Healthy Habits for Your Back Pain

The Care and Relief of Back Pain

As part of internship at +Bauer Physical Therapy , Michelle Hoffmann, Physical Therapy Student at the Doctoral Program at Chapman University Program in Physical Therapy, presents: Caring for Your Back. 

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Please read on and watch the video below.

If you have experienced back pain then you know how it can affect your lifestyle and ability to engage in work and daily activity. Back pain can knock you down for days or weeks. You may have debilitating pain where you are confined to a bed, or the daily nagging ache that just wears on you. There may be localized pain, or numbness and tingling that refers to the legs. 

Back pain presents itself differently based on the structures involved. There are many sources of pain that can be referred from the spine and surrounding tissue. This is why careful assessment and diagnosis is required to identify the culprit of your complaints.  


Back Pain is not Created, or Treated, Equally.

There are many treatments purported to relieve back pain once and for all. This just is not true. The relief of back pain requires looking at all possible causes and developing an individualized treatment program to address the potential stressors. 

Back pain can be the result of accumulated stressors that act on the spinal structures over time. These are a few causes of repetitive stress. 

• Postural habits
• Lifting technique
• Repetitive movements
• Repetitive compression(sitting, bouncing)
• Poor mechanics: golf, tennis
• Poor preparation: lack of fitness

Repetitive stress must be avoided to lessen the build up of forces acting on the culprit structures so that healing can take place. In the long-term, this includes a host of educational opportunities that are specific to each individual.

Once a back patient, always a back patient. There must be commitment and development of daily habits that promote a healthy back. These habits include:

• Exercise specific to trunk muscles and improved fitness.
• Attention to posture at work and home.
• Mechanics of lifting and bending(squat).
• Sitting and Chair selection while relaxing or at work.
• Relaxation techniques to manage stress and pain.
• Fatigue avoidance strategies in static and dynamic activity.

There is no one way to treat back pain. In many cases it did not take a day or a week for your pain to manifest itself. Likewise, it will not take a day, a week, or even a month to restore your body and relieve your back pain.

Managing Back Pain Begins with Education

If you have questions regarding your back pain please leave a comment below and sign up for the Healthy Back & Healthy Habits.

Practicing for over 25 years, +Randy Bauer has treated a variety of surgical and non-surgical cases involving the spine(neck and back). From the 'stay-at-home-mom', the weekend warrior, the high school athlete, business person and entrepreneur, and high-level athlete, all have been treated with the same passion and expertise, addressing each with the desire to Get Better.

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Start Lean Fitness

Start Lean Fitness

Start = The intention to begin. Come into being.

Lean = Trim the excess, make do with what You have for the journey. The quality of being suitable to fulfill a particular role or task to rely for support or inspiration. Thin in a Healthy way.

Fitness = The condition of being physically sound and healthy, especially as the result of exercise and proper nutrition.

The first step to any change process is the decision to “Start-Up” in the first place. A lawn mower does not start until we pull the cord. That is the first and most important step, start your engine. Once this is accomplished you are on your way, as long as there is fuel in the tank, a general plan or direction, an appreciation to learn from yourself and others, and a trust in the path that You have chosen. The return on investment  is your own Well-Being.

Consider Start Lean Fitness the act of taking yourself from where you are now to where you would like to be. Consider that being able to lean on someone for help and support will help in overcoming obstacles. Now ask your self a few questions:

• “What do I want to become?”
• “What do I want to be able to do, that I am having difficulty, or unable to do now?”
• Who am I beginning to rely upon now, more and more, due to my present physical state, or disability?”
• What is that image that I want to keep in my head of that person I want to be?”

Complete the Form Below and Commit Yourself to Change

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Get a Quickie with Exercise

There is much to be said about "Getting a Quickie" when it comes to exercise. Getting a quick dose of exercise can have significant benefits to your CardioRespiratory Fitness (CRF).

• Increasing CRF at high to moderate levels must be performed for at least 10 minutes.
• Increasing CRF can reduce mortality and morbidity.

High Intensity Interval Training provides a short, effective training approach for "Getting a Quickie Dose of Exercise".  Check out the great infographic on HIIT.

Read More:   Getting a Quickie with Exercise

High Intensity Interval Training

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