Franklin Pain and Wellness Center

Back pain is a familiar malady these days, affecting 8 out of 10 people at some point in their lifetime. Its prevalence is linked to an increasingly sedentary lifestyle. Less than 20% of private-industry jobs require moderate physical activity and experts agree that our bodies aren't designed for optimum desk job performance.

The body loves movement," explains Dr. Mary Ann Wilmarth, chief of physical therapy at Harvard University. "When you're in one position for a long time, your back doesn't get the full range of motion."

Sitting also puts more stress on your back than standing. When you're seated, your spinal column has to hold 140% of your body weight. When you're standing, this decreases to 100%. The extra stress when sitting can strain muscles and cause disc problems. Combined with prolonged poor posture of hunching over your computer, you're bound to feel some aches eventually.

Feeling the pain? It is treatable.  If your pain is caused by a specific condition like stenosis or a herniated disc, or,  if your pain radiates to other body parts, you can consult with your physician or call The Franklin Pain Center.

For nonspecific pain, the key is to get moving. Try standing every 30 minutes and stretching, extending arms upward while gently arching your back. You don't have to stretch for long periods to feel relief. Just standing up for a minute or two puts the muscles in a different position, increases blood flow and relieves some of the stress on your body.

Increasing your range of motion is key. If you sit at a desk, you need to perform standing activities. If you walk often already, consider an exercise with a different motion, such as bicycling.  If your pain makes it too difficult to do these activities, The Franklin Pain Center will provide treatment to get you in a condition where you can do more physical activity than before and build up muscle to mitigate future painful conditions.
 
Excerpts from Kansas City Star

Back pain, neck pain, and headaches are three common pain conditions that affect millions of Americans every day. About 116 million people suffer from chronic pain, with 27% of pain sufferers complaining of low back pain, 15% headache or migraine, and another 15% neck pain.

Some of this pain is the result of chronic underlying medical conditions, and requires pain treatment. But in some cases, you can manage pain by taking a few simple steps in your daily life.

Posture

If you could do just one thing to lessen the amount of pain you experience daily, it would be to improve your posture.

The average person slumps forward over their pelvis. This puts a lot of strain on the lumbar spine and can add to low back pain. We also tend to sit with our arms and head extended forward. That stretches the posterior structures of the back and can cause muscle tightness in the shoulders and neck. The forward positioning of the head can also lead to headaches.

So how should you be sitting? You can set up your work station for a pain-reducing posture. Some tips:

• Don’t work on a laptop.
• Set up your monitor so that you’re looking not straight ahead, but just about 10 degrees down from straight. “You shouldn’t be leaning and rounding forward.
• Add a footrest beneath your desk. “You want your ankles to be slightly flexed. This realigns your entire lower body, putting more weight onto your hips and less on your back.

Take a few minutes every hour to stand up and stretch, or even just lie flat on your back behind your desk.

Sleep

More than one-third of all adults -- 39% -- get less than 7 hours of sleep each weeknight. That may also be part of why so many of us are so achy.

During sleep the body heals. When you’re not falling into REM sleep or limiting that type of sleep, you tend to be clumsier and your muscles aren’t as quick and resilient. So if you’re not getting enough REM sleep, your potential for injury increases, and decreases your ability to heal from an existing injury.

There are many culprits behind sleep problems, from sleep apnea to wakeful children to work stress. But if you are not getting enough sleep at night take a look at two things: your mattress and your sleep position, you can also experiment with pillows.

If you suffer from chronic pain or pain from an underlying medical condition, contact Franklin Pain and Wellness Center.

Original article WebMD