During this period of financial and economic uncertainty, symptoms such as lower back pain can be quite common. The reason for this is that when we are under a certain amount of stress we tend to hold our posture in a slouched or abnormal position. The constant worry and the mere uncertainty of not knowing what the future may bring manifests itself in the body, and particularly the lower back.
Holding the posture in an abnormal position can cause muscle imbalance, forward pelvic tilt, and the sacroiliac joint (where the spine meets the pelvic area ) can become torsioned (twisted ) which can lead to problems like sciatica, piriformis syndrome, and general lower back dysfunction. Having lower back pain can be very debilitating and the pain can be extremely draining if not treated in the correct manner.
Treating this back pain can be done in a number of ways. You can lie on the flat of your back doing some gentle lower back mobilisations every 2 hours for 20 minutes. However, lying on your back for an extended length of time can also aggravate the back pain, so it is important to not lie, stand, or walk for too long. Each back problem is different, so it is paramount to get a correct diagnosis of what exactly is going on with your back by attending your local GP or therapist.
Any pain or numbness going down any one or both of the legs needs immediate diagnostic attention, so going to your GP is essential. However, if the pain is localised and not referred, the likelihood of it being a soft tissue problem is greater. When the problem is of a soft tissue nature, the first thing that happens is the muscle goes into spasm which affects the nerves, which gives you that acute sharp pain. So getting a treatment to ease out the muscles can be very effective for pain relief. A therapist who can realign your spine, by using stretching techniques such as PNF and muscle energy techniques, can also really help with managing the pain. It will also get to the root of the problem.
Back pain can be a result of an unhealthy lifestyle both mentally and physically. One of the functions of your abdominal (stomach ) muscles is to stabilise your lower back, so logically if you have a weak stomach you’re going to have a weak back. So abdominal exercises are essential in the rehab for healing your own back. Having a weak back can cause all sorts of lower back dysfunctions. People wonder why all of a sudden they get this lower back pain when the truth is the pain had been coming a long time and just ‘caved’ from all the years of inactivity and bad posture, lack of exercise, weakness, muscle imbalance, etc. When you’re stressed emotionally you hold your body abnormally which can also trigger the nerve impingement or damage.
Treatment can be varied. Getting a consultation from your local physical therapist Emer Dunne, who has 10 years of experience, can be a great start to treating your back.
From there Emer will have a look at your overall lifestyle to see how/ why this back pain is happening, and she will then give you the guidance to go and change your lifestyle to prevent it from recurring in the future.
For a treatment contact Emer Dunne on (086 ) 8745731.
