By becoming educated on the risk factors that cause back injuries, a majority of the general population can prevent agonizing and potentially disabling pain during their lifetimes. Back injuries can occur gradually over time as a result of trauma caused by repetitive activity or can result from a single traumatic event (Back). The signs and symptoms of a back injury may include pain when trying to assume a normal posture, decreased mobility, and pain when standing from a seated position (Back). Warning signs that should cause concern may include radiating pain down a leg, numbness or loss of sensation in a leg, weakness or loss of muscular strength in a leg, constant pain in the back or leg that is not affected by motion, pain in the upper beck or chest, or increased pain at night when lying down (Low 5). Ebony author Alex Poinsett describes how terrible back pain can be. He wrote:
To hear backache sufferers tell it, nothing is more excruciating than the pain which shoots from the lower back, through the sciatic nerve (largest in the body) and down one or both legs. They can neither sit, stand nor lie down comfortably, and movement of any kind is sometimes an ordeal. (154)
Statistics show that the majority of people suffer from back injuries during their lifetimes. According to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive, back pain will occur in 80 percent of people during their lifetimes (Woodward 58). Fifteen percent of the adult population in the United States has had persistent low-back pain during a point in their lives (Poinsett 154). HR Magazine author Nancy Hatch Woodward points out “lower back pain is the No. 2 reason Americans visit their doctors” (57). One in every five people in the general population is aff...
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...h back pain, however, this treatment must be prescribed by a medical doctor (Low 5).
By becoming educated on the risk factors that cause back injuries, a majority of the general population can prevent agonizing and potentially disabling pain during their lifetimes.
Works Cited
"Back Disorders and Injuries." Occupational Safety & Health Administration. OSHA Technical Manual. Web. 11 Sep. 2011.
Cole, M. H. and Grimshaw, Paul Norman. "Low Back Pain and Lifting: A Review of Epidemiology and Aetiology." IOS Press 21 (2003): 173-184.
"Low Back Pain: Treatment and Prevention." Harvard Men’s Health Watch 11 (2006): 4-6.
Mangiamele, Deborah. "Keep Your Back Healthy at Work." OfficePro 71 (2011): 36-37.
Poinsett, Alex. "How to Deal With 10 Serious Health Problems." Ebony 41 (1986): 144-149.
Woodward, Nancy Hatch. "Easing Back Pain." HRMagazine 53 (2008): 56-60.
Acute episodes of pain after a sprain, strain or falls, are the usual reasons, but other people present in clinic seeking help for ongoing discomfort for more chronic conditions. Approximately 50% of those with chronic pain ahave musculoskeletal problems, with small proportion developing chronic pain syndromes.The healthcare, economic and personal costs of managing pain are major.
Jessie Mathers, a physical therapist from Duke University Medical Center, stated that “ I see people every day with back pain, physical therapy can be an invaluable tool in reducing back pain and getting people back to the activities they love”(Mathers 00:00:18-25). Physical therapy can be useful when trying to reduce back pain. Physical therapists are likely to teach you how to do an exercise program so we can do it on our own at home and continue to work toward the desired fitness goals and prevent future problems. “The body’s core is made up of abdominal muscles, hip, pelvic, and spine muscles that help support your spine. Having a strong core can help prevent back pain and alleviate back pain”(Mathers 00:00:41-52). Doing specific exercises that the physical therapist assigns can help strengthen the body’s core to relief and reduce back pain. Injured athletes can also perform physical therapy to help their injured muscles gradually gain strength. Aquatic physical therapy is a helpful sports physical therapy form for injured athletes as it allows them to perform physical movements using the injured muscles without exerting them to a great extent. Aquatic sports physical therapy uses the buoyancy of water to make movements of injured muscles easier and painless. Healthy athletes can perform sports physical therapy to increase core strength and muscle strength in different parts of the body. Other exercises include: stretching to reduce stress on joints, core stability exercises to strengthen the muscles of your trunk and hips, lifting weights to strengthen muscles, walking, doing water aerobics, and other forms of
The word “chiropractor” has two word origins, the Greek words cheir and praxis; meanwhile, cheir means “hand” and praxis means “practice.” Also, most of the work that chiropractors do is done by hand (Pike para. 5). In 2002, going to a chiropractor was found to be the most commonly used program for therapy. Seventy-four percent, about 4 million, of people that had back pain went to a chiropractor to get treated. Among that 74 percent of people, 66 percent of them stated that they got “a great benefit” (Pike para. 9). Many chiropractors work full time but 1 out of 3 chiropractors work part time. Chiropractors work whenever their patients need them, even on w...
My mother took me to see a back specialist named, Dr. Johnson at the Knoxville Orthopedic Center in Knoxville, TN who explained this pain I was having generated a major problem. It never came to my realization how serious this could be, or what it could do to my basketball career.
Paanalahti, K., Holm, L. W., Nordin, M., Asker, M., Lyander, J., & Skillgate, E. (2014). Adverse events after manual therapy among patients seeking care for neck and/or back pain: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 1577. doi:10.1186/1471-2474-15-77
Pain Relief – Causes of acute and/or chronic back pain may include weak stomach and/or back muscles, poor posture, spinal misalignment, and the force of compression caused by gravity. Inversion therapy is used like traction to relieve pressure on the discs and elongate the spine, which reduces the pressure on nerve roots, discs, and ligaments. All that relates to lessening back and neck pain. Sometimes those tense muscles create painful muscle spasms, which are also temporarily relieved by inversion therapy.
& Anderson, B, 2013). The integration of core stabilization exercises into injury prevention programs, mainly more for lower extremity and back, is demonstrating decreased injury rates. There has been substantial evidence demonstrating core muscle recruitment alterations in low back pain patients compared with healthy controls.
Physical activity is the key to success in the treatment of chronic low back pain (CLBP), and exercise itself has the most permanent and long lasting effects (Abenhaim et al. 2000). Although the variety of conservative, complementary, and surgical treatments available, such as medication, thermotherapies, ergonomic and self-care advices, and patient education, proven to be beneficial for CLBP, at the present time the main aim is to provide effective interventions as well as reduce the health care costs.
Persistent nonspecific low back pain (PNSLBP) is one of the most common chronic, recurrent, and disabling conditions that have been known to be resistant to treatment. In Korea, wet-cupping therapy is a common practice used for various pain conditions; this study was conducted to determine the effectiveness and safety of wet-cupping treatment for PNSLBP. Thirty-two participants were recruited, both males and females ranging in age from 20-60, and randomly assigned into two groups (21 in the wet-cupping group and 11 in the waiting-list group). Participants assigned to the treatment group received wet-cupping therapy 3 times a week for 2 weeks, focusing on trigger points in the lower back that had already been pre-identified as painful points
Chiropractic therapy is a health care profession that focuses on non-invasive treatment of mainly the spine and the manipulation of the body’s structure. Manipulation of the spine is the main use of chiropractic therapy, this is completed by adjusting certain areas for realignment purposes. This will relieve pain, improve function and supports the body’s natural ability to heal itself. [1] Lower back pain is the most common form of pain across adults, as it affects up to 80% at some point in their life. [2] Chiropractic therapy is an effect treatment on the lower back as it alleviates pain and improves function. [3] This treatment is performed in two ways, spinal manipulation: High-Velocity,
In the United States low back pain is the fifth most common reason that patients seek medical advice (Hoy, Brooks & Buchbinder, 2010). Approximately one-quarter of US adults reported having low back pain lasting at least 1 whole day in the preceding 3 months (Srinivas, Deyo, & Berger ,2012 ). Age is a more common risk factor for the development of low back pain with an overall increase up to age 65 years (Waterman, Belmont & Schoenfeld,2012). Some studies have shown that the highest incidence occurs in the third decade (Hoy, Brooks & Buchbinder, 2010). Shiri et al., found that increased body mass index was associated with an increase risk of acute low back pain. Low educational status has been shown to be associated with an increased occurrence of low back pain ( Hoy, Brooks & Buchbinder, 2010). Additionally, the occurrence of acute low back pain has been shown to be increased in manual workers and occupations that involve manual labor, bending, and twisting (Hoy, Brooks & Buchbinder, 2010 ). There are few studies that have investigated whether there are an association between back pain and mortality. A systemic review by Hoy, Brooks & Buchbinder (2010) found that low back pain was more prevalent in women than
During the course of their lives 70 – 80% of individuals will experience low back pain (LBP) (Deyo and Weinstein, 2001; Godwin and Goodwin, 2000; van Tulder, 2001); furthermore, over 80% of such patients report recurrent episodes (Waddel, 1998). It is estimated that 80 – 90% of patients will have recovered within 6 weeks, regardless of treatment (Bronfort et al, 1996; Jackson, 2001; van Tulder et al, 1997). However, 5 – 15% will develop chronic low back pain (CLBP; 12 weeks) (Bigos et al, 2001; Quittan, 2002; Tortensen et al, 1998): this is more difficult to treat (Cottingham and Maitland, 1997; Frost et al, 2000; Hidebrandt et al, 1997) and treatment has variable results (Carpenter and Nelson, 1999; Rainville et al, 1997) Current evidence suggests that exercise and intensive multidisciplinary treatment
Spinal manipulation and mobilization are commonly used treatment modalities for back pain, particularly by physical therapists, osteopaths, and chiropractors.6 Chiropractors are commonly viewed as practitioners who primarily or exclusively treat musculoskeletal conditions.7 Even chiropractors with extensive clinical research training have traditionally focused on the spine and its related disorders. Approximately 83% of the chief complaints to chiropractors were related to musculoskeletal complaints during the year 2003 and the frequency of musculoskeletal conditions diagnosed by primary care allopathic physicians was approximately 10%.7 Non-musculoskeletal problems represent only 2-6% of the complaints seen in chiropractic
Hasenbring, M.I., Rusu, A.C., & Turk, D.C. (2012). From Acute to Chronic Back Pain: risk factors, mechanisms, and clinical implications: Oxford: OUP Oxford.
Back pain and back injuries often occur due to putting to much strain on our backs and neglecting to stretch them. The best back stretches involve a deep lengthening of the spinal muscles and ligaments. These type of stretches create more flexibility in our back and improve our chances of preventing injury when we exercise them.