Back pain isn’t just about heavy lifting or sleeping the wrong way.

Here, 14 surprising everyday habits that cause aches and pains—and how to feel better.

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1. You’re Chained to Your Desk

Did you know that sitting puts 40% more pressure on your spine than standing?

Fix it: Sitting at a 135-degree angle can reduce compression of the discs in the spine, so lean back slightly every now and then. Do it when you take a phone call or a co-worker stops by to chat, recommends Dr. Todd Sinett, co-author of The Truth about Back Pain. Make sure your office chair supports the curve of your spine, he says: Your lower back should be supported, and your head should be straight—not lurching forward—when you look at your computer screen. Get up and walk around for a couple of minutes every half hour—take trips to get water, use the bathroom, or grab papers off the printer.

2. You Have a Long Commute

Just like at your desk, hunching over a steering wheel can tighten chest muscles and cause your shoulders to round.

Fix it: “Be sure you sit at a 90-degree angle, close to the wheel so you don’t have to stretch,” he says. “Extending your leg puts your back in a compromised position, but many people don’t even realize they’re doing it.”

3. You’ve Been Ditching the Gym

Get moving to alleviate aches and pains and fix back pain faster.

Fix it: In fact, most sufferers would benefit from more exercise—particularly frequent walks, which ease stiffness, says spine surgeon Raj Rao, MD. Forinstant relief, he recommends stretching your hamstrings and hips. Moves like these will take some strain off your back.

4. You Don’t Do Yoga

By improving circulation and lowering stress, just about any kind of exercise promotes back pain recovery. But yoga may be best.

Fix it: You can find yoga classes everywhere—at gyms, YMCAs, and local studios. Make sure to tell the instructor about your pain so she can help modify certain moves for you.

5. You’re Addicted to Crunches

Sit-ups and crunches may actually cause more back pain than they prevent, according to Sinett.

Fix it: You don’t have to ditch crunches entirely, but you should do them slowly and use proper form. Include them as part of a broader core workout that also strengthens your transverse abdominus. This muscle is particularly important for a strong, steady core that supports your back, and the best way to strengthen it is with (noncrunch!) exercises like these. Added bonus: You’ll whittle your middle and beat hard-to-torch belly fat while improving posture and relieving back pain.

6. You’re Not the Healthiest Eater

Research shows that eating habits that are good for your heart, weight, and blood sugar are also good for your back.

Fix it: A back-healthy diet is one that reduces inflammation, according to The Truth about Back Pain. The book’s plan advises avoiding excess caffeine and processed foods (read ingredient labels for the following: hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils, enriched wheat flour, words ending in –ose, and additives that end in –ates or -ites), and eating more whole grains, soy, nuts and seeds, protein (chicken, fish, lean meat), vegetables, and fruit.

7. You Carry Your Entire Life in Your Purse

A stuffed-to-the-gills handbag may cause back damage that’s comparable to a sports injury!

Fix it: First, carry the lightest bag possible. (Some of today’s styles—with chains, studs, and other hardware—are heavy even when empty!) The American Chiropractic Association recommends that your bag—when fully loaded—weighs no more than 10% of your body weight. Alternate which shoulder you carry the bag with from day to day, and consider splitting your stuff between two bags (one for each arm), which will pain-proof your load by distributing it more evenly.

8. Your Mattress Is from Another Decade

Can’t remember the last time you replaced it? Your back may be in trouble.

Fix it: When you do replace your mattress, take a Goldilocks approach: Pick one that’s not too squishy or too hard. Very firm mattresses can increase pressure on the spine and worsen pain, say Spanish researchers. A study of 313 people revealed that those who caught Zzzs on medium-firm mattresses were more likely to report pain improvement than those on firmer ones. To help ease nighttime discomfort even more, tuck a pillow under your knees if you sleep on your back, between your knees if you’re a side sleeper, or beneath your stomach and hips if you snooze on your belly.

9. Your Bike Isn’t Adjusted Quite Right

Do you routinely get a sore back after even a leisurely bike ride? You may need to adjust your equipment.

Fix it: Try this quick test: When you straddle a road bike or hybrid, the bar should be about 1 to 2 inches from your crotch. On mountain

bikes, allow 3 to 6 inches. As for your seat height, your down leg should be fully extended when the heel of that foot is on the pedal in the 6 o’clock position. Now put the ball of that foot on the pedal; there should be a slight bend in your knee in the down position. You should be able to keep a slight bend in your elbows and not feel stretched out when holding the handlebars. If your bike isn’t adjusted properly, check with a local bike shop or bike club to find someone who can properly fit it for you.

*Another tweak that can help: Tilt the front tip of your saddle down about 10 to 15 degrees. This simple adjustment takes pressure off your lower spine and pelvis, research shows. When researchers made this adjustment for 40 recreational cyclists who had back pain, the pain went away in 72% of the group—and another 20% reported significant reduction in pain.

10. You Have a Thing for High Heels

Or flip-flops. Both lead to foot instability, which can in turn affect your back.

Fix it: You don’t have to forgo trendy footwear—just don’t walk long distances in them. Commute in comfy flats or supportive sneakers, and consider adding cushioning inserts to uncomfy shoes. When Lehigh University researchers gave back-pain sufferers lightweight, flexible shoes with simple cushions, 80% reported significant relief within a year.

11. You Ignore the Pain

Trying to block out pain could make it worse, finds research from the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science.

Fix it: Accepting pain may be the best way to mentally cope. “Try thinking about the sensory details of the experience, not the negative emotions,” says Burns. “If you have a back spasm, describe the pain to yourself—if it’s burning or throbbing—and remind yourself that it will pass.”

12. You Hold a Grudge

To err is human. To forgive could make your aching back feel simply divine.

Fix it: Forgiveness isn’t a once-and-done act; it involves choosing, again and again, to replace anger and resentment with understanding toward someone who has done you wrong. Try this: First imagine someone you love. Think, May this person be at ease, happy, healthy, safe, and secure. Repeat, imagining yourself, then someone you don’t know personally. Finally, bring to mind someone for whom you don’t have good feelings.

13. You Don’t Veg Out Enough

It’s not all in your head—chronic or acute stress can directly trigger back pain.

Fix it: Sometimes even just realizing that stress may be at the root of your pain can help, says Sinett. Then you can prioritize ways to calm down each day, be it through exercise, laughing with a friend or partner, reading a good book, etc. One particularly helpful therapy, research shows, is listening to music.

14. You Watch Too Much TV

Parking yourself in front of the tube for hours and hours a day doesn’t make your back very happy.

Fix it: Limit TV to shows you really want to watch, instead of idly channel surfing. And instead of fast-forwarding through commercials, do some stretches or strength moves during the breaks, which will prevent muscle strain from sitting still too long. If you have a kid complaining of back pain, make sure he walks at least 1 mile daily; this can cut back pain in half and give his still-developing spine a chance to stretch out.

*Content provided by PREVENTION

“Went to Physical Therapy this morning at 11am – you were right!!!!! One session and I can feel the difference but the major part of the problem was solved by your gifted hands!!!!! My instructor made up a plan for my therapy – now the cure-all is for me to do the exercises at home – going back on Friday morning and will be going fishing on Thursday.”

“So, once again you were “right-on” – will keep you posted on my progress but still want to see you every now and then – you have become like “family”!!!!!”

“Say Hi to Debbie and Vicki.”

As an integrative center, I found this corroborative information to be long over due. We see the benefits of combined therapies and excercise for neck, back, shoulder, hip and knee pain every day. Passive to Active care works!!!

Enjoy this article: J. Adam Wagner, D.C.

What’s the best treatment for neck pain?

Seeing a chiropractor or engaging in light exercise relieves neck pain more effectively than relying on pain medication, new research shows.

The new study is one of the few head-to-head comparisons of various treatments for neck pain, a problem that affects three quarters of Americans at some point in their lives but has no proven, first-line treatment. While many people seek out spinal manipulation by chiropractors, the evidence supporting its usefulness has been limited at best.

But the new research, published in The Annals of Internal Medicine, found that chiropractic care or simple exercises done at home were better at reducing pain than taking medications like aspirin, ibuprofen or narcotics.

“These changes were diminished over time, but they were still present,” said Dr. Gert Bronfort, an author of the study and research professor at Northwestern Health Sciences University in Minnesota. “Even a year later, there were differences between the spinal manipulation and medication groups.”

Moderate and acute neck pain is one of the most frequent reasons for trips to primary care doctors, prompting millions of visits every year. For patients, it can be a difficult problem to navigate. In some cases the pain and stiffness crop up without explanation, and treatment options are varied. Physical therapy, pain medication and spinal manipulation are popular options, but Dr. Bronfort was inspired to carry out an analysis because so little research exists.

“There was a void in the scientific literature in terms of what the most helpful treatments are,” he said.

To find out, Dr. Bronfort and his colleagues recruited a large group of adults with neck pain that had no known specific cause. The subjects, 272 in all, were mostly recruited from a large HMO and through advertisements. The researchers then split them into three groups and followed them for about three months.

One group was assigned to visit a chiropractor for roughly 20-minute sessions throughout the course of the study, making an average of 15 visits. A second group was assigned to take common pain relievers like acetaminophen and — in some cases, at the discretion of a doctor — stronger drugs like narcotics and muscle relaxants. The third group met on two occasions with physical therapists who gave them instructions on simple, gentle exercises for the neck that they could do at home. They were encouraged to do 5 to 10 repetitions of each exercise up to eight times a day. (A demonstration of the exercises can be found at www.annals.org).

After 12 weeks, the people in the non-medication groups did significantly better than those taking the drugs. About 57 percent of those who met with chiropractors and 48 percent who did the exercises reported at least a 75 percent reduction in pain, compared to 33 percent of the people in the medication group.

A year later, when the researchers checked back in, 53 percent of the subjects who had received spinal manipulation still reported at least a 75 percent reduction in pain, similar to the exercise group. That compared to just a 38 percent pain reduction among those who had been taking medication.

Dr. Bronfort said it was a “big surprise” to see that the home exercises were about as effective as the chiropractic sessions. “We hadn’t expected that they would be that close,” he said. “But I guess that’s good news for patients.”

In addition to their limited pain relief, the medications had at least one other downside: people kept taking them. “The people in the medication group kept on using a higher amount of medication more frequently throughout the follow-up period, up to a year later,” Dr. Bronfort said. “If you’re taking medication over a long time, then we’re running into more systemic side effects like gastrointestinal problems.”

He also expressed concern that those on medications were not as empowered or active in their own care as those in the other groups. “We think it’s important that patients are enabled to deal with as much control over their own condition as possible,” he said. “This study shows that they can play a large role in their own care.”

by Anahad O’Connor

Jan 3, 2012

Friday, December 23, 2011

Read all about it! 

Official Re-Naming will occur on

Wednesday, Dec 21st at 11:00am!!!

We will be unveiling our new sign at this event. Ms. Wallace, the sister of a dear friend and local businessman, has generously offered to attend, and will sign autographs for registered attendees.

Actor, Healer, and Best Selling Author, DEE WALLACE, star of more than 90 feature films including  E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial & Cujo, will join us on Wednesday, December 21st at 11:00am for a private photo opportunity and autograph signing.

Space is limited. Patients, friends and family are invited to attend.

RSVP REQUIRED!

215-230-8100

Additional parking is available at the new parking garage on N. Broad St 1 block south of our facility.

First, Discover the Cause

It’s a common misconception that we humans have only one joint at the knee. A joint is the place at which two bones are joined to allow for movement. Technically, we have two joints at each knee. The three bones that make up the two joints are the femur (thighbone), the tibia (shinbone) and the patella (knee cap). The first joint—the patellofemoral, or PFJ—joins the kneecap and thighbone. The second joint—the tibiofemoral, or TFJ—joins the thigh and shinbone.

Every year, millions of Americans replace the TFJ knee joint, though it’s not always the joint causing the pain. In my experience, the PFJ is usually the main culprit behind knee pain, although total knee replacement surgery involves replacing the surfaces of the TFJ.

Pain from PFJ irritation can be severe, even crippling. It starts on the underside of the kneecap, grinding in the hollowed groove of the femur during weightbearing activities, such as walking up and down steps, standing for any length of time, walking, running and participating in sports.

Our physical therapists have had great success eliminating this irritation with simple exercises, stretching and deep-tissue massage. In my experience, the PFJ joint—not the TFJ joint—is the primary source of pain and physical limitation. I’ve helped many patients who had already scheduled a knee replacement to cancel surgery by working on the “correct” knee joint.

The scenario is all too common. A patient visits an orthopedist complaining of fairly sudden knee pain. X-rays taken during the examination reveal arthritis of the TFJ. The “bone-on-bone” appearance of the TFJ on X-rays, along with the patient’s severe knee pain, leads to the diagnosis of osteoarthritis. It can be very easy to link the arthritis of the TFJ to the patient’s severe knee pain, even though the pain is most likely caused by the PFJ.

Unfortunately, the surgical procedure for this diagnosis is a total knee replacement. The point is that although “arthritis” may appear on an X-ray between the tibia and femur, the TFJ may not be the source of the pain.

Physical Therapy Can Help

I have discovered that my patients’ knee pain may be caused by irritation between the patella and femur, the PFJ.

Fortunately, physical therapy treatments have been successful for patients with arthritis of the PFJ. I’ve seen hundreds of patients who have pain at the top and underside of their kneecaps—along with an X-ray diagnosis of “bone-on-bone” osteoarthritis—who never need a total knee replacement after physical therapy treatments.

Are there patients for whom total knee replacement has eliminated their pain? Yes. Had these patients exhausted all less-invasive forms of treatment before visiting the operating room? Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

If a patient’s knee pain is caused by the wearing away of cartilage and subsequent “bone-on-bone” of the femur and tibia, I would agree that he or she may benefit from a total knee replacement. However, for most of my patients with knee pain, that pain was brought on by irritation of the PFJ, not by the TFJ that was replaced.

Physical therapy can be a welcome alternative for patients with knee pain, because it is less invasive than total knee replacement surgery. I always tell my patients that unless their pain involves a life-threatening diagnosis, for which their doctor feels immediate surgery is required, the least invasive treatment option is usually best. Physical therapy, in my experience, has provided patients with far more successful outcomes—and the fewest side effects.

If you are experiencing knee pain, a good physical therapist will be able to identify which knee joint is causing your pain and set up a treatment plan. That plan will include deep-tissue massage, stretching, progressive resistive exercises and ultrasound and electrical stimulation. If total knee replacement ultimately is required, knowing that a surgeon already has explored less-invasive forms of treatment may bring some comfort.

Avoid the knee-jerk reaction of going under the knife.

Visit OUR physical therapist first to discover the cause of your pain.

 215-230-8100

*The information for this handout is provided by Parsa Karimi, MSPT, co-owner of PKL Physical Therapy

johnciuppaADVANCE for Physical Therapy & Rehab Medicine

Disclaimer: This handout is a general guide only, intended for distribution to patients. If you have specific questions, be sure to discuss them with your healthcare provider. ©2011 MerionMAtters

September 17th from 10 – 4

WHAT?

Block Party!

Demonstrations, Samples, Raffles, Mini-Massages, Give-Aways, Music, Art, Face Painting, Free SFMA: Selective Functional Movement Assessments, Book Signing: By Local Children’s Author/Illustrator, Kids Learn How To Make “Energy Balls”, Snacks, Pilates, Yoga, & MORE!!!

WHY?

We Are Helping To Celebrate The Grand Opening Of Our Newest Neighbor, the Glu10Free Store.

Joining Us Are 7 Other Great Businesses All Focused On Health,
Wellness And Environmentally Friendly Products And Services.

WHERE?

The Brick Yard at 300 – 340 N. Broad St. Doylestown

Look For Our Ad In This Week’s Intelligencer!!!

Find this ad in The Intelligencer

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