Back Habit

Commonly people think that runners are people who are at the peak of fitness – active and agile, with maybe the occasional bout of knee pain, but never anything too serious because these people are healthy. Well thorough study has shown that according to the medical community that there are a variety of issues that can affect the body of a runner, and not only his or her knees, as many would suspect. As it turns out that runners battles in severe lower back pain.

Many runners experience back pain, especially lower back pain, because of the repetitive stress and impact running puts on the body for a significant duration of time. If all of the bones in the vertebrae and the other vertebral articulations in the spine are functioning well, then your back has no problems. It’s when these vertebrae are aggravated that causes the pain. So thinking that they are not affected about this kind of pain, well you think wrong.

If you already have lower back pain, running may exacerbate it. Lower back pain is common among new runners or runners who have taken some time off and come back too strong and too quickly. So as you can see if you are thinking of being an avid runner, you should know the negative possibilities and also what kind of pains are you entering and thinking if you can handle it.

In knowing the symptoms whether you have it well it’s easy of course you’ll feel pain in the back. And in muscle-related pain occurs on either side of the lower part of your spine. You’ll know you have it if you feel spasms or feel pain on one side of your spine or the other, especially when you twist or move. Bone-related pain feels like general ache throughout the entire area of your lower back. If you’re over 65, chances are that you’re experiencing arthritic back pain, which is when your bones rub together because you’ve lost the cushion between them.

And when treating it, there are stretches and exercises you can do to relieve the discomfort you’re feeling. First, rolling your back in a foamy area like a soft mattress perhaps. This is an idea is to loosen up the muscles that are aching and tight. And it’s like a deep-tissue massage you can do every single day. Rolling out your hamstrings is also a good idea because if you have tight hamstrings, inward curve and in your lumbar spine. By loosening up your hamstrings, it can take a lot of the pressure off your lower back.

The explanation for why runners suffer episodes of low back pain may seem straightforward – the impact of foot to pavement could have a jarring effect on the spine, and over a long enough period, lead to regular episodes of back pain. Well, the muscles that protect our spines are not the same muscles that give us those Instagram-worthy, picture-perfect six-pack abs. The muscles deep below those superficial ones do the bulk of the bodyguard work in protecting the spine. 

Research has found that many runners who suffer from chronic low back pain may also have weaker deep-core muscles. This phenomenon can cause a domino effect in tapping into the superficial muscles to engage in a technically-perfect run is still possible, but doing so can put pressure on the spine to compensate. And the result would be - Lower Back Pain. 

So to prevent it, you should develop a solid base of running first and giving your body time to adapt to the stress running places on your back will decrease your risk of back injury. Strength training is key when it comes to preventing lower back pain. And strong muscles, strong core muscles, and a strong kinetic chain will take load of an achy back. Having strong core muscles is especially important because these muscles are located on both sides of your spine and work to support it. 

Instead – and runners, this includes you, too – everyone should focus on working the deep core muscles. This isn't in order to look better, but to safeguard the body against injury. The best way to do this is to engage in static exercise that holds the body in place while firing the core muscles. Plank exercises do this well, but even they need to be "built up to" for some, especially first-time exercisers. So better focus on what’s better for the health rather being good outside but not on the inside health.

The Evoke device demonstrated statistically better back and leg pain relief compared to traditional devices. So as you can see there is hope on the horizon for chronic back pain sufferers with a new groundbreaking device likely to be on the market within two years.The latest trial results of the Evoke spinal cord stimulation device were presented to an international conference in Sydney this week.The technology differs from traditional devices in the way it constantly measures the response of nerves to stimulation and adjusts treatment in real time."It's really a personalized method for spinal cord stimulation. 

The team and company who came up with this device were interested in recording the activity of nerves, which is the hardest to detect because the electrodes are a very long distance from the spinal cord in a completely dynamic environment. 

They were inspired to build this product with the hope that it could measure tiny voltages produced by the nerve fibers immediately after the stimulus occurred. But there is a lot of artifact that remains from stimulation. In fact, sometimes the artifact drowns out your capacity to record.

But along building this device there were challenges that took years of pain-staking lab work, including careful modeling, understanding the physics and building multiple iterations of amplifiers. The company has 12 issued patents and 65 patent families pending and does not share any royalties and/or revenues with another entity. Typically, the patient can test-drive the therapy for roughly one week prior to receiving the implant.

An anesthesia pain specialist or a neurosurgeon implants Evoke in an outpatient procedure that is normally completed in less than one hour. The implant’s lead is first introduced into the epidural space with a small needle, similar to an epidural anesthesia technique. The lead is then tunneled to a pocket in the buttock or abdomen, where the implant is secured. After implanting, a technician programs Evoke to the patient’s preferred level and then instructs the patient on how to use a wireless remote control.  During the first three months, patients often adjust settings slightly, either up or down, for better pain relief.

And the results within this experiment or testing oft his device from were just phenomenal. The improvement in sleep, the improvement in disability index, all the things that actually matter to the patients. And also by the tiny electrode is placed about 5 millimeters to 6 millimeters from the spinal cord in a procedure that is similar to the way epidurals are given during childbirth for pain relief.The leads are designed for life and the rechargeable battery lasts about 10 years.

One of the trial participant that was Deb Morales received the Evoke device three years ago and stated that she can't imagine her life without it. "I was always very concerned that it wouldn't work so the results have been beyond anything I could've imagined," she said.Before taking part in the trial, she tried everything to treat the intense nerve pain in her left leg, including spending $100 a month on painkillers."I'm off all the medicine now. I don't take anything. Which is incredible," she said. 

This device gives us class leading results and sets a benchmark. It also opens exciting new avenues of research to push the frontier of scientific understanding. So what are you waiting for invest your money and time with this high-tech and well proven device that surely helps that back pain go away.

Lower back pain is one of the most common muscle-skeletal complain that out of 100 percent US adults there are 80 percent of them are affected. And the other 20 percent of back pain sufferers, symptoms are chronic.

When experiencing lower back pain, exercising is one of the last things most people want to do. But with right exercises it can help to relieve pain and reduce the underlying treatments of it.

5 Isometric Exercises to Try

Dead-lifts

Dead-lifts are one of the best exercises you can do to strengthen your back. However, many people perform them without having first mastered how to perform hip flexion and extension. Instead hinging at the hips, many do bend at the waist when lowering the weight toward the floor. Then to lift the weight back up to the starting position, they engage their low back muscles to straighten their torso instead of using their hamstrings to extend their hips. This causes a great deal of stress on the low back muscles.

Cable Pull Throughs  

To complete the exercise, attach a rope handle to the bottom setting of a cable machine, hold an end in each hand and stand in front of the machine. Face away from the machine, so there is tension in the cable and the attachment is between your legs in front of your pelvis. And brace the core with a push in your hips back and allow a slight bend in your knees so that your arms extend through your legs behind you and your torso tips forward. Press through your heels and drive your hips forward to stand back up. All movement should come from your hips.

Stability Ball Squats

Performing squats with an upright torso and your feet extended far out in front of your body can help eliminate the possibility of anterior pelvic tilt while keeping your torso upright. Focus on keeping your back flat as opposed to wrapping it around the ball. And to have a fuller movement, hold that stability ball between yourself and a wall against the top of your hips, and step your feet forward to ensure they are hip- and shoulder-width apart. Then brace your core. Bend your knees and drop straight toward the floor as far as you comfortably can, letting the ball roll its way up to your shoulders. Pause then push through your heels to return to a standing position, letting the ball roll back to your hips.

Reverse Lunge Slides

Strengthen the hamstrings and quadriceps – all of which connect to and help stabilize the pelvis – while avoiding any forward movement and stress to the back. Start the exercise by standing tall with one foot flat on the floor and the ball of the other foot on top of a glider. In an alternative way you can use a towel or a paper plate or anything that will easily slide against the floor with minimal friction. And hold it with sturdy movement with both two hands on the ground.And then brace your core. Slide your lifted foot straight behind you, bending your front knee as you do so to lower into a lunge. Push through your front heel, making sure to keep your front knee stationary throughout the movement.

Actually, lunges are similar to squats in that they use primarily the big muscles in the legs and require the abdominal and low-back muscles to stabilize the upper body during the movement. However, the lunge requires even more core stability due to its single-leg nature. 

 Plank Pulses

Planks are great exercises to strengthen the deep core muscles when performed properly  When the hips sag, this increases the stress on the low back muscles that are trying to keep the spine straight. This exacerbates the back pain the exerciser is already experiencing.

Sagging is a variation prioritizes generating tension through the entire body to decrease the risk of muscle compensations. As an added bonus, holding a plank properly will strengthen your core far more so than will hanging in planks for time.

To complete the plank, First, is to lie down facing the floor and prop your torso up on your forearms so that your shoulders are directly above your elbows. Position your feet together or hip- to shoulder-width apart for extra stability. Clench your hands into fists, lock your knees, squeeze your tailbone altogether and push your forearms into the floor to extend your upper back toward the ceiling. Squeeze your core as if to drag your elbows down to your feet. Your body should feel tight. Hold for five to 10 seconds, squeezing as hard as possible.

There are ways that you can prevent lower back pain, with a little planning and a lot of diligence. Start with these tips:

Watch Your Weight

It’s never easy to lose that good or very good appetite and you may intend not to control yourself when there are leftovers on the table. But one of the major causes of lower back pain comes from putting on a gut that destabilizes your center of gravity. Think about it: more weight out front means that your spine has to compensate with a funky arch just to keep you from toppling over. Walking around in that hyper-extended position day after day takes a toll on your lower back ligaments.

Get Support. Back Support

At night, try sleeping on your side with a pillow between your legs (weird, but true) as this takes pressure off the spine and positions you in an ergonomically sound position. Or even use a back brace.

Learn to Lift Safely

Bending your knees is a good start, but the other piece to this puzzle is that, when you take hold of your child’s toy bin, keep it close to your torso rather than extended in front of you as you raise it. The closer a heavy object is to your body, the more its weight is evenly absorbed by your muscles and ligaments. This is good for the back because becoming slowly but surely is better for your back.

Quit Smoking

Kick that nasty habit. Smoking impairs your blood flow, which restricts the oxygen and nutrient supply to the tissues in your lower back. Add in a little stress — like a kid on your shoulders — and feel the ache. Quit this habit and you may live longer with your love ones with a strong back with you.

Go Cold, Then Go Hot If you have a muscle strain at the gym, use a combo of ice and heat. Place a bag of ice on the affected area for 10 minutes at a time, several times a day, for the first 24-48 hours. This helps reduce inflammation. Follow that with a heat pad on the area for the next two to three days to keep your back from tightening up as your muscles heal. Simple but better for your back.

Build a Stronger Back

In the long term, avoiding lower back pain requires building a stronger core, which includes both your abdominal and back muscles. There are multitudes of moves that can help you achieve this, but these three give you the best results in minimal time — about 10 minutes for the whole routine:

Bridges: Lie on your back then knees bent, hands at your sides. Tighten your butt muscles and push up through your heels and raising your hips. Keep your back flat, creating a straight line from hips to shoulders. Count to 20. Relax. Repeat 5 times. Ab Contractors: Lie on your back then  knees bent, hands by your sides. Take a deep breath in. As you exhale, try contracting your stomach muscles and pulling your belly button in toward your spine. Hold for 5 counts. Relax. Repeat 5 times.

This back pain injury has prevented 80 percent of American adults from being able to work or enjoy other activities.

Ongoing back pain is daunting—but it is not unavoidable. Its causes are found in our everyday actions. To get past suffering and lead a pain-free life, you need to address and detect the real causes.

Our collective spinal weakness is not projected to improve in the future. Most people rely on medicine for recovery.

Many suggest that surgery as a solution also has a lack of competence track record. Radiologists say we are doing too many inappropriate MRI, with a broad range of interpretive errors; this suggests a problem of unnecessary treatments. Shockingly, research shows that more than half of patients whose MRI showed abnormalities would undergo spine surgery, even if they were not experiencing any symptoms.

Many of us sit for most of the day. Sitting actually changes the position of your spine, because weight is transferred to the buttocks and thighs, instead of being borne by the legs, hips and torso.  Sitting can also cause circulatory constriction, nerve compression and soft tissue problems.

None of this bodes well for the average office worker. More than half of those who experience back pain spend most of their day sitting at work. And most of us sit when we are away from work. The damaging effects of sitting on other parts of the body include obesity, muscle weakness and lack of mobility.

Inactivity and weakness can lead to a bad outcome, but you can help yourself recover. If you find yourself in pain, take frequent breaks from your sitting job. Move around! If you slouch, focus on maintaining the correct alignment: shoulders back, chest out and weight spread evenly on both feet.

Studies are generally lacking in conclusively proving that exercise is important for back pain, but common sense says otherwise. Weak muscles, tendons and ligaments restrict the body’s ability to move, rotate and bend properly. Atrophied stomach muscles increase the strain on the back and can cause an abnormal tilt of the pelvis. Weak back muscles increase the load on the spine and the risk for disc compression.

If you don’t recognize these exercises and your problem causes a chaos in your life, talk to a personal trainer to get the help you need. You’ll be amazed how a little focus on primary muscles reduces back pain significantly. REMEMBER THIS: Hydrate properly with lots of water and eat a balanced, wholesome diet in the right proportion to prevent inflammation and maintain a healthy body weight.

Nothing is ever simple, including chronic pain. But the good news is that your body remains remarkably resilient even after decades of neglect. No matter when you start, discipline can help reverse many effects of weakness. There will be discomfort on the way, but if you embrace the challenge, you will regain vitality and a more robust posture. Set good habits in how you “posture up,” strengthen your body, watch what you consume, and you can be pain free.

Usually, video games tend to be in a negative light in a parent perspective. However, in the case of chronic low back pain, they may make a positive impact into people's lives.

Over the years, the debate surrounding video games and their impact on psychological and physical health has often reached fever pitch. Some researchers have concluded that they negatively impact certain types of cognitive performance.

Many researchers now in Australia are attempting to harness video games to assist in an important health problem: chronic low back pain.

Back pain and video games

Low back pain has become the most costly condition in the United States. Older adults are most commonly affected because they tend to get worse, creating a significant negative impact on an individual's ability to move freely and complete daily tasks.

There is a study in Physical Therapy, looked at chronic low back pain in people over the age of 55. Specifically, the team studied the benefits of self-managed, home-based video game exercises on a Nintendo Wii-Fit-U. 

There was an experiment that they asked 60 participants to carry out video game-guided exercises three times every week for 8 weeks; each session lasted 1 hour.

These were all carried out unsupervised and at home. Their results were compared with those of a group who carried out the same exercises but under the guidance of a physiotherapist.

The results were, the participants experienced a 28 percent reduction in pain and a 22 percent increase in function from the exercises."

Battling 'poor compliance'

Actually, Structured exercise programs are recommended for the management of chronic back pain, but there is poor compliance to unsupervised home-exercises.

He claims, "Our study, however, had high compliance to video game exercises, with participants completing on average 85 percent of recommended sessions."

The doctor who supervised this experiment or exercise thinks that compliance was relatively good in this study because the video game gives not just easy but clear instructions, encouragement, and feedback; the interactive experience also provides participants with a score, which boosts motivation.

And many believe that promoting exercise for low back pain in this way could benefit a great many people.

If you’ve never had back pain, you’re the exception to the rule. About 80 percent of people in the United States will suffer from back pain at some time in their lives.

I’ve certainly had my share of back pain experiences, caused by stupid moves like twisting and reaching for soap in the shower or lifting a box that was way too heavy. Fortunately, my brushes with back pain have been minor; I’ve never been laid out and unable to move. And I know exactly what I did to cause my back to act up.

Unfortunately, many people who suffer from back pain have no idea why their back hurts. They didn’t overdo it or lift something they shouldn’t have. In many cases, especially back pain that seems to come out of nowhere, your spinal discs may be to blame.

They’re rubbery rings made of collagen filled with a gel center that is found between each of your vertebrae, the bones in your spine. Discs compress and absorb energy when you walk, twist, turn, or bend to protect your spine and act as a cushion between the bones.

Your discs replenish themselves, but over time, and with day-to-day wear and tear, they degenerate. Discs can rupture, collapse, or bulge out to the side, which can be very painful. A ruptured or bulging disc can cause compression of the nerves in the area, resulting in shooting pain down your arm or leg, depending on the vertebrae affected. Disc problems can also cause back pain in the form of muscle spasms, which are your body’s very painful way of limiting movement while the area heals. You may also experience swelling and inflammation with a disc problem.

The pain associated with disc trouble can resolve in a month or two, or may last years. Interestingly, some people don’t feel any pain at all when a disc ruptures or bulges, however, they’re in the minority. Your doctor may prescribe physical therapy, analgesics, and rest for your disc-related back pain. In severe or chronic cases, they may recommend fusion surgery, in which the vertebral bones are fused together. The merged bones can no longer move, but this surgery decompresses entrapped nerves to relieve pain.

Many people with back pain have turned to acupuncture after trying a number of medications or treatments that haven’t helped their pain. The research supports their decision. A number of high-quality research studies have documented that acupuncture can relieve several types of chronic pain, including back pain. In Chinese medicine, your back pain would likely be diagnosed as a blockage of energy and blood. This simply means that circulation is hampered in the area, some nerves may be compressed, your muscles may be contracted and in spasm, and inflammation and swelling are limiting your movement.

Morning back pain and stiffness are symptoms that people with fibromyalgia commonly experience. Fibromyalgia is a chronic disorder that can cause aches and pains.

Symptoms begin after a physical trauma, surgery, infection or significant psychological stress. In other cases, symptoms gradually accumulate over time with no single triggering event. Or it could be caused by disorders, irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety and depression.

It hurts because the nerve stimulation causes the brains of people with Fibromyalgia to change. This change involves an abnormal increase in levels of certain chemicals in the brain that signal pain. And the brain's pain receptors seem to develop a sort of memory of the pain and can overreact to pain signals.

There are things that could be done ease the pain which is exercise, relaxation and stress-reduction measures.

The symptoms are sleep difficulties, memory and concentration problems, irritable bowel syndrome, headaches and numbness and tingling in the arms and legs. And fatigue and when this triggers, people who has this symptom often awaken tired, even though they report sleeping for long periods of time and this will cause sleep disorders and restless legs syndrome.

It can be treated by pain relievers, anti-inflammatory medications, lifestyle changes, such as exercising regularly, eating well, and adjusting the work station as necessary, complementary therapies, which may include massage therapy, acupuncture, and chiropractic treatments.

And doing stretching exercises before getting out of bed, such as pulling the knees in toward the chest or reaching each arm in front of and across the body ensuring that the bedroom is at a comfortable temperature with using pillows to position the body in a way that minimizes strain on the back. And also, taking a warm shower immediately after getting out of bed to help promote circulation and release tight muscles.

There are complications will occur if you don’t sleep on time and rest well. So take good care of your sleeping habit.

Degenerative disc disease

When a person with this condition which is degenerative disc disease may wake up with lower back pain. It has an affects with the spine that causes back pain.

As a person ages and got older, they would wear and tear of the discs in the spinal cord can lead to the narrowing of the lumbar spinal canal. 

Degenerative disc disease can compress the spinal nerves, resulting in pain, stiffness, and reduced mobility that typically affects the lower back or neck. The pain can range from mild to very severe, and it may radiate to other parts of the body. Symptoms can be worse in the morning and may even interfere with sleep.

And to know whether you have this kind of condition there are symptoms that you can check and verify. First, leg muscle weakness or foot drop numbness. And tingling in the arms and legs pain that may get worse with sitting, lifting, or bending pain that improves with walking, moving, or changing position.

But don’t you worry there are treatments can be done with these disease. This is not that very serious that can be go to the point that is not treatable. Good news for you!

You could do taking over-the-counter (OTC) pain relievers, such as ibuprofen, and acetaminophen. Or using ice packs and heat packs, wearing a back brace, physical therapy and trying alternative therapies, such as acupuncture or chiropractic therapy.

Facet joint injections is a medical options include injecting the joints next to the damaged disc with steroids and a local anesthetic. And this can provide effective pain relief.

A Tylenol is a medications include pain relief medication. And ibuprofen is a  and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID. Steroids and muscle relaxers may also be prescribed.

Some positions can help relieve symptoms. Kneeling or reclining, for example, may be less painful than sitting. A corset or brace can offer support for the back.

Waking up early and happy with sleep at night is one way to start your day right.  But waking up with pain on the back can be a problem and can cause a bad mood immediately. There are many reasons why this happens. One of them is cause by sleeping posture, mattress, or pillows. 

Waking up with lower back pain can make for a slow start to a person's day. But determining the cause of the pain can help them identify ways to manage and ease the problem and wake up to more pain-free mornings.

Poor sleeping posture

Some sleeping postures can strain or cause the pain on the lower back, hips, and neck.

However, it is not always that a person to completely alter their usual sleeping position. Instead, they can try placing pillows or do some thing different while sleeping to be more comfortable at night and day, when waking up.

These are the things that can be done to fix it.

For the back sleepers can try putting a pillow underneath their knees to align the spine better and reduce lower back pain.

 And for side sleepers may benefit from placing a pillow between their legs to better align their hips and spine. 

And lastly, stomach sleepers can position a pillow underneath their lower abdomen to reduce the curvature in the lower back

Non-supportive mattress

Actually mattresses that do not fully support a person's weight or body shape can lead to them waking up with back pain.

It is recommended by manufacturers that people replace their mattress every 10 years or so. Signs that a mattress needs replacing may include visible sagging or indentations that remain where a person has been sleeping.

When buying a new mattress, remember it is important to choose one that is both comfortable and fully supportive. For people who has chronic lower back pain some research suggests that a mattress of medium firmness may be best for them.

Chair Stretch

A simple chair can make a difference. Using this furniture and by sitting to it and do something with it by different poses with ease the pain of back pain.

Do it while crossing your right leg over your left. Place your left hand at the outside of your right knee. Gently press against your right knee as you twist your head and torso to the right, letting your legs turn slightly to the left. Return to the neutral position and then repeat on the opposite side.

Using a chair or any kinds of chair whether in an office chair or a classroom chair with a back and arm hold stretch as you can by clasp your hands behind you. Exhale, Gently lean the head and extend the front of the body.

Runner’s Stretch

From the word itself running, usually, this post is meant for the runners. But it is not limited to them only. We may not be professional runners but runners for fitness and prevention of back pain.

So when it comes to that post-run stretch, there are a few exercises to try that will keep you flexible in all your main running muscles. It depends on how flexible you are. Then try and follow our routine of eight stretches below after every run, or once or twice a week.

For this stretch, start sitting on the floor, both legs straight in front of you. Turn your right leg out and bend your right knee, sliding your right foot up so it touches the instep of your left knee. Lean forward and grab your left toes with both hands and then feel the stretch down your back. Repeat on the opposite side too.

Cradle Pose

When we say cradle, of course, we are referring to holding a baby in your arms position. Like in the picture, instead of carrying an actual bab. Try to imagine that you are really holding a baby by using your feet to hold something within your arms, just like holding a baby position.

Back Pain is often time caused by tightness or spasms, and these issues can be addressed through stretching. So down below are some tips or types of stretching to help that back pain go away.

Child’s Pose

First, Child’s pose. It sounds a bit funny from its name. And it seems you are doing some kind of pose that involves worshipping something. And also in the yoga terms and name, it is called “Balasana.”

To perform this yoga-inspired move, start in slowly sinking your hips towards your feet and until your butt touches your heals and the chest is pressed against your quads. And gently extend your arms and feel the gentle stretch. 

And then, exhale and lay your torso down between your thighs. Broaden your sacrum across the back of your pelvis and narrow your hip points toward the navel, so that they nestle down onto the inner thighs. Lengthen your tailbone away from the back of the pelvis while you lift the base of your skull away from the back of your neck.

Lay your hands on the floor alongside your torso, palms up, and release the fronts of your shoulders toward the floor. Feel how the weight of the front shoulders pulls the shoulder blades wide across your back.

Balasana is a resting pose. Stay anywhere from 30 seconds to a few minutes.  To come up, first, lengthen the front torso, and then with an inhalation lift from the tailbone as it presses down and into the pelvis.

Cat Pose

For the cat lovers out there, maybe you can combine your love for cats and stay fit and healthy by doing this pose. Isn’t it cute? But in yoga terms and names it is called “Marjariasana.”  

Do this by dropping your head toward the floor and round your back then imagine that the center of your spine being lifted by a string toward the ceiling.

And then exhale, round your spine toward the ceiling, making sure to keep your shoulders and knees in position. Release your head toward the floor, but don't force your chin to your chest.

And then lastly, inhale while going back to the neutral position on your hands and knees.

Floor Twist

This pose is a bit confusing, what is this you twist the floor position? Just joking. Actually, it is called in yoga terms and names “Supine Spinal Twist (Supta Matsyendrasana).”

So by doing this, first, lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat on the floor. Spread arms out to either side for support. Gently let your knees drop to the right side while you rotate your head and torso to the left. Return to center, repeat the stretch on the opposite side.

For the past several years and own to our year, which is 2019, may researchers do believe that smoking has something to do with back pain. They have a connection. They have concluded that smoking has a high risked over 30% of cause for back pain of oneself’s body.

Their report is not alone in its conclusions. There was a review that was been published that smoking is associated with lower back pain. During 2008, many reports has shown that many adults and young adults experienced this kind of pain. So how much more now that it is already 2019.  

Smoking may also affect the manner of brain processing in the sensory stimuli, so in the simplest form, smoking affects the brain. Also, it damages tissue in the lower back and elsewhere in the body by slowing down circulation and reducing the flow of nutrients to joints and muscles.

While coughing you intend to slouch. Slouching form of position can hurt the back as well.

Smokers also are more likely to have intervertebral disc degeneration that makes the spinal discs even less effective and in the long run it may be the cause to be non-functional where causing pain along the spinal column.

So as you can see smoking is really bad for you health especially in your back and it can be the reason to worsen the situation.

So start to stop it right away. make a plan and a task by task program for yourself to be successful in quitting it. Here are some tips:

 First, Schedule your “quit day.” Second, go to a professional specialist help you out and be more motivated to help you push through this obstacle in your life. Throw of any trace of cigarettes and vape. And if are already ready, go to a public place that can be tempting but will test you out whether you finally quitting or not. And especially, get a support system to your family and friends.

Remember, you are doing this for your health and for the people you loved.

According to the latest statistics that millions of women are wearing the wrong size bra and because of that they are putting their health at risk in the process such as the condition of your spine that causes back pain. And it even doesn’t look good at all.

While doing exercises or going to the gym, many women don’t use sports bra or 70-80% of the women using sports bra but they wear the wrong size.

Many physiotherapists are encouraging women to know their breast measurements before buying any bra to prevent any discomfort or sagging of wearing a bra.

Wearing fitted bra can cause bad posture too.

Traditional bras are too tight sometimes around the ribs and it causes to create a pivot point in the middle of the back.

And because of the unfitted bra situation it causes of lacking of support at the front and many women end up tilting their heads backwards.

Many women are also suffering neck pain, scarring along the shoulders where their bra straps dig into their skin.Compression of the nerves along the shoulders can even cause numbness and tingling in the fingers.

So just wearing a bra is never okay. Make sure it is fit and secure to prevent any further complications with the health, posture, and other parts of the body. Remember not all fit is sexy; it is actually dumb if you apply it in every aspect of clothing you wear especially bras.

Remember, check that size and you’ll never think twice. Whether you are comfortable or not. Cause you already checked it. 

1. THE MCGILL CURL-UP

McGill Curl Up is one of those ab exercises that is used to prevent and even relieve lower back pain. This form of exercise is good for people that has weak abdominal muscles that needs to be strengthened.

To do it right, do this and perform in an ascending and descending motion but very slowly pace. And press your tongue to ease the strain in the neck muscles. And breath through the belly.

Start by lying on your back with one leg straight and the other knee bent. Place your hands under your low back and crunch your head, shoulders, and neck off your back at the same time. Hold for 10 seconds and slowly lower back down.

Reps: Complete three sets. For the first set, perform eight reps. For the second, six. For the third, four. Make sure to do an even amount on each side.

The most important part of this exercise is that it doesn’t require you to round or flex your lower back. It stays in its naturally arched position throughout the whole exercise. Place your palms underneath the natural arch of your lower back to preserve the curve. So stay straight and flat and bend your knee and lie on the floor gently.

When ending this exercise, breath deeply while keeping this position for a couple of seconds. And return to the starting position slowly again. Do the prescribe repetitions properly and switch your legs on each set.

And remember, to help you avoid any deterioration of your lower back or avoid aggravating pre-existing damage. Slowly raise your head, shoulders and chest as a one unit off the floor without bending your lower back.

2. THE SIDE BRIDGE

This exercise targets the obliques of the waist while toning the upper arm. And it helps to reduce back pain with this exercise position.

How to do it:

First, lie on one side with your knees bent and prop yourself up on one elbow. And place your hand on your opposite shoulder and lift your legs, do it within 10 seconds.

Then exhale properly while pulling your abs to your spine, and lift your pelvis off the floor, coming into a side elbow-plank. And lift your bottom waist up for 3 seconds. Lower your pelvis back to the floor slowly and with control to complete 1 rep. Do 2-3 sets of 12 reps on each side.

3. BIRD DOG

From the word itself “Dog” of course you’ll do this in a bent position like a dog. And this is better for people who is recovering from back injury or loosen up the back pain you feel.

From your hands and knees, raise your left arm forward while kicking your right leg back. Make sure your body is as flat as possible from head to toe. Hold for 10 seconds on each sides 3x.

Do this by pulling your abs into your spine. And keep your pelvis still and stable while reaching your right arm forward and left leg behind you. While engaging the muscles in the back of the leg to you butt.

Sleeping is good and so as sleeping positions. If you want to have a good morning without pains on the body especially no back pain. So, good sleeping positions can help. Cause in the opposite terms, bad sleep posture is just as bad as poor waking posture. It will affect your spine’s alignment off and create problems down the road.

Sleeping on your side can also ensure that your entire body is supported. Always maintain the natural curve of your spine so no back pain will cause you.

It’s imperative that your body is in vertical alignment. To have a maintain a proper alignment to make your hips and lower back in line, you need to place a thin pillow between your knees.

 Also, take note that sleeping exclusively on one side can cause shoulder pain.  Alternating between your back and sides is usually more comfortable and less stressful to the spine than stomach sleeping.

When side sleeping, chin straight and keep that neutral position to avoid back pain. 

Stomach sleeping keeps your head turned in one direction for a long period, which causes pain. This position is compressing your spine. Then you get tingling in your arm as blood flow constricts and nerves are compressed.

If it’s hard to stop the stomach-sleeping habit, try sleeping on your side with a body or side pillow. This may provide the same reassuring pressure on your stomach.

Remember, never sleep on our stomach.

Sleeping on your back is usually considered the best position for spinal health as to prevent backache.  

Back sleeping is easy on the spine because gravity keeps your body centered over it. Putting a pillow underneath the knees is very recommendable because it helps to align the spine, hips and pelvis, and reduces tension in your tendons.

So first of all, What is Spinning Classes or Spin Classes? And why does it cause back pain?

In an average spinning class it will begin in 5-10 minutes pace. The pace will will stay similar to cycling on flat terrain. After this period you will enter into different intervals and alternate position of seated and standing work.

And during the class, the instructor may also ask for you to lean forward over the handlebars with your hips above the saddle and towards the back of the Spin bike. And they will often tell you to push your shoulders back so that you're not slumped over the bike, that posture can be difficult to maintain over the course of a workout. And if  you're laying over the handlebars too hard this can cause  fatigue. It’s a similar position to someone trying to gain a lot of speed at a slight incline on a normal bike.  

Well, actually spinning a bike you can do it at home. But it’s also great to workout in a class environment where there is a sense of team effort and group motivation. And if you’re alone at home doing this exercise no one will motivate you but yourself. 

But if you’re in a class then you have the other participants, as well as the teacher, constantly watching over you which will give you more drive. Loud music blaring through the speakers, an assertive class leader shouting at people to go harder and a group of people sweating buckets from every part of their body. Will really motivate you and push through the class from the beginning until the end of the class.

In part, blame the standard cycling position-strapped in and leaned forward-itself. It innately stresses your lower back, especially if you're already injured Because you're not outdoors on the road or the trails and using your core to turn, steer, or coordinate the bike, you can wind up putting even more pressure on your discs in class. If you are probably working dominate muscles past the point of fatigue, which can cause other muscles to overcompensate, and straining you back.

Adding insult to injury, since this kind of class involves of sitting most of the time, your hip flexors are already predisposed to shortening and tightening.

Well everybody wants to be fit. But do it in the right way. And spinning class can help you lose wait but always remember be careful and don’t over do it. So that, you won’t experience severe result of spinning class and get something even worse.