|
BACK PAIN AND REMEDIES FOR ITS TREATMENT
Of the two thousand or more conditions known to cause bad back pain, by far the most common incapacitating problems are the disruption and protrusion of an inter vertebral disc. Disruption or \"scrambling\" of the centre of an inter vertebral disc usually occurs gradually and often presents with increasing and long lasting pain after heavy lifting or bending forward. Left to itself without aggravation this pain will settle after a week or two. It recurs if the victim chooses to bend forward or heavy lift again.
Pain, pins and needles and numbness radiating down one or both legs is a sign that the soft core of an inter vertebral disc is bulging or has protruded rearwards compressing either a nerve root or the spinal cord. Both disc disruption and protrusion will resolve if left to themselves. There is a process of natural healing that takes place over a period of years. This is no consolation to the sufferer of back pain who accepts the offer of a Laminectomy or a Spinal Fusion as a means of immediate relief.
Men or women in white collar occupations are much more likely to be patient with a bad back than men or women who engage in daily physical labour. The availability of CAT scans and MRI imaging vastly improves the detection of inter vertebral disc disorders.
Home Remedies
There are two big \"nevers\" in the management of low back pain. Firstly, never lift anything heavier than seven pounds. Secondly, never bend forward. Remember that sitting down is bending forward so avoid sitting without adequate lumbar support. Stools and chairs with seats at less than 90 degrees to the horizontal take significant compressive forces away from the lower back. Where finances permit, the owner of a bad back should drive a car with good seating, power steering and an automatic gearbox. Nothing is much better than twenty laps of an Olympic pool when it comes to relieving the acute or chronic pain of lumbar disc disorders.
*14/131/5*
GENERAL HEALTH
|
