonthatneckpainandbackpainareactually related.Corestrengthcanhaveahuge impactonyouroverallhealthandwellness, and when your core is weak, it could add up to weakness in your neck and back. Neck Pain 101 There are a lot of reasons why neck pain may develop, including everything from sudden incidents likeacaraccidentoraslip-and-fall injury,tomorechronic issues, such as regularly hunching over a desk at work or even practicing poor posture. One of the biggest problems with neck pain is that it often triggers headaches, as the pain is so closely connected to the spine and nervous system. What is more, addressingneckpain issometimesdifficultas there issomuchpotential tocause moredamagetotheneck.This iswhyworkingwithaphysicaltherapisttoaddress neckpain iswise.Aphysicaltherapistcanhelptreatneckpainby improvingrangeof motion,usingtargetedmassagetechniques,andby improvingstrengthasneeded. Forexample, inmanysituations,neckpaincanbetreatedby improvingcorestrength. Back Pain 101 Severebackpain impactsmorethanhalfofthepopulation,andmanyofthosewith pain inthebackasaresultof injuryendupdealingwiththatpain longterm.Oneof the biggest problems with back pain is that once it develops, it is difficult to work around it,andmanypeoplebeginmodifying theirmovementsasaresult,causing theirback tocompensate for the injurybyputtingpressureonothermuscles that eventually just leads tomorebackpain. For thisreason,backpaincan frequently become a Catch-22 — avoiding the things that hurt your back could actually lead you to develop more pain in the future. Working with a physical therapist is the best way to cut your back pain issues in half. Physical therapy can address back
pain by helping to improve your range of motion, strengthen the muscles in your backandsurroundingareas,andbyusing targetedmassage toreduce tension. In many situations, working with a physical therapist to improve core strength can significantly reduce the severity of your back pain. Core Strength and Back Pain Youmaybesurprisedhow frequently issueswith theneckandbackactuallystem from issueswithcorestrength.Yourcorerefers to themuscles thatmakeupyour torso, including your abdomen. These muscles are called the core because they are at the center of your body, and they are necessary in just about every action thatyouengage in.Everything fromwalkingandrunningandswimming tositting and driving require you to engage your core. There are a lot of reasons to improve core strength outside of any existing neck or back pain. When you improve your core, you are likely to also improve your postureandtherebyreduceyourriskofdeveloping furtherbackpain inthe future. Furthermore, the exercise that helps to improve core strength is often helpful in promoting weight loss, and for those who are overweight, this could also help reduce pain in the neck and the back. Sometimes,whenyourcore isweak, itcancauseyoutoexperienceaddedpressure onareaslikeyourneckandback.Therearealotofwaysthatworkingwithaphysical therapist can help you improve your core strength. You may be encouraged to practice core exercises, for example, which may include abdominal crunches or leg lifts.Lightweight-trainingactivitiesarealsofrequentlyhelpful,asarebalance- based activities like yoga. If you haven’t spent much time building core strength in the past, then working withaphysical therapist isagreatplace tostart.Yourphysical therapistwillguide you through proper postures and movements to reduce further risk of injury. For more information about how to start improving your core, contact us.
A R E Y O U L E T T I N G B A C K PA I N H O L D Y O U B A C K ? C A L L T O S C H E D U L E Y O U R A P P O I N T M E N T T O D AY !
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