The problem with bad backs is that we cause them. We lift incorrectly for years and years, become overweight, drink too much and don't exercise. I have a life long back issue (AS) but hey ho, I don't let it rule my live. Like Dr Bob, I am loseing weight, and started my running again. As a Manual Handling Trainer for some years, it is easy to see why people have bad backs ( and I have taught all sorts from hospital staff including ohysios to office staff and everything inbetween). To be honest. of all the excuses I have heard the most common one is "I have allways done it this way". Most back injuries are caused by a cummalitive effect. Too many years of lifting incorrectly, very poor posture, lack of abdominal muscle, drinking, smoking, not enough rest, showing off, lifting beyond your safe limits, the list goes on and on and on. The things that I have done in my past, I am supprised my back is as good as it is (jumping out of planes with heavy containers and parachutes, firemans carries with people I should not have lifted, lifting more than i should have falling off buildings blah, blah blah).
The thing is, we can all prevent back pain if we try. Take running for instance, 3 mile run should take no more than 45 minutes, the fitter you are the quicker, every other day. I bet you could find this every other day, especiall considering there are 24 hrs in a day. Calorie intake (depending who you listen to) between 2000 and 2500 per day, if you exercise, if not reduce the amount, think about portion size too. Then there is our posture, not when you are just at work, how many slouch??????? on the sofa at home in front of the tv wactching rubbish ( i bet there is 45 minutes there you could find
) for 5 hours. Then there is your sleep, how long since you bought a new matress (it is recomened that a matress should be changed every 3 years), what is the quality of your sleep. How much water to you drink per day and not in tea!
For some people a bad back is a life changing condition as some have identified, but if you change the way you look after yourself, how you rest, how you work, what you eat and drink; can and often does have a dramatic change for the good is so many ways and not just for backs, even if that is the reason why we change. I am not trying to teach people to suck eggs, but reading the above posts, too many people are leaving it too late to prevent a back injury and are having to either get medical intervention (worse case scenario surgery) or lose their mobility and retire prematurly from work and in constant pain for the rest of thier lives. A little food for thought here is that you might already have a Disc injury and not know a thing about it until it hit the nerve endings in the surrounding tissues (discs have no nerves). So instead of paying for consultation with a chiro, physio or getting referals and drugs from the doctors, we can all do something about it ourselves and it don't cost. If you do go and see a physio.chiro and you do not get any change in your condition within six weeks then you are just paying their bills (was told this by a very good physio and friend). You should see improvement within a six week period, it may be small, but it will be a good small change.
I really do sympathise with anyone with a bad back, touch wood mine dosent affect me that much. Look after your backs it is the only one you have, just ask the people with chronic back problems would they change the way they did things before the back problem started. I think we all know the answer to that one.
