Back Pain? What to do when you throw your back out
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“Throwing out your back” or acute back pain can be crippling and significantly affect your day / week. Everything seems to hurt: getting up, tying your shoes, moving, everything. What should you do? ❗️These strategies are to minimize pain and improve motion- let a medical specialist diagnose the issue.
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Here are some methods to help you reduce your pain.
1️⃣Determine your pain triggers: it is important to determine exactly what motions cause pain. Bend forward, bend back, bend to both sides and rotate. Once you figure out what motions hurt you should avoid them. Most people with back pain have hard time figuring out what hurts. If you keep picking a scab it won’t heal. Your job is to avoid irritating the sensitive area FOR NOW. In days/weeks when your symptoms calm down you want to re-Introduce these motions.
2️⃣Gentle pain-free motion: Once you figure out what moves hurt your next job is to move in the other ways that don’t hurt. This helps de-sensitize the system and reminds your body that it can move in certain ways without pain.
⭕️Cat cow Exercise: on your hands and knees move your stomach up and down. Isolate movement to the spine. Complete 10 cycles of pain free motion.
3️⃣Activate your core: Pain inhibits motor activation. Therefore you want to make sure you can re-activate your core in a pain-free way. While laying on your back bring your knees to your chest and push just enough until you feel your abs turn on. Start out with 10 second holds and build up to 30 seconds.
4️⃣Movement: Walking, biking, swimming. Whatever way you can without hurting do it. .
✅I recommend seeing a healthcare professional. See a physician if it is required by your insurance but if you can get in quick to see a PT or chiro do it. You want to make sure this does not become a chronic issue. Back pain is the number #1 cause for disability. Even when you are out of pain I would recommend seeing someone so you have strategies to avoid this from happening again.