“My back went out” or “I threw my back out” are odd expressions but the pain is anything but odd.
That sharp, stabbing back pain can bring you to your knees. Perhaps the only thing worse than the throbbing pain is not knowing when it might happen. It can strike at any time whether you’re doing physical activity like gardening or playing golf or simply bending over to feed the cat.
You might wonder how you can treat “having your back go out” until you can get medical treatment and how you can prevent it.
But first, what’s happening when your back “goes out”?
What’s happened one or more of the vertebrae has shifted position. If you can imagine the length of the spine and then imagine 1 or more of the vertebrae shifting out of its normal position and maybe even being stuck, then you have an inkling of what causes the pain.
Imagine your vertebrae like a stuck drawer in a dresser. You may jiggle it but it doesn’t come lose and fit back into its regular slot. In a way, that’s what’s happened with your back.
You can protect your back by maintaining spinal flexibility and strengthening your core muscles.
What Do When Your Back “Goes Out”
From back spasms to disc injury, there’s a lot going on when you have back pain. Your chiropractor can help reduce your back pain but what if happens late at night or you’re not able to get in to see your doctor right away?
Here’s how you can treat your back pain until you can get to the doctor.
Lie on the floor – Chances are, you’ll be horizontal immediately, but lying on a hard surface like the floor will be more helpful than the comfortable mattress. Turn over on your stomach if you can and let your arms rest naturally at your sides. You can use a small towel to cushion your face if necessary. Breathe deeply and try to let muscles relax.
Use Ice – Ice packs will help bring down any swelling.
Take anti-inflammatories – Aleve and other such other the counter drugs can also reduce any inflammation.
How to Protect Your Back
A healthy back is far less likely to “go out” on you and if you don’t have pre-existing back injuries, you’re in luck because these tips will help you keep it healthy. If you do have pre-existing back injuries, these can still help.
1- Maintain a healthy weight – Extra weight, especially around your middle, can contribute to back pain because your body isn’t built for it.
2- Get Regular Exercise – Not only does this help maintain healthy weight but it also helps keep your back flexible.
Yoga is great for spinal health but even simple stretches will help. Be sure to stretch before gardening, golf, or other physical activity. Toe touches, knee raises, and side stretches are all helpful. Just take it slow if and don’t blast through them.
3- See the chiropractor – Your chiropractor “unsticks” your vertebrae and get it back into its proper “slot” in your back giving you a lot of relief. For the best results, follow your customized treatment plan.
4- Get a massage – Massage can also help relieve back pain by soothing the muscles that surround the vertebrae. In fact, regular massage combined with chiropractic treatments can be very helpful.
If you have a history of chronic back pain, and your back “goes out” frequently, call us. We’re in Doylestown, Pa. We’ll do an x-ray and see what’s going on in there and create a treatment plan based on your needs. You don’t have to live in pain.
Avid golfers know the game is having a moment of bad press when it comes to back pain and spinal injuries.
But why?
Golfers have long dealt with spinal problems, rotated cuff injuries, and a host of other hazards. Is there really a greater risk these days or is it simply a way to grab headlines?
Turns out, there’s a growing concern that the game has changed putting more golfers as risk.
Here’s why.
Instead of those long, languid drives of golf greats like Jack Nicklaus, the new emphasis on strength and downswings can lead to an increased number of back injuries. A recent study in Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine, found that today’s “x-factor” swing contributes to additional strain on the spine.
Executed regularly by players like Tiger Woods, this “power” drive uses minimal hip movement and instead focuses on a big rotation in the shoulders. According to the study, the doctors say it twists the lumbar spine in a way that puts additional force on the spinal disc.
It’s not only the twisting that concerns the authors of this study from the Barrow Neurological Institute; they say the powerful downswing also causes concern because it puts stress on the spinal disc.
If you practice this swing, you may have felt it. The minimal hip turn that results in the powerful thwack of the ball also “crunches” your lumbar spine.
To achieve the necessary strength, many professional golfers take up weight training and even dabble in military style training.
The evidence is mounting that younger and younger professionals are having disc problems. For example, Tiger Woods has had more back surgeries you can count and some are blaming the shorter, tighter, harder swing.
Now you’re probably thinking, “I’m a weekend golfer. I’m not devoting my life to the sport, is this really applicable to me?”
Fair question. However, gauge your playing (and your body.) Do you have back pain after golfing? Have you ever experienced shooting pain on the golf course?
If your answer these questions is yes, it doesn’t really matter what your swing is like (at least, not as it compares to being pain-free.)
What matters is feeling better so you can play this Spring and Summer.
How to Protect Your Back While Golfing
There are a few ways you protect your back and continue to play golf for many years to come.
Warm up before and after your game. Do some light stretches to loosen up your muscles including rotations. It’s tough on your body to go from cold muscles straight into exercise.
Practice regular conditioning exercises in the gym. Maintaining flexibility is an important element of preventing injury. Here’s a list of the 10 best exercises for golfers.
Get regular chiropractic care. As you know, golf is one-sided. The repetitive nature of the game puts pressure on your spine, yes. It can also cause tendons and discs to move out of place which can be painful.Regular chiropractic care can help prevent back pain and spinal injuries by keeping your body in good working order.
Remember the old song about the ankle bone being connected to the leg bone?
That’s a perfect example of how the body is connected. One bone leads to another, the nervous system carries blood and oxygen through the body and if you’re in pain, a back adjustment may help. The reason is that a back adjustment, also called spinal manipulation, helps your entire body move better.
Let’s face it, years of sitting and standing take their toll on your body. Habits like bad posture, carrying heavy items, and repetitive actions like spending hours at the computer can cause parts of your body to throb in pain. Sound familiar?
If you visit a chiropractor, they’ll check your posture and leg length. After all, it’s not uncommon to find that your legs are slightly uneven which means your hips are also uneven. This unevenness is slight. It’s not visible to the naked eye, but it does affect your posture, bone structure, and can lead to pain. A back adjustment can help re-align your body and alleviate pain.
According to Harvard Medical School, “Chiropractic is a system of therapy focused on the structure of the body, particularly the spine. Chiropractors manipulate the body’s alignment to relieve pain and improve function and to help the body heal itself.”
Aah…natural pain relief and improved range of movement. Doesn’t that sound like a good thing? Chiropractors Aren’t Just For Back Pain
Imagine you spend hours hunched over a computer. At the end of the day, you probably feel tightness and stiffness in your shoulders, upper back, and neck. You might even feel some throbbing pain in your dominant hand and wrist. These are classic symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome that yes, can be helped by a back adjustment. Why? Because adjusting your spine re-aligns your entire body. Then, if you have a good ergonomic setup, you’ll feel better.
With chiropractic care, you can also find natural pain relief from sciatica, scoliosis, and even things like knee and ankle pain.
How Back Adjustments Work
Some people think of chiropractors as “bone crackers” and feel anxious about succumbing to such a technique. In reality, there are multiple ways you can experience a back adjustment. For example, your chiropractor can adjust the table (and you.) They can also use handheld devices designed for back adjustments.
If you feel anxious or concerned, just let us know and we’ll talk you through it. If needed we’ll use a different technique. About that “bone cracking” concept, it’s actually not cracking at all but rather the sound of nitrogen gas escaping between your joints when pressure is put on them for an adjustment. It’s safe. Plus, many people feel immediate relief.
Another benefit of including back adjustments in your healthcare plan is that it’s a natural pain relief technique. Chiropractic care helps your body heal itself. There are no pills, injections, or surgery required. If you’re in Doylestown, Pa and you’d like to speak with a chiropractor about the possibility of a back adjustment and how it can relieve your pain, please call us for a free consultation.
It’s a proactive approach to your health by eating healthy food, getting regular exercise and ideally, seeing your chiropractor on a regular basis to keep you functioning at your optimal capacity.
Does that surprise you?
A wellness chiropractor can boost your immune system, reduce stress, and generally help you feel your best all the times. That may sound like a tall order but research shows that being proactive about your health can help you stay healthy rather than “fixing” it when your sick or in pain.
Wellness chiropractic care can also improve your nervous system which helps your body operate at its best.
How Your Nervous System Affects Your Health
Many people don’t think much about their nervous system. Yet, those 46 miles of nerves that run through the human body carry thousands of messages all day. From walking down the hall without thinking about it, to tasting the freshly ground black pepper on your pasta, the nervous system runs the whole show.
People who’ve lost their sense of smell or have paralyzed limbs have lost the nerve function in that part of their bodies.
The nervous system is like a giant internal “superhighway.” However, if there are blocks or traffic jams like a pinched nerve or disc, then you can feel pain.
The accumulation of everyday stress also disrupts your nerve function which may show up as high blood pressure, physical pain, or a low immune system.
Yet, a wellness chiropractor puts everything back in place with a few simple adjustments.
For many, that means you feel better, stand straighter, and even have internal improvements like enhanced blood flow which makes everything in your body work better.
That’s the benefit of a regular wellness visit. Because chiropractic care treats the cause, not the symptom.
How Chiropractic Care Affects Your Nervous System
It’s perfectly normal to experience partial dislocations in your body. This what which is what chiropractors call “subluxations.” These subluxations occur from severe impacts like a fall or from habits like bad posture or an accumulation of stress. They can be very painful, especially when they’re ignored for a long time.
In fact, virtually any back, neck, or shoulder pain is because of a spinal misalignment or “subluxation.”
However, chiropractic adjustments re-align your spinal column and help everything find its proper place again. That means, your nervous system can flow freely again, carrying its messages throughout your body helping you feel your best.
The difference between “wellness” care and crises care is the difference between taking care of yourself on a regular basis and only seeking healthcare when you’re sick or are experiencing pain.
If you’re in the Doylestown, Pa area, Dr. Jeff McQuaite is a successful wellness chiropractor. He works with people of all ages from infants to the elderly to help them feel their best.
One common cause of neck pain is as simple as what Dr. Jeff calls “text neck.” If that’s the case, the solution is simple, be aware of how much time you spend looking down at your phone or tablet and try to keep it eye level instead.
But there are plenty of other causes for neck pain too.
Things like whiplash, a slipped disc, or a pinched nerve are painful and relatively common. In rare instances, neck pain can indicate serious diseases like lymphoma.
In a minute, I’ll share more about these but first, let’s think about the structure of your neck so it makes sense WHY it’s so easy to strain it.
Vertebrae are the Building Blocks in Your Neck
As Medicine.net says, “ There are seven vertebrae that are the bony building blocks of the spine in the neck (the cervical vertebrae) that surround the spinal cord and canal. Between these vertebrae are discs, and nearby pass the nerves of the neck. Within the neck, structures include the skin, neck muscles, arteries, veins, lymph nodes, thyroid gland, parathyroid glands, esophagus, larynx, and trachea. Diseases or conditions that affect any of these tissues of the neck can lead to neck pain.”
In other words, your neck is strong, yet delicate.
There’s a lot going on with it.
And, your head is heavy.
In fact, did you know that your head weighs an average of 8 pounds? It’s true. It’s no wonder that looking down at a device for extended periods will create neck strain!
Beyond that though, let’s look at some of the other common causes of neck pain.
These are 4 Common Reasons for Neck Pain
Poor Posture – Slumping causes your head to jut forward which puts pressure on your cervical spine (the vertebrae in the neck.) Do this for hours on end, like when you hunch over a computer, and you can see why your neck would hurt.
Poor posture can also create hyperextension because your vertebrae strain too far (for too long) and it creates pain in your upper back.
Spine-health reminds us that “Good posture, as it relates to the neck, is commonly considered when the ears are positioned directly above the shoulders with the chest open and shoulders back. In this neutral position, also called normal head posture, stress on the neck is minimized because the head’s weight is naturally balanced on the cervical spine.”
This is why hours hunched over a computer screen leaves your shoulders and neck tight.
Whiplash – If you’ve been in a car accident, you may have experienced whiplash. The impact of hitting another car (or being hit) is jarring to the body, even if it’s a fender bender.
Whiplash is what we call a sudden impact of your head moving back and forth.
You may feel fine right away, but a few days later, you may feel achy. If you’ve been in an accident, it’s a good idea to have chiropractic treatment as soon as you can to alleviate any potential. It often doesn’t happen right away but a few days after the fact, you may feel achy. If you’ve been in an accident, it’s a good idea to have chiropractic treatment as soon as you can to alleviate any potential problems.
Pinched Nerve Neck Pain – You probably know the expression, “You’re getting on my nerves.” In a way, this comes with some truth to it. While people can’t get on your nerves – not literally – ligaments can and that’s a problem. So can bones and tendons.
With 95 million nerve cells and miles of nerve “traffic” cruising around your body it’s not surprising that ligaments, tendons, or even bones can shift position. This happens when you sit for long periods, when you’re sleeping or if there’s an accident like you fall down a flight of steps. When these get “off track” they put pressure on a nerve and cause you pain.
Degenerative Disc Disease – You’re probably aware that you have discs in your back.
As the doctors at Cedar-Sinai tells us “The discs are like shock absorbers between the bones of the spine and are designed to help the back remain flexible while resisting terrific forces in many different planes of motion.
Each disc has two parts:
1- A firm, tough outer layer, called the anulus fibrosus. The outer portion of this layer contains nerves. If the disc tears in this area, it can become quite painful.
2- A soft, jellylike core, the nucleus pulposus.
This part of the disc contains proteins that can cause the tissues they touch to become swollen and tender. If these proteins leak out to the nerves of the outer layer of the disc, they can cause a great deal of pain.”
These are just four common causes for neck pain. Each of them can be helped with massage therapy and regular chiropractic treatments. Are you ready to book yours? We’re located in Doylestown, on Logan Street across from Central Bucks East High School.
That sharp, stabbing back pain can bring you to your knees. Perhaps the only thing worse than the throbbing pain is not knowing when it might happen. It can strike at any time whether you’re doing physical activity like gardening or playing golf or simply bending over to feed the cat.
