Inflammation and Back Pain

How To Measure Anterior Pelvic Tilt and Posterior Pelvic Tilt

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

Back Pain Relief Methods

Every day it seems I am introduced to some new form of back pain relief method. Whether that be creams, pills, stretchers, core trainers, and on and on…

I’m always amazed at how these things tend to stay out on the market! If the companies that make these “quick-fixes” have such a massive cash flow to do endless marketing on TV ads, radio, and internet, that MUST mean that people are buying this stuff!

Of course, we have all been “duped” in the past by such marketing claims at one time or another. But, I think by now, you, as a smarter consumer (by virtue you are reading my site!), are hip to the fact that overcoming back pain takes a little more than some “quick-fix” remedy.

What are some of the back pain relief methods that DO work?

In my experience in successfully working with chronic lower back pain sufferers for almost 8 years now, these are some of the methods I have found to CONSISTENTLY produce results:

1. Corrective Exercise and Stretching: This is my primary tool for working with back pain sufferers. It JUST MAKES SENSE. Think about it, most people didn’t develop back pain in static positions, but instead, during MOVEMENT. So, that means that there is a problem with HOW you move, and thus, we need to use movement to assess what is causing the lower back pain, and select the RIGHT exercises and stretches based on your unique muscle imbalance situation.

2. Neuromuscular Massage Therapy: The problem with chronic pain is that once your body gets “into a pattern” of activating muscles in a “pain pattern”, it essentially develops a HABIT. This can create a situation where you may need to re-learn how to use your body. Now, practicing your corrective stretches and exercises will for sure help this, but at times it can take a while. That is where massage therapy comes in. When I do manual therapy, I can get done in 1 hour what would take you 3 weeks to do on your own. (Yeah, I’m THAT good! Lol!) The point is that direct intervention works quickly, particularly the MORE pain the individual has.

3. Upper Cervical Chiropractic: This is a “dirty little secret” in my bag of therapies that not many people know about! To make a long explanation short, the first vertebra under the skull (called the Atlas) has a TREMENDOUS impact on the position of the spine, due to its ability to affect postural reflexes. When this vertebra is out of alignment, it can cause functional scoliosis, imbalances in the pelvis, hips, and as far down as the feet and toes! If there is a problem with this area, it can be VERY challenging to get long term relief from pain. There is ONLY ONE kind of upper cervical chiropractor that I refer to! (For now, I will keep this one a secret, as I will be writing on the topic soon!)

4. Nutritional Therapy: Yes, I can hear your “sigh” as you read this one! One of the MOST overlooked aspects in the back pain equation is that of controlling inflammation through nutrition. Most of the time, over the counter drugs such as ibuprofen, aspirin, etc, and pharmaceutical pain killers are used to “numb” pain, and everyone KNOWS this works, but at the same time “scoff” at nutrition as being a means of anti-inflammatory relief. How do I use this you ask? Well, first of all, remove all factors that cause inflammation such as food allergies, food intolerances, and fix problems with bad digestion. DO NOT underestimate the power of a dysfunctional gut, and its impact on increasing back pain!

Of course, this list is by no means a complete one, as I use many different forms of therapies AS NEEDED on a case by case basis. All cases are different, and may need different interventions. These therapies have provided the MOST CONSISTENT results, and therefore are the ones I INVEST my efforts in.

–Sam Visnic

Back Pain Exercise

What Is A Muscle Imbalance?

Back Stretching Can Be Worthless…

I know this topic may rub many therapists and exercise enthusiasts the wrong way, but hear me out. Over the years of working with hundreds of pain sufferers, I’ve encountered many different packages of muscle imbalances, and have tried tons of methods for correcting them.

When I first started doing muscle imbalance correction, I was taught to stretch the tight muscles, then strengthen the weak muscles. This process has brought me an immense amount of success with many patients. As I mastered designing routines and enjoyed a great level of success, I became quite bored. Since then, I have experimented with all sorts of procedures for correcting imbalances.

What I found is that there are a few interesting patterns that became very obvious when evaluating and working with:

I have noticed that there are 3 types of people when it comes to flexibility: First, those who are “gumby”, meaning that they have a tremendous amount of joint flexibility and what appears to be little muscle tone. These individuals are much more likely to get joint injuries, and have “delayed” muscle activity.

The second type, those who are “bound” meaning that they have a LOT of muscle tonus, and are generally very “tight”. These individuals are much more likely to have muscle strains, or tears, because the muscles are “hyper”. The 3^rd type, sits right in the middle of these 2, and shares characteristics of both.

The interesting thing about these types is that their personalities seem to reflect the amount of flexibility they have in their bodies. The more “gumby” the body, the more flexible they tend to be mentally, easily taking on new concepts and open to new learnings and ideas. On the other end, the “tight” people tend to have more “boundaries”, and are less likely to take on new ideas, and be less “flexible” without a thorough filtering process before they change.

Now, I am not saying that stretching is completely useless, but instead needs to be assigned based on knowledge of the type of back pain sufferer that is seeking relief. As you may have guessed, the “bound” type of people will benefit MUCH more from stretching, and also more relaxation training. The “gumby” people will benefit more from strength and stability training, along with possibly reinforcing or setting up new boundaries in their lifestyles.

–Sam Visnic

Lower Back Pain in Sitting vs. Standing

Does sitting really cause back pain? In my opinion…NO!

Here are two different scenarios:

1. Hurt more standing and get relief upon sitting
2. Hurt more sitting and get relief upon moving around or standing

What are the possible reasons for these situations:

In number one, bad posture and muscle imbalances may be causing the pain. Particularly when there is excessive anterior pelvic tilt, such as when the psoas and/or quadriceps muscles are too tight, pain in the standing posture can be present.

Another issue that can be the cause of pain while standing, especially when there is no pain for a short time, then the pain gradually comes on, is due to ischemia. That is, lack of blood flow to muscles. This is usually due to the type of situation that I just described about anterior pelvic tilt, but there can definitely be biochemical causes of ischemia.

Either way, in this situation, you are likely to say “When I get off my feet, whether that be sitting or laying down, my pain goes away.”

In the number 2 situation, there can also be issues with ischemia, particularly if you have a desk job and sit “hunched” over a computer for 8 hours per day!

Another potential reason is that there may be a structural problem with the spine itself. When a disc bulge is present, sitting can make you feel worse than standing. Why? Because pressures on the spine are significantly higher during sitting than standing.

When I work with patients with disc bulges, I suggest that if possible, they transition their sitting work stations into standing work stations. Yes, it does suck to stand all day, but it’s FAR less painful, and can dramatically speed up the healing process.

The other thing that can cause you to have more pain in the sitting position that relieves upon standing is either spinal disc degeneration, or spinal stenosis. Both of these situations can be related, since they both involve loss of height in the spinal discs, thus increasing pressure on the nerves that exit the spine.

However, just as well, you can have no pain in the seated position, but still have one of these conditions. I have seen patients with other types of spinal derangements, who have no pain sitting, because they sit in such a way that does not increase the pressure on the area that which is dysfunctional!

Bottom line…

Neither is “bad” for you if you have back pain, but either of which CAN make you hurt more depending on what is causing your pain.

–Sam Visnic

Sam Visnic Now A “Medical Expert” On Ehealthforum.com!

Very cool news!

I have just been selected by Ehealthforum.com to be a medical expert on their website. This website allows you to ask questions about all sorts of health problems, and specialists answer the questions.

I am very happy to have this opportunity to serve others, and help back pain sufferers from all other the web! Check it out!

http://www.Ehealthforum.com

–Sam Visnic

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