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Dr. Raiszadeh describes three ways for women to prevent back pain.
Dr. Raiszadeh:
Ladies, there are three great tips to always follow to prevent having back pain. So the last thing you want to do is to come and see a spine specialist for back pain, but the first thing, you have got to be sensible. Understand where, what you are doing in your life in regard to if it’s a lot of bending, if it’s a lot of sitting, it’s a lot of standing, try to avoid those prolonged periods of time and if you have to, make sure that you are in a position that’s ergonomically correct. So sensible.
So position yourself, your chair in a position where your back is upright. You are not slouched over; your arms are in a good position where you are looking straightforward at the computer. That’s really one of the most important things, and one of the most common type of patients who I see are those patients who do a lot of repetitive activity and they don’t appreciate the position and that’s what causes the problem.
So number one, you have to be sensible; understand where exactly, what your work environment is. Number two, your posture, so when you walk, when we walk, when you walk try not to bend over. If you are holding baby, hold baby in an upright position or sit down so you have the back support; you have something to lean on. And if you are working out, make sure you are doing something when you are working out with your arms, your chest, your legs, whatever it is, put yourself in a position where you are in the right alignment because if you do not put yourself in the right alignment, that potentially throws off the muscle alignment and can cause you back pain.
And the third thing you have to do is you’ve got to make sure to work out and work out is a very simple word saying work out; what kind of workout? So that work out entails a lot of core strengthening. Strengthen the muscles. We see a lot of professional athletes who come to us because of back pain and they are strong everywhere else throughout their body, but they haven’t worked on their back muscles in exclusion.
So that means is either you can sit on the ground so if your baby or if your kids or whatever, between work, whatever time you have, you can even sit down on the floor, lay down on the floor with your belly down and lift your arms and legs up as if, kind of like Superman or Superwoman, if you will, and that’s going to strengthen your back and you are going to feel the tension in your back, and that strengthens your back muscle.
That’s something that you can do at home five times a day at night before you, or five times at night before you go to sleep, but being strong, being healthy, being strengthening the abdominal muscles and back muscles is very important as well.
And, let’s not forget stretching. Stretching is just as important as strengthening because if you don’t stretch your muscles and you start strengthening, you potentially could pull one of your muscles. So, stretching is key because it allows your joints to expand. It allows your ligaments to be free. It allows your muscles to, you know, get strong, but nevertheless allows it to retain its normal length, and once it does that there’s a much decreased chance that you will have or it will cause injury. So stretching is just as important as strengthening. You have to stretch your muscles to make sure all the muscles are in appropriate alignment.
About Dr. Raiszadeh, M.D.:
Board certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery, Dr. Ramin Raiszadeh is an orthopaedic surgeon specializing in the complex field of adult spinal surgery. He earned his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, where he received the Paul Harrington Award for Research. He also completed a specialized internship and residency program at Baylor before achieving the highest level of medical education and fellowship training at the University of Texas Medical School. During this fellowship, under the directorship of multiple neurosurgeons and orthopedic spine surgeons, he became skilled in treating all forms of pediatric and adult spinal conditions.