Strains, sprains and back pain are the three most common ailments among active people. The spine is especially vulnerable during exercise. Statistics show that over 80 percent of the population will experience back pain. With backs, we pay dearly for our mistakes so prevention is much better than the cure. By following these seven steps, patients can dramatically reduce their chance of injury while working out:
• Warm up for five minutes to increase oxygen and blood flow and to warm up the muscles.
• Incorporate safe body mechanics and keep your spine in a balance, such as using your leg and arm muscles when bending and lifting; maintaining a straight spine when bending and lifting; bend at the hips and knees instead of the waist.
• Avoid using heavy weights.
• Be very careful with personal trainers who may have credentials in health but no clue about disease. It is crucial to check credentials before signing on with a trainer.
• Exercise on a regular basis to maintain spine health on a long-term basis.
• Stop the activity if it doesn’t feel right. Then ask questions about proper technique before starting up again.
• Practice proper nutrition to maintain body healthy body weight and avoiding undue strain on the back. A study in the journal SPINE revealed that overweight people were nearly three times as likely visit the hospital with a back injury than those at a healthy weight.
Acute back pain often goes away after a few weeks.
If you find that conservative treatments don’t help, back surgery may offer relief. But it doesn’t help every type of back pain. In fact, back surgery is needed in only a small percentage of cases.
In most situations, an operation won’t be considered unless conservative measures have failed, and even then it’s not often indicated. Back surgery is usually reserved for times when a nerve is pinched, the spinal cord is compressed or there is back or neck pain.
For those of us who don’t want to give up a chance to have an active lifestyle, traditional, open back surgery may not be the answer. Medical advancements now offer an alternative. Advanced outpatient surgeries, like those pioneered at The Bonati Spine Institute in Hudson, Fla., allow for greater precision, faster recovery and less damage to healthy muscles and tissue. Using patented instrumentation and methods, these advanced spine surgeries today employ the smallest incision possible to correct problems. This type of surgery allows you to return to the gym days after surgery.
www.beckersspine.com/spine/10892-dr-alfred-o-bonati-back-injury-prevention-for-active-patients