5 Pieces of Advice for Lower Back Pain from our Chiropractors at Zen Care Physical Medicine

Lower back pain is pain that occurs in the waist and can be spread down to the buttocks and legs. This is a very common health problem with more than 3 million new cases reported per year in the United States.

Despite being common and easily ignored, the pain often leads to severe consequences, making it difficult for patients to move, or even to stand upright.

There are many causes for lower back pain; ranging from a simple strain injury to more serious health issues such as herniated disc, kidney infection, pinched nerve, or even pregnancy.

Below is some advice from our Irvine chiropractors to help our patients avoid lower back pain.

Top 5 advice for your back pain

#1. Pay close attention to your posture

Posture is the way we hold our body while standing, sitting, or doing tasks like lifting, bending, pulling, or reaching. If our postures are good, the bones of the spine — the vertebrae — are correctly aligned. Poor posture, therefore, means we are out of alignment causing strain on our bones and joints in an unnatural fashion.

Certain activities such as slumping make it harder for our back to support our weight. When lifting heavy objects, for example, it is important to be mindful of our posture. It is recommended that we do not bend over from the waist to lift, but instead bend and straighten from the knees while keeping our backs straight to provide leverage and lift.

#2. Wear low heels instead of high heels

This one might be hard to compromise for some. Surprisingly, however, it is less likely that our back pain was due to long hours of sitting behind our desks or that extra-long drive. That throbbing pain in our back could have very well been caused by that stylish pretty pair of pumps that we were standing in!

High heels can indeed make a woman look good, but they are also believed to create a more unstable posture and increase pressure on our lower spine. If possible, switch the high heels with low heel ones, or wear heels in moderation to avoid suffering from lower back pain.

#3. Stop smoking

Smoking is a very bad habit indeed, and now it has been associated with spine issues. How? Smoking increases our risk for osteoporosis of the spine and other bones throughout the body. Osteoporosis can in turn lead to compression fractures of the spine. In recent research, it was said that smokers are more likely to have lower back pain compared with nonsmokers.

#4. Control your weight

Being overweight is not only bad for your cardiovascular health but also horrible for your back. Obese people face more musculoskeletal issues than those with a more normal weight.

Our bodies are designed to carry a certain amount of weight, and as we grow bigger than we should, we are putting excess pressure on our bones, including our spine, which in turn leads to chronic back pain.

Without treatment, the spine can age faster, become more misaligned, lead to more pain, and even decline in motor functions. A reasonable low-carb and low-sugar diet combined with daily exercises is best to keep the weight off, and in the process, promote a healthier spine.

#5. Find the right treatment

It is said that passive treatments like using ice or heat may help us feel good, but the effect is usually only temporary. That’s because they only work on the surface, and fail to promote a healthy spine. Most research indicates that exercise and postural correction is a much more effective solutions for lower back pain relief. Other research points to surgery as the only option. So which solution is right for you?

While this question is something that your chiropractor can answer, we feel that based on decades of published research, the answer is very simple.

A chiropractor specializing in Chiropractic BioPhysics (CBP) such as Zen Care Physical Medicine in Irvine CA has had tremendous success in treating lower back pain, all without habit-forming medication or invasive surgery.

How? Through a series of therapeutic and highly effective treatment sessions, the chiropractors at Zen Care Physical Medicine can pinpoint the misalignment and provide treatment in the form of traction and adjustments to fix the problem for good.