Goodbye to Bad Backs
More than 60% of the UK population reports regular back pain, amounting to around 100 million days a year of lost working time. Current statistics from the Department of Health indicate that back pain is costing British industry £5 billion a year in lost production through absenteeism - and the National Health Service £481 million a year treating it.
A bad back can be the bane of your life. Everyday tasks can result in agony and there's no quick-fix solution. But if you suffer from back pain, you're certainly not alone. Three in five adults in the UK admit suffering from an occasional aching back and slouching in chairs has been named as the number one cause, according to mattress company Relaxsan.
Types of Back Pain
In 95% of cases, the cause is linked to the way the bones, ligaments and muscles of the back work together. Pain is often based in the lumbar region (lower back), and will come and go at different times depending on different levels of activity.
Simple back pain triggers include poor posture, lack of exercise, sleeping on a mattress that doesn't provide enough back support or a trip or fall. Other causes of back problems are much less common.
Nerve root pain is the cause in less that 5% of people. The pain is usually caused when a vertebral disc becomes displaced or bulges out from its normal position, putting pressure on the nerve root. This is called a slipped disc.
Causes
Lifting heavy objects may trigger a nasty twinge in your back but surprisingly most backache is actually caused by doing nothing at all. The biggest factor behind back pain is the fact we're too sedentary. Our creature comforts - the bed, the soft armchair, the car, the office desk and the computer - are the very instruments of our torture. Our backs have become weaker and weaker as we've become more sedentary.
Unfortunately, once you've experienced back pain you may well be prone to more problems. Disc problems at the base of the spine are one of the most common back injuries. Recurrent episodic lower back pain is down to an instability between vertebrae and vertebrae, where the disk has lost its fluid content and can effectively 'wobble' about. Once you've got a degree of instability, unless you do an enormous amount of core muscle strength exercises to ragain it, you'll always be vulnerable.
Understanding Your Back
Pinpointing the site of your back pain could be the key to understanding the cause:
- Lower Back Problems are related to coping with standing upright.
- Upper Back Problems are about how we attempt to cope, or not, with the world around us - the problems that arise from too many hours sitting at a desk, in a car orglued to the PC.
- Middle Back Problems are related to posture.
Treatment
If you suffer from recurrent back pain it's wise to seek advice from an expect. Back pain can be treated in many ways, including physiotherapy, massage, osteopathy and chiropractic treatment. All of these have an input in healping to restore the back to normal but much of it is down to self-help and prevention. We are dealing with the same body - its structure and function remain the same; it's only our approaches to its management that are different.
Prevention
Prevention is better than cure and back pain can be kept at bay with a few simple changes. Don't let yourself be a victim of your surroundings. The invisible enemy - the desk and computer - programme you into a shape and before you know it you're suffering with back pain and need a lot of treatment to try and change it.
Here are a few tips:
- Walk more and try to do a spot of daily exercise. You don't need to join a gym; get off the bus stop early, run up a flight of stairs or balance on one leg while you're cleaning your teeth. Sitting just loses muscle tone.
- Pilates is recommended for strengthening core muscles. Yoga can over-stretch and does not give the same degree of muscle control.
- Get out of 'desk mode'. Every time you get up from sitting, deliberately put your hands behind your back, make your shoulder blades meet at the back so you open the chest and hold for 5 seconds. Effectively you're coming out of 'desk mode' and into an upright posture
- Spend time on shoulder shrugging sessions when you're sitting for long periods of time. This gets blood supply moving and relieves tension at the top of the shoulders.
- Find a mattress that gives support. Don't go for super-hard mattresses but ones with a soft top surface that's firm enough to hold you.
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Relaxation is the key to a heathly life
