Why does my low back pain keep coming back?
Hi everyone, I hope that you have been out enjoying this amazing fall weather we have been having and keeping active! I wanted to share a couple of common questions that tend to pop up in my interactions with patients. Usually these questions are along the lines of “what can I do to prevent this from happening again?” or “why does my low back pain keep coming back?” And while the answers to these questions can get quite complex and can vary greatly from patient to patient, I find that there are a few simple tips that could help you get started in the right direction.
1) Get Moving!
As human beings we are meant to move, however due to our modern society/jobs the vast majority of the population have been forced into sitting at a desk for long periods of their day. Obviously this is not the ideal situation! To combat this try getting up from your workstation once every half hour. Go to the water cooler, do a set of body weight squats or standing twists/bends, the point being just get up and get moving! These ‘micro breaks’ will interrupt the process of your muscles, tendons/ligaments and other soft tissues conforming to the poor static posture of sitting at your desk and prevent postural strains from developing into an injury.
2) Listen to your body!
This may seem like an overly simple tip; however injuries caused by ‘overdoing it’ are quite common. When you are doing a repetitive task whether it be yard work, running or a game of golf and you feel a more severe/sharp, localized pain it’s best to not push through that pain too much and you should either stop or reduce the activity as you may be beginning to injure yourself. More mild to moderate general aches and pains are common after doing a new activity that you haven’t done in a while and most often will tend to resolve on their own with some light exercise, rest and stretching. However, if your symptoms don’t start to improve after a few days or an injury has occurred what is your next step? This brings me to my next tip..
3) Get evaluated!
If your pain remains severe and you are unsure what may be causing your pain, it’s time to get in to see one of us at Active Living quickly to get to it properly evaluated/treated before it can become more of a problem. Receiving treatment for an injury before it becomes a chronic condition will reduce the chances of recurrence and save you ton of pain and money down the road!
If you ever have any questions regarding any conditions you may have always feel free to reach out and contact me for a consultation! I hope you all have a great fall season, can get outside and keep active!
