3 Lower Back Pain Fighting Strategies
Lower back pain is now affecting about 90 % of the population with at least one “episode”, and the occurrence of chronic back pain is rising. Of the many strategies to helping heal this health malady, four have really stood the test of time. Here they are.
- Stretching: Stretches for lower back pain are very effective at improving blood flow, loosening tight muscles, and promoting overall muscle and postural balance. It is highly suggested that you only stretch the muscles that are tight for your unique body, while avoiding the muscles that are already weakened or need exercises.
- Rest: Getting off your feet when you have back pain is effective, but only short term. If you are not getting relief within 36-48 hours of being off your feet, then experience shows that back pain may get worse as a result of lack of movement and blood flow. It may be more effective to have “active rest” in which light movements and stretches are alternated with complete relaxation of the involved muscles, which usually means lying on your back with pillows under your lower back.
- Ice or Heat: The age old debate is whether to use ice or heat. Ice should be used for acute injuries or immediate inflammation, such as a back strain that just occurred. Once back pain becomes chronic, heat may be more effective because it improves blood flow to muscles that have tightened due to the condition.
–Sam Visnic
Welcome back!
Massage Therapy…Relax Your Way To Relief!
One of the back pain relief methods that I subscribe to most is definitely massage therapy. Massage has a very nice list of benefits to your back, including:
1. Improving circulation throughout your body.
Massage can reduce ishemia (lack of blow flow), which improves the endurance of your muscles, and thus their job of stabilizing your lower back. Move blood flow and endurance equals less pain!
2. Reducing or eliminating adhesions and scar tissue.
Both adhesions and scar tissue in muscles cause decreased blood flow and decreases strength. Massage therapy is an effective method for reducing these that may be found in your back muscles.
3. Improving muscle imbalances.
Massage therapy, when applied to your unique muscle balance, is very effective. When you relax your “tight” muscles, such as the psoas (hip flexor) and quadriceps (front of thigh) can reduce anterior pelvic tilt.
Bottom line…..Massage Therapy = Less back pain!
–Sam Visnic
How often should you do back exercises?
When considering how often you should perform exercises when you have back pain, there are a number of things to consider:
1. Should you even be doing exercises at all?? How much pain are you in?
When evaluating pain, I use a visual analog scale (VAS). For example, on a 1 to 10, with 1 being “not much pain at all, and a 10 being “worst pain I have ever felt”. Exercises are generally appropriate when you are a 6 or lower. Anything above, rest, relaxation, and even massage therapy is acceptable.
2. What kind of exercise program are we talking about?
Exercises based on your unique muscle imbalances are usually targeted at your weaknesses, as in my DVD program “End Your Back Pain Now!”, and rarely involve the actual muscles that hurt, those can be done more frequently. Doing exercises that directly target painful exercises are not a good idea unless you are being supervised by an expert.
3. What intensity level are the exercises being performed at? (Probably the MOST important factor!!)
I see a range of back pain sufferers in my clinic, from average joe and jane, to weekend warriors, to elite athletes. It may surprise you to know that when high level athletes see me for back pain, I give them deadlifts, pullups, and other full body movements to get rid of their pain. Why? They are usually much more coordinated that the average person, and are used to higher levels of physical exertion. Using this approach helps them get better faster.
The more intense the exercises are, the less often they should be performed. For example, if an advanced athlete needs to deadlift, I usually only allow them to do so 1x every 5-6 days. However, if the weight is very light, I have been known to allow 3x per week, but only for a short period of time.
The lower the intensity of the exercise, such as a Swiss ball reverse back extension (a butt exercise), may be done daily, if no significant soreness results from doing it, and pain levels are monitored.
Pretty much the same goes for light pelvic tilting, and other exercises that target postural muscle fibers. However, as mentioned, caution must be taken to ensure that fatiguing the targeted muscle group does not “destabilize” the lower back or sacro-iliac joints, and cause pain.
How NOT to get up when you have a disc bulge!
I was working with a new back pain patient today…
And I always watch how they move around before I start doing any “formal” assessments. The reason why I do this is because most of these daily operations are unconscious, meaning the back pain sufferer isn’t aware that they are doing them.
So, anyway, as he was laying on the floor, showing me some exercises that his physical therapists (yes, “s”, meaning quite a few) have given him, (which did I mention, FAILED to give him relief), I noticed that when I asked him to stand up, he tried to perform essentially a full sit up to the seated position.
So what?
Well, in this case, this patient has had spinal surgery, and a disc fusion, which means that flexion of the spine is a big “no-no”. That and due to the fact he was in pain, his abdominal muscles were not activating very well. Getting up from a lying position in this manner should DEFINITELY be avoided.
I taught him, as I recommend to ALL back pain sufferers, to turn on their side, and push themselves up to a seated position in order to get up.
Your back will thank you a TON for this! I promise!
–Sam Visnic
Relief From Back Pain Is Just a Thought Away…
One of the most commonly overlooked aspects in lower back pain therapies include that of the mind-body connection. Now, it is becoming much more widely accepted as a therapeutic medium, however, how to implement it still seems to be a challenge for most back pain sufferers. Here are a few tips to make it work for you.
1. Accept your pain: The first thing you have to be aware of is HOW you FEEL about your back pain. If you are angry at your pain, that simply feeds it, due to the fact you are turning your “psychology against itself”. Pain is simply a signal from the unconscious part of your mind, that part of you that beats your heart, pumps blood through your veins, breathes for you, and does all the other wonderful things that keep you alive. That signal is telling you to pay attention to it. Something is not right in that area, or it is sending a message to you and you are not listening. So, thank that part of you for bringing your awareness to what needs to be addressed.
2. Listen to what your pain is telling you: So, if your body is sending a message to you, its probably a good idea to listen to it. Now, this may sound a little hokey to you, but who cares, as long as it works, right? Go inside your mind and talk to your pain. Ask the pain, “Ok back pain, what are you trying to tell me? What do I need to do in order for you to stop sending me pain messages?” You may be very surprised to hear the answer. Many times, in fact MOST of the time, its something we don’t want to hear! Perhaps, “Stop being afraid to stand up to your husband!,” or “Take more time to rest, and stop working so much!,” or even “Quit this horrible job, and do what you really want to do in life!” These are just a few of the types of answers that are frequently expressed by back pain sufferers when they do this little exercise.
3. TAKE ACTION: Now, its time to make an agreement with that part of your unconscious mind that is giving you that cool little reminder. Ask it that if you do what it is telling you, would it stop sending the pain messages. If it agrees, then you know what to do. Take action on it, as long as it makes sense to do so. If you feel that what it says is not in your best interests, may be illegal, or whatever, then ask it to provide a more positive action, something that would help you grow as an individual.
The true intention of this exercise is to get connected with the messages that your body sends you. Many back pain sufferers don’t feel that pain is a good thing, or may even feel victimized as a result of it. This is NOT helpful, again, as it turns our own internal resources into a poison against itself. It’s time to create more powerful meanings to our experiences in life, ones that will provide more health, wellness, enrichment, and personal power in our lives. Reframing back pain is just the beginning.
–Sam Visnic
What Can Tony Robbins Teach You About Back Pain?
Wow. How can you not like this guy?! I have been a fan of Tony Robbins for a number of years now. He is a great performance coach, and optimist. Why doesn’t the news interview him during “tough times” more often? Isn’t this what we need? Not hearing more about pessimistic views on everything!
Anyway, so what can you learn about back pain from this Tony Robbins video?
1. Don’t “feed” your mind about things that tell you that you won’t get better!
2. Decide back pain isn’t going to beat you!
3. Conquer your “fear” about being in pain forever.
4. Model people who have had physical distress, and overcame it. Find out how they did it.
5. Tough times are the true test of your emotional fitness. Back pain is no different. Use your brain to keep focused on getting better, not on “why you are in pain”, or wallowing around in it.
Question: Pelvic Pain
We need to MOVE more!
Human beings are made to move. Our ancestors did a lot of walking and traveling. They didn’t sit at a desk all day long. Most of them were workers, farmers, hunters, or gatherers. They didn’t have the types of imbalances that we have today. They had to lift things. Their bodies were strong and conditioned. Today, unfortunately, most people are what I like to call “marshmallows”. They don’t perform any more physical activity than is required of them. Childhood obesity is at the highest percentage in history, mostly due to increased amount of hours in front of the television or video games. Adults aren’t much better. Most adults have low energy due to increased stress over finances, work, and crappy nutrition! It’s no wonder they don’t feel like working out. I frequently find during my evaluations of back pain sufferers that they are extremely weak in the muscles that support and move the spine. If you never work out, then one day try to pick up something heavy, you can easily injure your back! The goal of working out, or what I like to refer to as “training” is simply that; training the body to be ready and capable to perform daily tasks with a minimum amount of stress and effort on the body. Exercise must be specific, however. Going to the local 24 Hour Fitness and sitting on your butt on the leg extension machine isn’t going to do it! The goal is to perform “functional” exercise. That means squats, lunges, twisting exercises, and all other movements that you must perform on a daily basis in good form. Spending 20-45 minutes on the treadmill may not be what you need to get through your day. You must also be able to select the right exercises and stretches for your imbalances. I see many people go to the gym and are literally training themselves further into their imbalances. It’s sad, many of those people are going to end up in their medical doctor’s office or on an orthopedic surgeon’s operating table!
The Solution:
Select the right exercises and stretches to fit your muscle imbalance profile. Repetitions, sets, how much weight to use; these are all important factors that influence the outcome of your program. If you are constantly lifting up objects that weigh 20 lbs., then you need to be performing strength training exercises that teach you how to lift weights that are at least that heavy and even more. Leg extensions and leg curls are not going to help you lift a 30 pound child up when they are crying! When designing programs, I choose the correct protocol for the individual and their specific work or sports environment needs.
–Sam Visnic
What is a Disc Bulge/Herniation?
On The Topic Of Disc Bulges…
Here are a few of my top suggestions/facts when it comes to disc bulges and back pain:
- Disc herniations can be caused by a single trauma, as well as chronic postural dysfunctions. Movement and postural dysfunctions can only be corrected by focusing on them.
- Inadequate body hydration levels must be addressed in spinal dysfunction, especially spinal discs!
- Respiratory mechanics as well as abdominal wall function is imperative to spinal function. Loss of function creates inability of diaphragm attachments to decompress L-4/L-5, the most commonly herniated disc.
- Rebuilding spinal discs takes nutritional support and good health. Your body makes new tissues out of what you put in your mouth. An inadequate diet and unhealthy lifestyle practices contribute to slow healing.
- Disc derangements do not HAVE to be operated on. There are specific movement techniques that can assist you in stabilizing your spine and reducing disc bulges.
- Healing from a disc bulge takes commitment and time. After a disc has bulged, it can take as much as 18 months to fully heal the torn annular fibers within the disc. This does NOT mean that it will take that long to get out of pain, but instead a reminder to take care of your spine over the long run in order to prevent future injury.
Sam Visnic–
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"Having someone like Sam to refer my patients to who is as comprehensive, brilliant and caring as he is makes my job so much easier!! I feel assured that my patients are in good hands and are going to get the results they so desperately want. I highly recommend Sam to anyone who is looking to resolve their back pain easily and effectively!”
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“I've used Sam on more than one occasion to help me with back pain issues. As a full time web designer I often spent too many hours sitting behind the pc which led to chronic back pain. I started working with Sam a few years ago and his knowledge and insight helped me to alleviate my back pain issues and even improve my posture. Whenever I start to have back pain issues I just re-implement the tools and techniques he showed to me and in no time my back pain goes away. He really is the back pain specialist!”
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Author, "Manage Your Mind, Master Your Life" -
“In my experience it is rare to find a health practitioner who consistently cures the underlying issues, and successfully drives to total wellness. Sam has become our trusted family 'health support system' because he is one of those rare people. He has successfully helped my mother in law, sister, wife, daughter, and myself cure what western medicine has been unable to. We highly recommend Sam ... plus he's a cool guy !”
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HealthSource Chiropractic and Progressive Rehab