Guest guest Posted December 9, 2004 Report Share Posted December 9, 2004 Comments? Misty L. Trepke http://www..com Good Morning! A Definitive Guide to Back Pain Lower back pain can be caused by a variety of situations such as too much or improper lifting, bending, sports activities and misalignments of the vertebrae of the spine. It can also appear out of nowhere with no obvious cause. A viral illness may possibly be a cause, or emotional trauma, such as fear or resentment. The pain may acute or it may develop slowly over a matter of hours or days out of a minor discomfort. In acute form, back pain can render a person helpless, enabling them to get up from a sitting or lying position or to even feed, wash, or dress themselves. In the vast majority of cases, acute back pain comes from muscle spasm. Many people with acute back problems think they are suffering from a slipped disc, pinched nerve, spinal subluxation, or a torn ligament or muscle, when in fact intense muscle spasm is the sole or primary cause. Spasm of back muscles is maintained by a nervous reflex through the spinal cord that sets up a vicious cycle: spasm and inflammation lead to more spasm and inflammation. Although the cycle can develop due to injury, the ultimate cause is often in the brain, which can interfere with muscle physiology through the spinal cord. Chronic (long term) and acute back (and neck) pain are common expressions of stress and emotional stress. This demonstrates the true complexity of the mind/body interaction. Many times it is the brain's distortion of muscle function that sets us up for back pain by preventing muscles from responding freely to physical stresses. Proper alignment of the head over the shoulders over the hips over the knees over the feet, are also imperative in maintaining a pain- free body. Firm abdominal muscles help to keep the back straight and strong. Bad posture habits can lock your muscles into positions you are not even aware your body is taking which can put unwanted strain on the lower back. WIthout a doubt, added stress and strains can take its toll on your spinal and nervous system. Maintaining a physically fit body, awareness of body positions, a clean and detoxified internal system, keeping fears, stress and insecurities in check and careful execution physically, through each day are all great ways to avoid that aching back. INDIVIDUAL HERBS Herbally, consider Wild Lettuce, Valerian, Skullcap, Vervain, Arnica, Lobelia, Cayenne. This special blend of herbs allows for a very powerful, yet natural relief when taken orally. Valerian is the equivalent to allopathic Valium. This natural muscle relaxer helps to relieve muscle spasm and helps induce sleep. White Willow Bark is the natural version of aspirin. This pain reliever can help with back pain. Aromatherapy can be utilized as an alternative. Muscle Spasms can benefit from Essential oils such as Allspice, Clary Sage, Eucalyptus, Geranium, Lavender, Lemongrass, Rosemary . Blend 8 drops of 3 of the above oils in a 4 oz. base oil of sunflower or vegetable oil and rub into the back and buttocks. Hydrotherapy has a number of uses. Warm water will relax spasm; thus, hydrotherapy has been useful in treating such conditions as muscular strains and sprains, muscular fatigue, and backache. Heat is often used in conjunction with massage or other manipulative or stimulative treatments, such as the whirlpool bath. Sitz baths (sitting in hot water) are effective in the treatment of many disorders. Water is also useful in physical therapy because patients who exercise in a buoyant medium can move weak parts of their bodies without contending with the strong force of gravity. Take a warm bath. Fill the bath tub with warm water. As the tub fills with water add 2 spoons of epsoms salts to the bath water. Soak for 15-20 minutes. Consider a relaxing bath with the calming, anti-spasmatic effects of a calming blend of Lavender, Geranium and Clary Sage essential oil makes this bath wonderful for creating a soothing, calm, relaxed feel. Helps with anxiety, stress, resentment and fear. (Safe for all skin types). Homeopathy. This medical system uses infinitesimal doses of natural substances to stimulate a person's immune system and body's natural defenses. Homeopathic remedies are named for the plant or animal ingredients they are made from. Homeopathy not only offers relief from temporary disorders but, can provide long term healing of a person due to its individual and " wholistic " approach. This often leads to a complete recovery from the dis-ease, as well as, providing an improved understanding of the patient's situation. This type of healing makes it easier and possible to avoid recurrence or relapses in the future and, homeopathy stimulates the body's natural defense system by reestablishing normal immune system and cell functioning. BACK PAIN: Bellis Perennis 30x: for symptoms of acute and chronic back pain Bellis is thought of as " Arnica for the lower back " and can bring relief .Rhus Toxicodendron 6c: if symptoms occur at first movement but improves after gently, continuous motion. Aching may be brought on by cold,damp weather and relieved with warm showers/baths. Actaea Racacemosa 6c: if symptoms occur such as severe aching during menstruation and extends down through the hips, buttocks and thighs. Massage Therapy. There are many different approaches to massage and applications of it. " Massage Therapy " is a holistic procedure that affects all systems of the body; digestive, elimination, respiratory, circulatory, lymphatic, endocrine and nervous systems. Many of today's health problems arise from stress. Because stress upsets the delicate integral balance of all your body's functions, regaining this balance requires a holistic approach. Massage Therapy not only treats those parts of you which are a problem, but also affects the whole of your metabolism through normalizing your circulatory, muscular and nervous systems and their interdependent functioning. Massage is usually done with soothing massage oils or relaxing body lotions in order for the practioner's hands to " glide " over the body with smooth, relaxing strokes. Learn How to Give a Massage. Learning some simple techniques can make all the difference in finding relief. Hot Stone Massage Therapy. is recommended for this conditon. It is an ancient Ayurvedic therapy with river bed stones which draw out stress, tension and impurities from the body. Crystal Massage works on a deep esoteric level allowing not only the physical body enjoyment and total relaxation but the stones will enhance a positive, reconnecting flow of energy which will allow you to bring up, recognize and clear emotional blocks. Back Pain and Chiropractic Help Chiropractors specialize in the manipulation of joints and the vertebrae in the BACK and neck. Chiropractic theory holds that BACK PAIN is often due to subluxations, which are misalignments of the vertebrae. A misaligned vertebra can press on a nerve and produce PAIN not only in the BACK but in areas fed by the nerve. Thus, this referred PAIN can be felt in other parts of the body, like the arm or the leg, or can even affect the functioning of organs throughout the body. Chiropractic treatment has been found to be more beneficial to patients with persistent BACK and neck complaints than other forms of manipulation. Other research in Great Britain found chiropractic to provide worthwhile, long-term benefits for patients with low BACK PAIN in comparison to hospital outpatient management. This study also found chiropractic benefits to persist for a three-year period, indicating long-term benefits. For patients with uncomplicated, acute low BACK PAIN, chiropractic has also been found to be effective. Finally, a cost comparison study of BACK-related injuries showed the number of work days lost for patients treated with chiropractic to be nearly ten times less than that of patients treated under medical care. Also, average compensation costs for chiropractic care were $68.38, compared to $668.39 for patients treated with standard, nonsurgical treatment. Chiropractic physicians often use the symptoms of BACK PAIN as a diagnostic tool for determining other disorders within the body. Likewise, they believe that by clearing up the subluxation causing the BACK PAIN, they will also correct the nerve flow, which will in turn lead to the restoration of normal function of any other affected areas or organs of the body. Patients with chronic lower BACK PAIN who undergo chiropractic for some other problem like headaches or digestive problems often find that in the course of treatment the lower BACK PAIN goes away as well. Since lower BACK PAIN frequently has to do with basic misalignments of the pelvis and spine, chiropractic is a particularly appropriate treatment. Almost all forms of chiropractic would involve correcting misalignments which in turn reduce the stress on joints, help to reduce wear and tear on joints, and help to minimize joint deterioration. EXERCISE Be careful not to over exercise! Weekend warriors also have a tendency to " push " to hard to makeup for the time they have not exercised during the week. The two MOST BENEFICIAL exercises you can do to strengthen your back and relieve pain are the BACK STRENGTHENER and ABDOMINAL WORK. The Back Strengthener Do this exercise up to 4 times a day. Lay on the floor, stomach down. Slowly lengthen out the spine as you raise one arm and the opposite leg. Exhale as you raise up into an arch. Hold this as your take two deep breaths. Slowly release back to the floor. Inhale, as your raise up the other arm and opposite leg, exhale. Hold this arch agian for two deep breaths. Lower down. Inhale. Then raise both arms, leaving both feet on the floor. Exhale. Hold the arch as you take two deep breaths. Slowly lower down. Inhale. Raise both feet off the ground, leaving both arms on the floor. Exhale. Hold the arch for two deep breaths. Slowly lower down. Inhale. Lastly, raise both arms and both legs off the floor. Exhale. Hold this full arch for two deep breaths. Slowly lower down. Inhale. Repeat entire sequence one more time. This exercise should flow easily with the breath. (Always feel the energy pulling out in both directions from the top of the head and hands and out the bottom of the feet.) Try to arch up further each time. This amazing exercise will relieve back pain! Abdominal Work Ab work can be done on a daily basis. By strengthening the abdominal wall you are helping to support the lower back. 300, 400, 500 situps are not only a waste of time but allows for that many more attempts to injure yourself. It is the quality not the quantity of sit ups that makes all the difference. SLOW and controlled is the most powerful approach. Stretching a sore back will actually enhance the healing process. One good stretch for lower back pain is to gently bring your knees up to your chest. Once there, put a little pressure on your knees. Stretch, then relax. Repeat. Stretching will help the muscle calm down sooner than just waiting for it to calm down on its own. MANAGING YOUR BACK PAIN The best way to cool down an acute flare-up is with ice. It will help reduce swelling and the strain on your back muscles. For best results, put an ice pack on the site of the pain 15 or 20 minutes. Do this for a day or two. After the first day or two of ice, physicians recommend that you switch to heat. Take a soft towel and put it in a basin of very warm water. Wring it well and flatten it so that there are no creases in it. Lie chest down with pillows under your hips and ankles and fold the towel across the painful part of your back. Put some plastic wrap over that, then put a heating pad turned on medium on top of the plastic. If possible, place something on top that will create pressure, like a telephone book. This creates moist heat and will help reduce muscle spasms. For those of you who can't make up your mind which feels better, it's okay to use both methods. It may even have an added bonus. An intermittent regimen of heat and ice will actually make you feel better. Do 20 minutes of ice, then 20 minutes of heat, and keep repeating the cycle. Give yourself time. Time is the best healer, along with lower back and abdominal strengthening. The way we train our thoughts also has extreme control over our pain. Alternative Therapy from chiropractors, osteopaths, physical therapists, acupuncturists, orthopedists, and massage therapist can all be very beneficial in so many remarkable ways. EMOTIONAL ASPECT There is an emotional aspect to every illness. Often times, it is the emotional thoughts or " excess emotions " that will lead to illness. The following therapies are utilized for calming the mind, help with stress relief and focuses on our mental powers over any situation. The ability to balance your emotional, mental, physical and spiritual self is up to you. Noted metaphysical expert and healer Louise Hay views back pain in a unique and powerful way. She equates lower back pain with having a fear of money and lack of financial support. Middle back pain with guilt. Stuck in all that stuff back there; " get of my back " . Upper back pain she associates with lack of emotional support. Feeling unloved or holding back love. All metaphysical concepts that one should certainly consider when addressing back pain. Yoga poses can be good alternatives to " traditional " health remedies because they relax the body and mind, improve circulation and respiration, reduce tension and help the body through it's healing process. BACK PAIN: The Yogic breath exercise can be done without instruction, without danger, and with a good chance that your discomfort and stressful feelings will be reduced. Relaxation Breath is the most powerful tool for stress management. Sit up, with your back straight in any position. Place your tongue against the ridge of tissue just behind your upper front teeth and keep it there throughout the exercise. Exhale completely through your mouth. Close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose to a mental count of four. Hold your breath for a count of seven. Exhale completely through your mouth, to a count of eight. Repeat this cycle three more times for a total of four breaths. Try to do this breathing exercise at least twice a day. You can repeat the whole sequence as often as you wish, but don't do it more than four breaths at one time for the first month of practice. This exercise is fairly intense and has a profound effect on the nervous system. Deep Diaphram Breath Sit with your legs crossed in a comfortable position. Breathe slowly and evenly from your diaphragm, through your nose. Fill your lower abdomen, lungs, then chest with air. Hold for a four count then slowly exhale the air out from your chest, lungs, then lower abdomen. Repeat 3 or 4 times. That's it! Just allow your shoulders to drop and your face relax as you breath, deep. Also consider Alternate Nostril Breathing, Bridge, Cat, Cow, Child's Pose, Downward Facing Dog, Fish, Head to Knee, Knee to Chest, Lying Down Twist, Plough, Spinal Twist, Standing Forward Bend. MEDITATION: Meditation is a time-honored technique that can take you into infinite dimensions of consciousness. One major principle to meditation is in the ability to completely quiet your mind. Quieting the mind comes as a result of meditating over a long period of time, but any time you are looking within, you are meditating. There are many meditation methods. Some are passive and others are active -- not in the physical sense, but in the sense that you actually do something during meditation. Meditators learn to focus their awareness and direct it onto an object: the breath, a phrase or word: a mantra, repeated silently, a memorized inspirational phrase, an image in the mind's eye. Researchers have documented immediate benefits in terms of lowered blood pressure, decreased heart and respiratory rate, increased blood flow, and other measurable signs of the relaxation response. Meditation will calm an agitated mind, creating optimal physical and mental health, undo our sense of separateness, which is the common root of fear and misery, unify consciousness, putting us in touch with our higher self and connect us to higher consciousness. Meditation restructures the mind, allowing us to achieve our full potential as human beings. Fold your hands gently in your lap and close your eyes. Take a few deep breaths. Then just sit. If you have never meditated before, you will probably feel as if your mind is full of thoughts. Don't try to stop the thoughts, just watch them. Imagine that you are on the bank of a river and that your thoughts are the river going by. Don't try to stop the river, just watch it. Within a week, you will see the river begin to slow down. You may become impatient, or even bored. That's okay. If you find yourself complaining, just watch the thoughts pass by. Do this for 5 to 10 minutes. You may find that you fall asleep because you are so relaxed. That's good because, in many ways, you have begun to let go. Continue at this pace and each day allow just alittle more time for yourself to meditate. Doing this allows you to relax and forget about time. Music Therapy: Taking your focus away. Vibrational medicine which validates that everything in the universe is in a state of vibration and the frequency at which an object or person most naturally vibrates is called resonance. The chakras, bones, and organs in the body all possess a different resonant frequency. When an organ or part of the body is vibrating out of tune or nonharmoniously, it is called " dis ease " or disease. A body is in a healthy state of being when each cell, each organ creates a resonance that is in harmony with the whole being. Music is a powerful tool that can be used in so many ways. It has been proven that the type of music that makes a person relax or become receptive is not any one kind. It all depends on the individual and their affinity with it. Metaphysical approach. The power of your mind and your belief system has everything to do with the condition, the speed and the way that you heal. * Our Belief System is one of the major factors that can get us through situations or can cause our life to crumble around us! I do believe that there is a lot of innate goodness and balancing our minds do subconsciously to get us through hard times. The other portion of this is how we " program " ourselves to deal with any given situation. * Our self-confidence and self-love are often the key to opening and strengthening this portion of our thoughts which in turn emanates from ourselves! * Energy follows thought. Program thought to be positive and your energy will reflect it! * Really appreciating what we DO have as opposed to what we would like to have, sometimes makes a signifcant difference. This is always an important element in healing that is often neglected. Most chronic (on-going) back pain is not due to structural injury but to unbalanced muscular contraction and inflammation resulting from an unbalanced pattern of nervous control of the muscular system. This problem, called (TMS) for Tension Myositis Syndrome was coined by John Sarno, MD. His record of clinical success based on just talking to patients and convincing them of the true nature of their pain. After hearing these talks, many of them report that the pain has disappeared for the first time in years. I have seen a great number of chronic back pain disappear as a result of people making radical changes in their emotional and mental life. Obviously, back pain can be in the form of real, physically distorted muscular pain,however, most often the pain is not all in the back. It is in the nervous system, and that system connects to the mind and the emotions. John Sarno, MD states " Most people with chronic back pain go around thinking they have a bad back and that the trouble is there. In my experience all chronic back (and neck) pain should be considered TMS until proved otherwise, and most therapeutic effort should be directed at your head: specifically at changing your patterns of thinking, feeling, and handling stress that lead the nervous system into this abnormal pattern. Of course, if you have any history of back injury, that vulnerable spot will be a perfect focus for TMS " . STONE & CRYSTAL REMEDIES: Crystals have both piezoelectric and pyroelectric properties. This means that the polarities of the crystal will change when subjected to pressure or heat (even body heat from the hands). This will radiate energy from the crystal due to this reversal of polarities. It provides the transfer, storage and transformation of energy. Offering a balanced energy field, energy modification, amplifies both energy and thought, clarity in thinking, and harmony and alignment with the chakra energy areas. BACK PAIN: Amazonite, Apache Tear, Azurite, Basalt, Chrysocolla, Diopside, Wonderstone, Zebra Rock. Piriformis Syndrome Sciatic pain can be caused by compression of the sciatic nerve by the piriformis muscle. The piriformis muscle extends from the pelvic surface of the sacrum to the upper border of the greater trochanter of the femur and, during running or sitting, can squeeze the sciatic nerve at the site where the nerve emerges from under the piriformis to over the gemellus and obturator internus muscles. Symptoms and Signs A chronic nagging ache, pain, tingling, or numbness starts in the buttocks but can extend along the course of the sciatic nerve, down the entire back of the femur and tibia, and in front of the tibia. Pain is usually chronic and worsens when the piriformis is pressed against the sciatic nerve (eg, while sitting on a toilet, a car seat, or a narrow bicycle seat or while running). Unlike piriformis pain, disk compression of the sciatic nerve is usually associated with lumbar pain, particularly during lumbar extension. Diagnosis Thorough physical examination is essential for diagnosis: Freiberg's maneuver (forceful internal rotation of the extended thigh) stretches the piriformis muscle, causing pain. Pace's maneuver (abducting the affected leg) elicits pain in a sitting patient. For Beatty's maneuver, the patient lies on a table on the side of the nonaffected leg. The affected leg is placed behind the nonaffected leg with the bent knee on the table. Raising the knee several inches off the table causes pain in the buttocks. For the Mirkin test, the patient should stand, keeping the knees straight, and slowly bend toward the floor. The examiner should press into the buttocks where the sciatic nerve crosses the piriformis muscle, causing pain that starts at the point of contact and that extends down the back of the leg. Pain can also occur with pelvic or rectal examination. Treatment The patient should stop running, bicycling, or performing any activity that elicits pain. A patient whose pain is aggravated by sitting should stand up immediately or, if unable to do so, change positions to raise the painful area from the seat. Stretching exercises, although often recommended, are rarely beneficial, and any movement that raises the knee forcibly often aggravates symptoms. A corticosteroid injection into the site near where the piriform muscle crosses the sciatic nerve often helps, presumably by reducing fat around the muscle, making it less likely to press on the nerve. Acupuncture. The body functions as an entity through 12 channels called " Meridians " , that distribute Qi. " Meridians " or channels are pathways of energy flow. Very often pain, numbness, soreness, sensations of heat or cold, and other sensations along the course of a meridian will be an important clue to problems in that particular system. Each meridian connects to an organ. It is through these meridians that organs receive nourishment and stay in balance (function properly). There are also 8 extra vessels that store energy and help regulate the flow of Qi in the meridians. In addition there are gates through which the inner Qi communicates with the environment, to help regulate the body. It is a natural law that energy flows in wavy lines like the breeze, mountain ranges and streams. On the land, Qi moves in dragon-like lines along the terrain. In people, Qi flows in the meridians. This undulating flow is beneficial and natural and is relative to how Qi of people interacts with Qi of nature. A study was conducted on Piriformis Syndrome with Acupuncture and different needling techniques. In the multidirectional acupuncture group, patients were mainly needled at Huan Tiao (GB 30), Zhi Bian (Bl 54), and a shi points on the buttocks. These were needled with three inch 28, gauge needles which were inserted and manipulated with both hands. The heads of these needles were directed toward the site of the pain. Then the needles were twisted causing relatively strong soreness, numbness, distention, and pain which radiated down the sciatic nerve and up into the back. Then these needles were withdrawn and reinserted into the muscle with the tip of the needle pointed successively up, down, right, left. After this, three cones of warm needle moxibustion were burned on the handles of the needles. At the same time, needles were inserted into Yang Ling Quan (GB 34), Wei Zhong (Bl 40), Cheng Shan (Bl 57), Fei Yang (Bl 58), and Kun Lun (Bl 60). These were manipulated with even supplementing- even draining or draining hand technique. These needles were retained for 20-3 0 minutes and then removed. Treatment was given once every other day or once per day in acute cases, and 10 treatments equaled one course of therapy. The members of the conventional or unidirectional acupuncture group received acupuncture at the same points for the same amount of time. However, the points on the buttock region were not needled with the multidirectional technique but were simply inserted perpendicularly. Both were deemed affective for Piriformis Syndrome. Andrew Pacholyk, L.Ac. MSTOM Peacefulmind.com Therapies for healing mind, body, spirit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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