Diagnose and Treat Your Own Back Pain
Before You See a Doctor or Physical Therapist:

You wake up one day with terrible back pain, or you have had chronic back pain for several months… You want to get a handle on this problem and minimize, or even eliminate your back pain. There is a way to do a "quick screening," and then implement a treatment that can help your symptoms.

There are four characteristics that you may notice you have

1. Position Sensitivity: Is there is a specific position or positions that are uncomfortable to you? Do specific positions relieve your back pain?
   
   With this type of sensitivity, you need to think about where your back is in space. For example, if you sit in a straight chair at work, and this reproduces your pain, you need to change your position in the chair. Try sliding forward in your chair slightly, putting a small pillow to support your low back, and see if this decreases your back symptoms.
   
   
2. Weight Bearing Sensitivity: Do you notice increased back pain in weight bearing positions? These include standing and sitting. With this sensitivity, your pain will continue to worsen during the day, if you remian in a weight bearing position. You will also notice increased pain with coughing or sneezing.
   
   An elastic binder may help decrease pain with this type of sensitivity. You can also decrease your pain by doing unloading positions: lying down, traction, and pool therapy.
   
   
3. Prolonged Posture Sensitivity: Do you feel pain when you stay in any position for too long of a period?
   
   If this is the case, you must make it a habit to change positions frequently. If you sit at work, you need to stand every 15 - 30 minutes. Another option is to use an oversized exercise ball as a chair, so you can switch positions while sitting on a ball.
   
   
4. Pressure Sensitivity: Is there an area on you back that is painful or extremely sensitive when it comes into contact with something?

You need to relieve the pressure on these sensitive areas. For example, if you have pain on your coccyx (tail bone,) you can sit on a "doughnut pillow" to take the pressure off of the coccyx.

Diagnosing back pain becomes more difficult when you realize you have more than one of the above sensitivities. It is recommended that you follow up this screening with a visit to your physician or physical therapist if you have back pain for greater than one week.

Other important facts:

● 8 out of 10 people will develop back pain in their life. 75 - 90% of those suffering
   from back pain will have recurring episodes.

● Your body was made for movement. There is a loss of 3% body strength for
    each day you remain in bed due to back pain.

● Many back injuries are due to improper body mechanics. This could simply be
   bending over the incorrect way several hundred times a day. Through time,
   much like a car, if you do not keep it running correctly, it will become injured,
   and break down.

● The time to prevent back injuries is NOW! Learn how to perform all of your
   daily activities with the correct posture before it is too late. Strengthening
   your abdominals to stabilize your spine is important. Lastly, a stretching
   program is imperative, as all the muscles in the body are related to the healthy
   functioning of the spine.

Get to the Core offers a Get on the Ball Class, which focuses both on spine stabilization and flexibility. It is ideal for all levels.