The Four Dont's
Back pain can, by and large, be prevented if the patient:
- Do not bend forward
Bend your knees and squat, keeping your back straight, to pick up something from the floor.
- Do not sleep in a sagging bed
The bed need not necessarily be hard; mattresses should be firm and pillows can be used.
- Do not lift anything that is heavy.
- Do not travel in a vehicle that would jolt the spine.
Keeping Your Back Working Properly
What is important is to observe changes early, to relieve tension, and to mobilise stiffness. More accurately, the goal is to try and keep the muscles functional, the spinal column flexible, and the discs elastic.
- Maintain the functioning ability of your back muscles by using them often.
- Ensure good muscle circulation by alternately tensing/relaxing them.
- Strengthen your back muscles by engaging in a carefully considered exercise programme.
- Keep your spinal column flexible through the use of mobilising exercises.
- Try to learn to relax through the help of yoga/gymnastics.
- Try to improve conditions at work. Often even a minor change such as using a different chair, a footstool, or support for the back can bring perceptible relief.
- Engage in sports/activity that does not stress the level of accomplishment.
- Consider yourself first in setting the rhythm of your life.
- Try whenever possible to stimulate your breathing; make sure that you get plenty of fresh air during the day and before sleeping.
- Stimulate circulation by walking briskly.
- Control your weight; each additional pound is a burden on your discs.
- Above all, remember that back pains often have an emotional basis. Just as psychological burdens can be redistributed, tolerance can be learned. Physical and emotional reserves are not inexhaustible.
It is reassuring to know that back pain need not be permanent. An interval in one's life marred by pain can be followed by a periods that are completely pain-free.
Finally, please realise that good health is not merely the absence of disease. An important factor in man's well being consists in his ability to learn to live with his particular physical propensities and limitations.
Dr. S. P. Chakrabarty MBBS,
PhD (Orth) TGMA, Tver, Russia
