Greetings
Happy Holidays! Now is the time for shovelling, pre and post holiday cleaning, cooking, and entertaining! This busy time of the year made us consider this month's topic... and we decided to focus on the low back. In this edition of the Peak Physical Therapy Newsletter, we discuss the importance of the low back, why you may feel pain, and give you some helpful tips on how to prevent injury and care for your low back.
Featured Article: When Good Backs Go Bad
Why are our backs so important? Our back helps keep us upright, allows us to move in many directions, houses our nerves, and supports our body weight. Despite its many duties, we only think about our backs when we are in pain, and most of us will experience a "bad back" at some point in our lives.
Back pain can be experienced at any age but most commonly it occurs during teen-age years (mostly due to posture issues), the 20-40’s (due to disc issues) and onward (due to arthritic changes to the discs and joints). Scoliosis (curving in the spine) can also cause back pain at any age.
Injuries to the lower back (during shoveling, playing sports or doing heavy lifting) can also cause pain, however this type of pain is the easiest to avoid! Here are a few ways to protect your back from these sorts of injuries:
-Your Peak physiotherapist can help reduce your lower back pain by using manual therapy.
-When lifting always use your legs, not your back.
-Sit with your back straight, shoulders back and chin slightly tucked so you maintain a tall, straight posture.
-You may want to use a back support to help you maintain good posture while you are sitting, especially for long periods of time.
-Support your back while sleeping by putting a pillow between your knees.
-Wear supportive foot-wear.
-Change positions every half hour or so while sitting, driving or standing.
-Reach and maintain a healthy weight.
-Talk to your Peak Physiotherapist about strengthening your core!
-Be sure to speak with your Peak Physical Therapy team to find out how to “warm up” your back, and find out ways to strengthen before any new or straining activities.
-Continuing to go about your normal daily activities. This helps relieve pain and get you back to normal quicker than resting in bed.
If you have ever had back pain, unfortunately chances are you will feel it again. This is another reason to make sure your back is healthy and strong! Talk to the Peak Physical Therapy team about starting a regular exercise program that combines cardio with strengthening.
Any of the professional physiotherapists at Peak Physical Therapy can show you the best exercises to help keep you moving after a lower back injury and speed up your recovery. They can also suggest a program that will reduce the risk of hurting yourself again. Call and make an appointment; the staff will be happy to answer any questions you may have about whether physiotherapy is right for you.
We've Added NEW ARTICLES
We have recently added over 80 new articles to our patient resource library including the following patient guides. Just click on the links to view them: