You’re Getting Older - As you age, your cartilage -- the spongy material that protects the ends of your bones -- begins to dry out and stiffen. Your body also makes less synovial fluid, the stuff that acts like oil to keep your joints moving smoothly. The result: Your joints may not move as freely as they used to. It sounds a little crazy, but the best thing you can do is keep on trucking. Synovial fluid requires movement to keep your joints loose.
With so many advancements in the treatment of lower back pain, heat therapy is often overlooked. But heat therapy can provide meaningful relief in a short amount of time—and best of all it is easy to do. Here is how to use heat therapy to help you find relief from your lower back pain: How Much Heat Do I Need? - Before we talk about how to apply heat therapy to your lower back, let’s quickly look at the best temperature for heat therapy. Ideally, any type of heat therapy should be at a warm temperature—as too high of a heat can burn your skin. In contrast, a warm temperature will allow the heat to penetrate down into your lower back muscles without damaging your skin.
If you’re like most people with chronic pain, you struggle with either falling asleep or staying asleep. This is no small matter, as a lack of sleep can make your chronic pain worse—which may lead to a frustrating cycle of sleeplessness and intensifying pain. Here are 5 little-known tips that may help you break this cycle:
What Is a Herniated Disk? - The bones of your spine, called vertebrae, are separated by rubbery disks. If one of them tears, you have a "ruptured" disk. When the jelly-like substance inside leaks and pushes on a nearby nerve, it's called a "herniated" disk.
What Causes It? - It's often hard to know exactly what makes a disk break open. It could be that you lifted something heavy and strained your back. A simple awkward turn or twist could do it, or even a fall or sudden hit to the body. Sometimes it's just aging. As you get older, your disks start to lose water, which means they don't flex as well and may tear more easily.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it is considering adding coverage of acupuncture for chronic low back pain. The notice states that HHS is focusing on providing more evidence-based non-drug treatment options for chronic pain in response to what agency calls “the opioid crisis” in the U.S. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality published a systematic review of noninvasive, nonpharmacological treatment for chronic pain in June 2018. The review included an assessment of several nonpharmacological interventions, including exercise, acupuncture, spinal manipulation, and multidisciplinary rehabilitation for CLBP.
Your Other Core - Are you glad you can stand or sit upright? Thank your spine, a stack of little bones called vertebrae along the center of your back, from your seat to your neck. It supports your head, shoulders, and upper body. Your spine plays another key role: The vertebrae make a tunnel for your spinal cord. That's the set of nerves that connect your brain to most of your body.
People who received intradiscal platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections to treat low back pain found a significant improvement in both pain and function, according to a study led by Dr. Gregory Lutz, Medical Director of the Regenerative SportsCare Institute, and Physiatrist-in-Chief Emeritus, Hospital for Special Surgery. Dr. Lutz followed 49 patients for two years and presented his results at the Interventional Orthopedics Foundation’s Annual Conference.
Sit Hunched - It goes against the natural alignment of your spine. Slumping forward also puts more pressure on your lower back. Gently stretch and move your head and neck up and down and to the right and left every half-hour. To ease any pain or spasm, apply an ice pack or heating pad to the area. Be sure to cover the skin with a light towel or cloth first. See your doctor if the pain won't go away.
Whether it's a herniated disc, spinal stenosis, or strained muscles, it can take some time to diagnose and treat the causes of back pain. And all the while, you're trying to navigate health insurance, work and family life, and everyday stressors—all while dealing with your back pain. This blog is written to highlight a few fairly simple things you can do to help achieve some level of comfort and pain relief. Here we have some simple tips to help keep your spine as healthy as possible:...
Start the Day with Gentle Activity - Slow, gentle activity in the morning can help wake up tired muscles and stiff joints. Just take it easy on your spine, says Raj Rao, MD, professor of Orthopedic Surgery and Neurosurgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Deep, relaxed breathing when you wake up may also be helpful. But certain moves aren't recommended if you have back pain -- ask your health care provider what's best for you.
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