| Lower Back Care for Women |
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| Written by Diet Detective Editorial Staff | |
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Lower back pain is a too-familiar problem for nearly 80 percent of
Americans. If it's not part of your daily vocabulary, consider yourself
fortunate. If it is, you might be interested to know that this type of
pain is usually the result of excess stretching of the ligaments of the
spine, and that it affects far more women than men.
Lower back pain is usually due to muscle imbalance, in which either the
curvature of the lower back is increased, or a lack of flexibility in
your lower back and the muscles surrounding it, which can predispose
you to tight, rigid muscles, making you more susceptible to lower back
injury.
Why are women the more frequent sufferers? Because high heels or pregnancy can shift your weight forward and increase the curve in your back, which leads to back pain. Men who carry excess pounds in their bellies also have their weight shifted forward and, as a result, are more likely to experience lower back pain than other men. If you have trouble with your back-either from the causes mentioned above or from a birth defect, stress, illness or injury-exercise can either be your best friend or your worst enemy. Exercise is typically the main treatment for lower back pain. If you do the right exercises, you can improve mobility and minimize pain; if not, you could be in big trouble. The rule is if you suddenly develop pain in your back, you should rest it. If after a few days the pain continues, see a physician. When exercise is prescribed, simple stretching exercises, for example, can relax tension in the muscles along the spine. Other exercises can strengthen the abdominal and gluteal muscles, among others, to provide your spine with additional support. "Back trouble" is a rather broad term for many very specific problems: a tear or pull of muscles or ligaments, a muscle spasm, compression or degeneration of a disc, degeneration of a bone, curvature of the spine and even tension. You could also be experiencing an infection in some other part of the body that produces what is called a referred pain along the back, even if the source of the problem isn't in your back. Many of these troubles can be eased considerably (if not reversed) simply by adjusting the way you move. Chronic lower back pain can usually be alleviated by: 1) losing weight, 2) exercising to strengthen the muscles of the pelvic region above the spine, 3) improving your posture, 4) controlling stress instead of letting it control you (easier said than done, we know). A certain amount of exercise (aside from walking to your car) is essential to maintaining muscle tone and cardiovascular fitness, not to mention burning off calories. The most important thing you can do is assess the cause of your lower back pain and implement some stretching and strengthening exercises to aid in the recovery and prevention of recurring back problems. A simple exercise treatment used for most lower back disorders is to decrease the curve in your back by tilting your pelvis forward. To do this, you must perform exercises that shorten your abdominal muscles and stretch the muscles in your back. Lower back stretch Pelvic tilt The key to a healthy back is having your own personal workout program, tailored to your individual needs by your health care professional. In return for your investment of just a few minutes of exercise each day, you'll be rewarded with results that may last a lifetime. |
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| Last Updated ( Thursday, 06 July 2006 ) |
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