Hi All,
You know how it is....grocery shopping and you pick up 20lb grocery bags. Or, if you are going to Home Depot or Lowes this weekend and you pick up bushes and pots of plants...those darn things are heavy also. And lets not forget picking up baby. I suspect you realize that a 2 year old toddler can way anywhere up to 25lbs or so. Don't forget all the daily bending, reaching and stretching for all the ordinary day-to-day things that we do (reaching for glasses in a cupboard, putting on shoes, wearing shoes, standing in line...) And all of this 'stuff' is hard on your back.
And therein lies the topic of todays' blog entry. Back pain...and how to minimize it (and possibly even reduce it). Ack...my back hurts just thinking about it.
So...click on this link (from the New York Times) which got me thinking about the whole back pain topic. Click on this graphic to see how to lift things easily and without causing back pain.
From WebMD comes this list of the 'Top Causes of Chronic Low Back Pain' - and there is a section on prevention at the end of the article. Note that degenerative disks and herniated discs are big, big culprits of lower back pain.
Straight from the NIAMSD (also known as the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases) comes this article entitled 'Fast Facts: An Easy-to-Read Series of Publications for the Public'. Topics in the article include, 'Who Gets Back Pain?', 'What Are the Causes of Back Pain?', 'Can Back Pain Be Prevented?', 'When Should I See a Doctor For Pain?', 'How is Back Pain Diagnosed?', 'What is the Difference Between Acute and Chronic Pain?', 'How is Back Pain Treated?' and 'What Kind of Research is Being Done?'
From Prevention.com comes an article entitled, 'Habits that Cause Back Pain'. Warning - if you do any of these activities, you might want to stop immediately so you don't get back pain. And, if you already have back pain, you might want to stop so that you don't make it worse!!!
To get a very, very comprehensive view of back pain, click on this link from the National Institute of Health website called MedlinePlus.org. On the right side of the page is a link entitled, 'Back Pain - When You See the Doctor.' This might be the most important link in the blog entry.
Finally, click on this link to find a whole bunch of 'Exercises for Lower Back Pain'.
But...before jumping in and starting some exercises, you might want to consult with your physician so you can learn more about the condition that you are suffering from.
For those of you who like to read a bit about a condition before you see the doctor, click on this link. It is a subject search (for back pain) for books that the Farmingdale Public Library owns in its circulation collection. In other words, this link will take you to the card catalog and you'll find a list of books on back pain that you can take out.
Hope the links are what you are looking for - because back problems can be devastating - and you deserve to live life back pain free!
Regards,
Stu
