Are you or someone you are living with suffering from chronic back pain?

Posted 4/6/22

Maybe you are putting it down to age, stress, being too sedentary or having no time to exercise. You might have been told by friends or even healthcare providers that there is nothing to do, but rest …

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Are you or someone you are living with suffering from chronic back pain?

Posted

Maybe you are putting it down to age, stress, being too sedentary or having no time to exercise. You might have been told by friends or even healthcare providers that there is nothing to do, but rest and take medication. If this is you read on……..

Back pain will affect about 80% of people at some point during their lives and it is the leading cause of disability worldwide. It can take people out of work and away from the activities they enjoy. Obviously, missing work can have a financial impact, but it can also affect your image of self-worth. Missing out on activities like hiking, running, biking, skiing, golfing or just hanging out playing with kids or grandkids can rob you of your “joie de vivre”! Don’t let back pain put you on the sidelines where you just WATCH others live without participating yourself. Being able to stand in line at a grocery store, sit for longer than 20 minutes at a restaurant with friends, or going for a walk with your husband/wife (or even your dog) are things that you SHOULD be able to do - and being over 40 is no excuse!

It is easy to elect to put off getting help as long as you can “struggle on” at 70%, but this is not the best way to take care of your back or yourself in general. Let’s take a minute to think about body mechanics or alignment. You bring your car in to have its tires changed and alignment checked. If you did not, and tire alignment were not good, you might notice a vibration, the car pulling to one side and eventually you will see uneven wear on the tires.

Your body is no different! If your alignment is off, you may notice you are stronger on one side of your body than the other, it may be easier to balance on one leg than the other, yoga poses may be easier on one side than the other and over time you may start to notice aches in your joints or your muscles may feel overworked. It is easier to fix these problems BEFORE the wear and tear really sets in.

Living in the information era, everyone has information (or mis-information) about how to treat your own back pain. However, not all information is created equal! For instance, many people advocate for having stronger “six-pack” abs in order to cure back pain – this is sadly not entirely correct. Your “six-pack” abs, despite looking great and being fantastic movers of your trunk are not very good stabilizers of your spine – this is a task that the deeper muscles of your abdominal wall are far better suited to.

Our, clinic has been helping people with back pain like yours from the start. We are a holistic clinic that is more about the quality vs quantity.  We only have capacity to treat a certain number of people in any given day, but there are still many more people in our community, like you, who need help. In order to help even more people, we wrote a Back Pain Report with 6 easy tips for how to make small changes to your daily routines that can have a dramatic effect on your back pain – go to www.aranciapt.com to claim your FREE copy now.  If your back pain is more complex, or if you have additional questions, we have a CONQUER BACK PAIN ONLINE COURSE now available to anyone who suffers from chronic back pain Contact info@aranciapt.com to learn more.

About the Author: Dr. Jessica L. Papa is one of New England’s leading physical therapists and founder of Arancia Physical Therapy, in RI, a clinic specializing in helping adults over age forty live an active and mobile lifestyle well into their 60s, 70s, 80s, and beyond.

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