This is my first attempt at blogging. Feedback would be nice so I know whether or not this is useful or a waste of my time. Here goes...
BENDING: When bending forward to wash dishes, brush your teeth, cook, stand in line at the bank or grocery store, or to do just about anything, always bend your knees slightly and it will relieve the pressure on your lower back. If there's a cabinet (like at the sink) or cook top, lean against that with your bent knees and it will relieve the pain even more. If you have to bend to pick up something off the floor, hold onto something to enable you to get back up. Also, with your knees slightly bent, rock back and forth as though you are rocking a baby. This constant movement allows the blood in your veins to be pumped, in stages, through the one way valves in all veins back towards your heart
R.I.C.E. it: Remember to always use a cold pack covered with a thin towel on your lower back for pain relief. [never place a cold pack directly on the skin because it will cause freezer burn.
Rest [self explanatory],
Ice [self explanatory],
Compress [use a back support, corset, body shaper suit, or weight lifter's belt],
Elevate [fold an old towel in half lengthwise and roll it up into about a 4" diameter roll and place it across your lower back while lying in bed only with your legs straight out--not bent]. You can also put the ice pack on top of the rolled up towel. Most people can usually handle the pressure from this rolled up towel for 5 to 10 minutes. At that point, remove the towel and remain on the ice pack for the remainder of the 30 minutes.
PAIN: If you're in pain, ICE will usually double or triple the pain for up to seven minutes (Hunting reaction), then it rapidly diminishes. 30 minutes cold is optimum time for the lower back, then you must stay down for at least one hour to allow your body to warm back up to room temperature before you start any activity. So, go to the restroom before icing and plan on staying put for an hour and a half.
CAR: Another very common way to injure or aggravate an already injured lower back is by getting into and out of a car one leg at a time. The best way to get in and out of a car is to back in and sit down, then pivot and bring both legs in at the same time. Reverse the procedure when getting out. One of my patient's told me that if you have cloth seats, cover with a plastic trash bag to aid in pivoting until your back is better.
STANDING: When standing from a sitting position, always move close to the front of the chair then put your feet underneath you and instead of thinking about standing up, think about pushing your feet through the floor. With this different thought process you will be using your quadriceps femoris muscles which are much stronger than your lower back thus allowing your lower back to heal or not get hurt in the first place.
CHIROPRACTIC: Of course, if you need it, there is no substitute for a precise chiropractic re-adjustment of a misaligned spinal vertebra. I personally am a very specific chiropractic adjustor, especially when it comes to the lower back and the neck. A precise adjustment is worth it's weight in gold.
So how do you know if the chiropractor is being specific when he or she is adjusting you? Good question!
First, they should evaluate your posture... and show you what they find wrong. Look in a mirror. Your ears should be level and equidistant from the mirror. Since your ears are attached to your head and not your neck, if one ear is higher and one is closer to the mirror, they your head is sitting crooked on your neck.
Second, look at your shoulders, if one is higher it may indicate that you have a spinal curvature or muscle spasm usually in the thoracic spine or rib cage.
Third, look at your hips/pelvis. If one is higher, that could indicate a misalignment of the pelvis, sacroiliac joint, or lumbar spine.
Fourth, follow the collarbones to the center of the sternum/breast bone and you will find a notch called the episternal notch. Put your finger in this notch and notice whether or not the center of your chin, nose, and between your eyes all line up with this notch...they should! If not, there are again misalignments. The line from the episternal notch also should extend straingt downward between your nipples to your belly button. After a precise re-adjustment of your spine, the chiropractor should have the confidence to have you stand in front of the mirror again for you to see if they did anything... you should see changes... maybe you won't be perfectly straight but you should at least see improvement.
TREATMENT: How many treatments you need and how frequently you need them depends on many factors such as: How old is the accident? Have you had any previous treatment? What level is your pain on a scale of 1 to 10 - one being the least and 10 being the worst? Do you need or want therapy such as electrical muscle stim, laser, massage, ultrasound, whole body vibration, sauna? For example, if your pain level is 7 on a scale of 10 and you are 45 years old and have never seen a chiropractor before, then you may need as little as one but as many as 12 re-adjustments. If you have muscle spasms and/or a lot of inflammation (swelling), then as many as 10 laser treatments may be needed. A general rule of thumb is that pain between 1-3.3 is mild, 3.4-6.6 is moderate, and 6.7-10 is severe. Mild symptoms usually need one to 6 treatments, moderate 6 to 12, and severe 12 to 24. Some with therapy and some without.
Looks like I got carried away. Enough for today. I'll add more later.
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