Back Pain No More

Every year more than one million people experience some form of back pain, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Some of it is temporary, while some of it is chronic and ongoing. Click Here! For more information.

If you have recurring back pain and doctors have told you that a physical exam reveals nothing wrong physically that points to the cause of your pain, there may be a simple solution that even your doctor has overlooked.

Without getting too technical, your spinal column consists of about 24 to 25 bones that are separated by intervertebral discs and held together by ligaments. The spinal column flexes and bends and the discs are filled with spinal fluid and act as shock absorbers. Nerves that run throughout the body branch out from the spinal chord.

While back pain can occur anywhere along the back most people seem to experience pain in the lower back. This pain may originate from the bones and ligaments, tendons, nerves and muscles that make up the spine.

As a normal part of aging the fluid in the intervertebral disc (one of the bones of the spine) begins to dry up. This can cause improper alignment of the bones of the back, the muscles around the spine and the nerves coming from the bones.

These discs are nourished by blood flowing through the body. When you are not drinking enough water, your blood cannot hydrate the discs properly and they can become dehydated.

The simple solution to some back pain problems is to drink more water. Remember, if your doctor has ruled out any kind of spinal misalignment or muscle strains, try drinking more water. Some people see surprising pain relief in a few days after increasing their water intake.

The next question is: "How much do I drink?" I am a big believer in starting something new slowly. Particularly if this new activity is something that may be discomforting. As to how much water you should drink? Nutritionists say we should drink half our weight in ounces to properly hydrate out bodies.
For example, if you weighed 170 pounds, you need to drink 85 ounces of water a day. Thats more than half a gallon of water a day. That's a lot fo water and most people don't drink that much.

To start, ease into it. Try drinking premeasured water in bottles. This way you can more accurately gauge how much you are drinking.

Most bottles of water are about 16.9 ounces. You would need to drink about 5 bottles of water a day to be properly hydrated. Start out drinking one or two a day and increasing the amount every day or two until you are drink pretty close the the amount described.

If you still have back pain after a week of this increased hydration, you've lost nothing and the increased water will not hurt you. If fact, increased hydration can have a host of other beneficial effects including weight loss, improved skin and and even reduced effects from arthritis. So drink up and enjoy the benefits.

You have chronic low back pain and your doctor has ruled out any major trauma to your back. Your doctor may have even told you the most probable cause of the pain.

If you stand up straight and look down at your feet, can you see you toes without bending forward? Stand sideways and look in the mirror. Does your profile look like a full moon, or even the rounded portion of a half moon?

There's the cause of your back pain, and your doctor may have even told you the cause - too much belly out in front of you.

You know what you need to do - lose the weight. A lot of overweight people have lower back pain. This is because the spine was not designed to carry a heavy load in front of the body on a constant basis.

When you gain excess weight this causes the spine to distort and compress, pinching nerves and muscle. It can also cause your pelvis to tilt forward and can pinch a major nerve fiber that begins in the lower lumbar region and the first few segments of the sacrum -also known as the tail bone
This nerve runs down the leg to the back of the knee and then on down to the feet. This is also why that along with lower back pain some people may also have leg pain.

Losing weight is easily said but harder to do. I can tell you right now from personal experience that just about all the popular weight loss methods work: Weight Watchers works; South Beach Diet works; Protein Power works; Jenny Craig, Nutri-system and even counting calories works.
However, the key is that you have to follow the instructions very closely and you can allow for little deviation.

I can tell you right now that you will lose weight the quickest using the low carbohydrate diets - Protein Power or South Beach diets, but you will be severely limited on what you eat. With Weight Watchers, you can eat just about anything you want as long as you stay within the point system.
To lose weight you are going to have to have a major change in thinking about the way you choose what to you eat. Find a diet you can live with. Think of this not as something temporary, but as long term.

A recent article in U.S. News and World Report says that of the various diet plans Weight Watchers is probably the best for long term success. Under Weight Watchers, if you use the point system, it leads you to making the best food choices by assigning point values to food. The point system actually guides you into making choices that favor fruits and vegetables, very little meat and few pastry sweets or bread. It's not that you can't eat sweets and meat, it's just that the point value is very high.

For example, do you want one piece of chocolate cake or would you rather have a piece of baked fish, steamed vegetables and beans for the same points?

In general, eat a variety of food, low in carbohydrates and red meat, high in fruits, vegetables and leafy greens, and moderate in chicken and fish. Eat the portion sizes recommended for a serving.

Bottom line, lose that weight and a you may just find your back aches will fade away with the pounds.

Many of our greatest discoveries were made by accident. Such is the case when a physiotherapist in the late 1950s was working with a patient with low back pain. The patient's pain extended from his right lower back all the way to his knee. For three weeks he had been treated with ultrasound and heat, but there was no relief.

The accidental discovery of a new treatment method came about when the therapist, Robin McKenzie, of Wellington, New Zealand asked the patient to lie face down on an exam table. One end of the table had been elevated for a previous patient. McKenzie and none of the clinic staff realized one end of the table had been elevated and the patient lay there for about 5 minutes with his back in an arched and over-extended position.

After about 5 minutes McKenzie discovered his patient lying in a position that at the time was considered damaging. When he enquired about his health McKenzie was "astounded" when the patient said he never felt better.

The pain that radiated from his right back down his leg was gone. Furthermore, the pain in his back had moved to the center. Previously he had difficulty standing upright. He could bend forward, but could not bend backward. Now he was able to stand upright and to bend backward minus the severe pain.

This one accidental placement of a patient with severe low back led to the discovery of what came to be called the McKenzie exercises. McKenzie went on to develop a series of gentle stretching exercises aimed at relieving back and neck pain.

Unlike the usual therapy programs that focus on muscle strengthening, McKenzie exercises work at improving the structure and metabolism of soft tissues around the spine and discs. The idea behind these exercises is to shift the pain. This movement is known as the "centralization phenomenon."

When pain moves from one area to another, therapists know that there is an extremely high chance of helping relieve the patient of back pain.
Ideally, these exercises should initially be performed under the supervision of a trained therapist. But many of the basic exercises can be performed with clear instructions and basic precautionary guidelines.

First and foremost, before you start any exercises if you have back pain that is unremitting, see a doctor and get an exam.
A positive reply to any of the following guidelines means you are not a candidate for McKenzie exercises and should see a doctor:
Severe Leg pain below the knee and you feel sensations of weakness, numbness or pins and needles in the foot and toes means you are not a candidate for the exercise and should see a doctor.

The exercises are not for you if your back pain developed after a recent severe accident.

Likewise, if you develop bladder problems after a recent sever accident you should see a doctor.

The McKensie exercises are not for you if you feel generally ill in conjunction with the attack of low back pain.

However, if there are periods throughout the day when you are without lower back pain - even as few as 10 minutes;

If the pain confined to areas above the knee;

If you are generally worse when sitting for prolonged periods or on rising from the sitting position;

If you are generally worse during or just after prolonged bending, stooping, vacuuming, ironing or gardening;

If you are worse after rising in the morning, but soon improve after about 30 minutes or so of movement;

If you are worse when inactive but movement makes you feel better;

If you are better when walking;

If you are better lying face down; you may at first feel worse for a few minutes, but the pain eventually goes away;

And finally, if you have a number of low back pain episodes over a period of months or years.

A yes answer to all these symptoms means you are the perfect candidate for McKenzie exercises.

But if you answered yes to three or fewer symptoms then you probably need more specialized treatment and should consult a doctor or a therapist trained in the McKenzie exercise system.