It has been two months since I injured my back while playing basketball. Whenever I lower my head, my back feels a little sore. I feel like I can't lift my spirits and my breathing is a little difficu

It has been two months since I injured my back while playing basketball. Whenever I lower my head, my back feels a little sore. I feel like I can't lift my spirits and my breathing is a little difficult.

Treatment for low back pain

Foreword:

A survey shows that human beings have different intervertebral discs in their back due to different postures of standing and sitting. For example, if the pressure between the spine when standing upright is 100 units, when standing and bending down to pick up something, the pressure will rise to 200 units. If you are sitting and bending over to pick up something, the pressure will be even higher. Two hundred and seventy-five units! It can be seen that the posture with greater pressure should not be used for too long. Because the longer you use improper posture, the more damage your back will suffer! Moreover, the stimulation of pain is not only unbearable for the individual, but also makes the patient unable to work and live normally. It will also cause significant losses to the productivity of the family and society as a whole and the national economy!

Among all chronic pain patients, patients with low back pain account for the highest proportion. In the past, Taiwan was an agricultural society. The people were hard-working and relied mostly on farming or labor to earn a living. Their daily diet was mostly light and mainly based on vegetables. There was very little big fish or meat or seafood and shark fins. Therefore, there were very few people with chronic diseases or backaches. cases. However, as we enter the 21st century, human life expectancy increases and society enters old age. People enjoy social prosperity and progress, work pressure doubles, diet becomes westernized, exercise decreases, and human physical fitness and health naturally decline! Aging, chronic diseases are increasing, and back pain has become an inescapable ailment for people from all walks of life!

Who is prone to low back pain?

Those office workers and porters who do not like to exercise and are weak are most likely to suffer from back pain! In fact, the range of possible ethnic groups ranges from young adults to adults to the elderly. Especially workers who stand or sit for long periods of time or who bend down to carry heavy objects for a long time, such as drivers, store clerks, porters, nursing staff, and computer users, are most likely to suffer from back pain due to fixed postures or incorrect postures; in addition, The factors may be inner anxiety, dissatisfaction with work or family disputes, or frequent insomnia. Long-term depression and depression will cause physical and mental stress. Long-term pressure on the back muscles will also cause muscle pain, and the pain will aggravate the depression and anxiety!

How to treat low back pain

1. Exercise therapy: Exercise can increase the softness of muscles and the flexibility of joints. It can also enhance the strength and endurance of muscles, thereby improving the overall health of the body. Circulates Qi and blood and relieves physical and mental stress. Exercise can also help prevent soreness or eliminate back pain. It is the most important and effective method to treat back pain. Currently, the best light exercises are Tai Chi, Qigong and swimming.

2. Massage therapy: Massage and massage can help release or reduce physical and mental stress and relieve tense muscles. Therefore, it is also one of the important methods to eliminate back pain.

3. Traction therapy: For patients with intervertebral disc herniation and patients with lumbar foraminal stenosis, this method can help widen the distance between the vertebral bodies, prevent bone spurs or cartilage from compressing nerves, and help slow down the pain. Pain symptoms.

4. Acupuncture therapy: Acupuncture can promote the circulation of qi and blood, and has analgesic effects, and is quite effective in treating acute pain. For patients with chronic lumbar muscle strain, local warm moxibustion can be used, which has the effect of relaxing muscles and activating collaterals.

5. Physical therapy: including ultrasound, electrotherapy, hot and cold compresses and other methods. Ultrasound can penetrate deep into muscle tissue and generate heat, which can help relieve pain and reduce swelling. Electrotherapy uses electrical stimulation to cause muscle cells to move regularly and relieve muscle hardening and cramping pain. Cold compress is suitable for acute pain within one or two days, and has the effect of relieving pain and reducing swelling; while hot compress is more suitable for chronic pain, improving local circulation and enhancing tissue recovery ability.

6. Drug treatment: For those with local stasis, swelling, heat and pain, external application of drugs that activate blood circulation, reduce swelling and clear heat can be applied externally. For those with no stasis and swelling but pain, external traumatology ointment can be applied. For oral administration, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory analgesics are generally used. When using oral medications, be sure to consult a physician first.

In 1986, Americans suffered losses of US$79 billion due to pain. There are currently no official statistics in Taiwan, but based on a rough estimate based on one-tenth of the population of the United States, the loss in 1996 was approximately US$1. 16 billion yuan! This loss accounted for 6% of the gross national product (GNP) of that year (please refer to the information of the Accounting and Accounting Office). For such a significant loss, I believe that individuals, companies, and governments should pay attention to it and try their best to reduce it. Just control it!

In fact, it is not difficult to avoid soreness and maintain good health as long as you can exercise regularly and regularly. Everyone knows this truth, but it is really difficult to continue to exercise. Only when you are suffering from illness will you start to exercise, and only after exercise will you realize its benefits. Therefore, we would like to make a special appeal to exercise early to prevent back pain. After all, prevention is better than cure! We would also like to remind you to pay attention to preventing sports injuries and choose light exercise - Tai Chi and Qigong as health exercises to maintain health.

Say goodbye to back pain

Low back pain is a common symptom among modern people. According to statistics from the National Health Insurance Bureau, the medical expenses for this area in 1987 were as high as 30%. Billion, more than 2 million people have sought medical treatment for back pain. The National Health Insurance Bureau stated that the golden course of treatment for back pain is within three months after the onset of the disease. Therefore, if people have back pain, they should try to seize this period. If the treatment exceeds the golden course, even if you receive the same rehabilitation course, the effect will not be as good as immediate treatment.

The causes of upper and lower back pain syndrome, except for a small number of internal diseases (such as gastrointestinal discomfort), are mostly caused by carelessness in daily life postures or aging bone spurs or external injuries. Among them, the majority of cases are caused by excessive pressure on the back due to poor daily posture and incorrect movements.

So in order to prevent back pain, the best way is to avoid incorrect postures and develop regular exercise habits, especially waist exercises to enhance muscle endurance and flexibility.

Lai Jinxin, a physician at the Department of Rehabilitation at National Taiwan University Hospital, said that regular exercise habits should be developed in daily life. Exercise is equivalent to strengthening the capital of physical health. At the same time, incorrect postures in daily life should be avoided.

In terms of avoiding incorrect postures, key points that should be noted include: when lifting heavy objects or picking up things on the ground, bend your knees instead of bending your waist as much as possible; do not bend in an asymmetrical posture Pull or lift things; avoid maintaining the same posture for a long time, because after any static posture is maintained for a period of time, the muscles in this area can easily cause fatigue. At this time, the slightly incorrect posture can easily strain the muscles.

As for treatment guidelines, "pain" is a signal of the onset of disease, especially in musculoskeletal areas. As soon as pain occurs, the first thing to do is to rest immediately to avoid aggravating further damage. Then find a specialist with rehabilitation training (such as rehabilitation department, orthopedics, neurology or plastic surgery) to provide detailed examination, diagnosis and treatment methods. If there are no symptoms of nerve compression, use local heat therapy or electrotherapy for 20 minutes a day until symptoms improve. However, it should be noted that heat therapy, especially electrotherapy, is not suitable for patients with spinal cord cancer, metastatic bone cancer, or infectious spondylitis. (Author: Lin Jialiang)

Signs of cumulative damage to low back pain

Many housewives do housework with incorrect postures for a long time, which can easily cause cumulative damage and become chronic. Symptoms: low back pain is the most common clinical manifestation. At this time, it is necessary to seek medical treatment as soon as possible, use drugs to relieve the pain, and cooperate with appropriate physical rehabilitation to avoid permanent damage to musculoskeletal tissues.

Mother Wang next door often feels pain in her waist and back recently. At first she didn’t take it seriously, thinking it was a problem common to the elderly. As she gets older, she will naturally have pain on the left side and pain on the right side. So she went to the pharmacy to buy painkillers and applied them on her pain. When the pain subsided, she thought it was better. She never thought of asking doctors and rehabilitation staff for help, nor did she realize that this might be a sign of cumulative damage.

Until one day, Mrs. Wang was squatting in front of the basin, washing clothes as usual, chatting and laughing with Mrs. Liu next door, when she suddenly remembered that the hot water in the kettle should be boiling, and she was about to get up and turn off the gas. , at this time, a strong tearing pain hit the muscles in the back of the waist. The pain made Mother Wang burst into tears on the spot. If Mother Liu hadn't been there to help, Mother Wang would not have been able to straighten her waist at all, let alone stand up. At this time, he realized that something was wrong and went to the hospital for help. The doctor said that this was a cumulative injury caused by working in incorrect postures for a long time. Fortunately, he was treated early, otherwise there would be many sequelae.

In fact, there are many housewives in Taiwan who have the same problem as Mrs. Wang. Doing housework in incorrect postures for a long time can easily cause cumulative damage and then evolve into chronic symptoms. The extent of the impact can be huge. Small. In the case of Mrs. Wang, because she washed clothes in a bent position for a long time, the back muscles were over-stretched and fatigued, so she developed back pain, which was like someone pulling the muscles.

In the past, when common medical knowledge was not common, it was easy to ignore it as a "normal phenomenon", or to seek help from a martial arts center, thinking that applying a medicinal patch would be fine. In fact, if you did not seek medical treatment in a timely manner, May cause permanent damage to musculoskeletal and other tissues. When encountering this situation, you should seek help from a rehabilitation doctor as soon as possible. Medication can not only relieve pain, but also reduce excessive muscle tension and avoid permanent damage to tissues. In addition, there are physical therapists in the rehabilitation department who can provide physical therapies, such as electrotherapy, heat therapy, etc., to relieve pain symptoms and help injured tissues recover. Occupational therapists can provide auxiliary equipment or assistive devices to correct incorrect joint postures and provide suggestions for modification of the home living environment.

In fact, if we can pay attention to some small details in our normal daily activities, we may be able to minimize the chance of cumulative injuries. As the saying goes: "Prevention is better than cure." Here are some suggestions for improving the living environment and working habits based on Wang's mother's example:

1. Raise the laundry platform to waist height: use traditional When washing clothes, whether you are sitting or standing, the washing platform should be adjusted to a position above the waist. Do not allow a bent posture to avoid excessive stretching of the back muscles. When considering a washing machine, if the economy permits, you can choose a drum-type washing machine and raise it to about chest height to avoid bending down to get into the washing machine to pick up clothes.

2. Use a chair with a backrest or something to lean on behind your back to do things: having something to support your back can reduce the burden on your muscles. Therefore, in addition to active household chores such as sweeping and mopping the floor, , as long as it is a job that requires a long time, such as cooking dinner, it is best to choose a position with back support. In addition, the back support should be at least shoulder level, so as to have a better support effect.

3. Use long-handled tools: Bending will also occur when sweeping, mopping, and lifting trash can lids. We can choose to use a longer handle or stick a long handle on the trash can. For the stick, try to use the movement of the elbow joint to compensate for the angle required for bending, at the left and right sides of the waist.

4. Take a moderate rest: If the work takes a long time, get up and do a simple stretching exercise in about 20 minutes before continuing, so as to prevent the muscles from being in a state of tension for a long time and give them a chance to relax. .

5. Maintain appropriate exercise in daily life: Moderate exercise can train muscle strength and endurance, making muscles less likely to feel sore and fatigued. It can also maintain the activity of muscle cells and accelerate the recovery of injured tissues. However, exercise prescription must follow the recommendations of doctors or rehabilitation personnel (physical therapists and occupational therapists), otherwise it may become a secondary injury.

6. Intake of balanced nutrition: In addition to developing exercise habits, balanced nutritional intake can enable the normal growth of musculoskeletal tissues. If we pay more attention to these points, I believe it can help us stay away from low back pain. ranks.

(The author Xu Huizhen is an occupational therapist at Bali Sanatorium of the Department of Health)

How to eliminate postural low back pain?

Postural low back pain is usually caused by poor posture in work, study, and daily life. Therefore, to eliminate postural low back pain, we must first improve our posture in sleeping, lying, and walking. The second step is to correct bad posture. The following is a detailed introduction to the training methods to correct posture:

1. Sitting training: The patient sits on an ordinary wooden chair with a backrest, with both hips and knees bent at 90 degrees, and the lumbar spine and backrest are as close as possible. Tight, leaving no gaps to reduce forward flexion of the lumbar spine. Patients who cannot achieve this posture can choose a chair with a raised front backrest to facilitate training.

2. Standing training: The patient's waist and back should stand upright against the wall, with the principle that the hand cannot reach between the lumbar spine and the wall, and then gradually bend the hips and knees to squat. This is the second step of training based on the seat. Only by maintaining an upright lumbar curvature can you maintain good functional status during walking, sports and heavy-loading activities.

3. Walking training: On the basis of sitting and standing training, carry out lumbar spine posture training when walking. The method is as follows:

(1) Put a notebook or other items that are easy to slide off on your head, and move forward while keeping your lumbar spine vertical and trying not to make the items on your head fall off.

(2) Lift a lighter object in each hand, keep your lumbar spine straight, and step forward at the same time.

Postural training of the lumbar spine should be a regular treatment measure carried out by patients with postural low back pain and requires perseverance. In addition, this kind of posture training can also be used for patients with lumbar disc herniation and changes in the physiological curvature of the lumbar spine.

Choose a suitable work chair

Health is a major motivation for work, so it is very important to choose a suitable work chair for yourself.

A suitable work chair must meet the following conditions:

◆Backrest

1. Height: It does not have to be above the shoulders. For some For people, a chair back that is too high will hinder work.

2. There must be a curvature to support the lumbar vertebrae, and do not use it to support the lumbar vertebrae.

◆Chair seats and cushions

1. Width: When sitting down, leave at least one inch of space on both sides.

2. Depth: The principle is to accommodate the entire buttocks and thighs, and leave some space behind the knees to avoid local compression of the knees and thighs.

3. Chair cushion: It is best to have a curved front rather than a hard and square edge.

4. Height: It is best to adjust it. In addition to matching the height of the workbench, the user's thigh angle must be roughly parallel to the ground, the knee position can be slightly lower than the hip, and the feet can Completely attached to the ground without hanging in the air.

◆Arrests

Height: not too high, otherwise it will cause shoulders to be high. If the armrest prevents the worker from pulling the chair closer to the work surface, or affects movement in the left and right directions, it is best to look for armrests that can be adjusted in height or removed.

◆Adjustability

The things that can be adjusted in chair design include: the height, depth and inclination of the seat, the height and inclination of the chair back, and the height and width of the armrests. Adjust it several times to achieve the most comfortable condition. Pneumatic adjustments are easier to use. The adjustment lever should preferably be easily accessible from a seated position.

◆Stability

The base must be stable. If you need to turn often during work, you should use a chair with casters, and five-point support is more suitable. Make sure the casters are designed to suit the type of flooring in your workplace.

◆Material

The leather is easier to clean, while the cloth has good breathability. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. The chair back and cushion should not be too soft.

◆Special work needs

If your workplace is in a production line, counter, laboratory, etc., your work requires alternating sitting and standing. When you often get up to pick up things, your height is high and A sit-stand chair designed to tilt forward would be more suitable.

Kneeling Chairs are designed to lean forward and have a cushion for the knees, which can better maintain a good posture of the spine; however, the load on the knees and lower limbs is too great, and often Causes different pain issues; the height of the work surface should be considered for optimal working posture. (Dr. Liang Huiwen, Association of Rehabilitation Medicine)

To prevent back pain, we should start by improving the workplace environment

Ms. Wang has been working in computer paperwork for a year, and she feels back pain every day. , especially the longer the working hours, the more severe the pain symptoms. After an outpatient examination, it was discovered that it was a chronic muscle and ligament strain. The cause was considered to be related to long-term sitting work and constant repetitive movements. Therefore, in addition to prescribed medication and physical therapy, we also taught her some stretching exercises to reduce muscle fatigue. It was recommended that she spend a few minutes doing exercises during her breaks from work to reduce muscle fatigue caused by maintaining the same posture for a long time. But Ms. Wang's first reaction to this suggestion was: "It's weird to do exercise in the workplace." This sentence made me think deeply...

People spend a lot of time in the workplace, so promoting health promotion programs in the workplace has been increasingly valued and promoted in recent years. Major domestic companies often promote programs for their employees, including physical fitness promotion campaigns, weight, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia control programs, and smoking cessation campaigns. However, as the incidence of musculoskeletal system-related diseases caused by work, such as numbness and pain in shoulders, neck, upper arms, and lower back pain, increases, attention is increasingly being paid to them. Countries in Europe, the United States and Japan have begun to enact laws on this system, instructing employers to improve working environments and processes and provide employees with solutions and prevention methods.

For example, for occupational lower back pain, in addition to stipulating the maximum carrying weight limit for employees, employees are also taught hygiene knowledge about back health and promote calisthenics before work or during breaks at work.

Such courses similar to back pain classrooms have been implemented in hospitals in China in the past for patients with low back pain. However, many patients are often unable to fully participate because the knowledge they learn is not highly relevant to their work. Application or the objective environment cannot cooperate with the improvement, so low back pain often occurs repeatedly. Therefore, if back health knowledge and exercise can be promoted in the workplace and truly implemented in work life, coupled with the employer's engineering improvements, such as changing the height of the workbench to avoid long-term bending work, the work will be improved. Process, reduce unnecessary handling, or replace manual handling with machines, and adopt a rotation system to avoid doing the same repetitive work for a long time to reduce exposure risks, etc.

According to foreign research results, this multi-faceted intervention and improvement can not only reduce the incidence of low back pain, reduce medical expenses and employee absenteeism, but also improve productivity and enhance employees' commitment to the company. centripetal force.

(Dr. Hong Yixun, Association of Rehabilitation Medicine)

You should not tolerate back pain!

Back pain has become a common problem all over the world. Office workers who operate computers all day long, store clerks who have to stand to serve customers, and busy salespeople all face the pain of back pain. Why can't doctors treat this problem properly?

The latest research report in the "Journal of the British Medical Association" shows that in the ten years from 1987 to 1997, although the serious back pain problem that caused inability to move decreased by 0.7, it still affected the proportion of back pain among the average person. But it increased by 12.7.

In order to understand the true impact of low back pain on the general public, researchers from the University of Southampton conducted a survey on 2,667 people aged 20 to 59 between 1987 and 1988. A total of 59 people participated in the full study; the second study was conducted among 10,363 people aged 20 to 59 between 1997 and 1998, and a total of 57 people participated in the full study. The results showed that within a year of the survey interview, the proportion of respondents with back pain increased from 36.4 in the first study in 1988 to 49.1 in the second study in 1998.

The proportion of back pain is increasing in terms of men, women, economic class, and region of residence.

Researchers believe that there are two main reasons for the increase in patients with back pain. The first is that modern people pay more attention to their own health, so they treat back pain as a symptom. The second reason is that modern bosses have accepted that back pain is a disease as a reason for taking leave, so employees are more able to use the medical system to treat back pain.

Are you also a hard-working office worker suffering from back pain? Please go to the rehabilitation department of a large hospital for treatment as soon as possible. You will find that you can return to work comfortably. (Zheng Huiwen, Doctor of Pharmacy, University of California, USA)

Low back pain: five pain prevention tips

Low back pain is the most troublesome problem for women. Compared with men's back pain, as long as men improve their sitting posture and strengthen warm-up exercises before exercise, they can greatly improve the symptoms of back pain. However, a woman's back pain also involves maintenance during her menstrual period, shoe selection, and kitchen activity space design.

When you have back pain, the smartest choice is to ask a rehabilitation physician for an examination immediately; but for women who are busy with home and work, correct rest postures can help you if you don’t have time to see a doctor. , get proper relief. When you feel low back pain, it is recommended that you:

1. It is best to lie on your side, bend your body, and lie down on the mattress. When the mattress is too soft or too hard, it is best to adjust the mattress hardness. If you sleep on your back, place pillows behind your knees to raise your feet slightly.

2. Soak in warm water for no more than fifteen minutes. It is best to use hot spring powder, bath oil or essence on the market to relieve the pain of low back pain.

3. Check your shoes. Put away all shoes with pointed toes, heels higher than five centimeters, and shoes made of excellent materials. Wear flat shoes with round or square toes instead, and multifunctional sneakers are also suitable.

4. Check the height of the kitchen sink. Try to choose an appropriate sink that matches your height. You can try this part at major kitchenware display centers to understand the impact of various sink heights on your housework.

5. Increase calcium intake. Eat more soy milk, tofu, yogurt, milk and other foods. By supplementing calcium, you can slow down bone loss and avoid the occurrence of osteoporosis. .

Lifestyle methods to alleviate low back pain can only treat the symptoms, not the root cause. It is recommended that when you suffer from low back pain, you must see a doctor immediately so that you can truly solve the problem of low back pain! (Zheng Huiwen, Doctor of Pharmacy, University of California, USA)

Do you have experience with back pain?

According to statistics, about 70 to 80 people have experienced it in their lives. Back pain experience. When you have this problem, in addition to seeking medical treatment, you should also pay attention to maintenance. Here are some daily life precautions for your reference:

uCorrect sitting posture:

1. Keep your upper body straight and your lower back straight when sitting.

2. The ideal choice for a seat is one that is hard, has a backrest, and can support the lower back. When sitting, your knees should be slightly higher than your hips, your feet should be flat on the ground, and the chair should be wide enough to support your thighs.

3. Avoid sitting in the same position for too long. If necessary, move around every one to two hours.

uStanding and walking:

1. When sitting to standing, you must move your hips forward first, and then stand up, avoiding bending forward too much.

2. When standing, keep your back straight, raise your head, tuck your chin, tighten your abdomen, tighten your buttocks and lift your chest.

3. When going up or down stairs or entering or exiting thresholds, you must first measure the height. Do not be careless to avoid tripping and injuring your waist.

4. Avoid standing for a long time. If you must stand for a long time to work, you can use a footrest to rest one foot, which also reduces the burden on the waist.

5. When changing from standing to walking, you should move your feet first and then your body.

u Rest and sleep:

1. Choose a suitable bed, ideally a flat and firm mattress, usually a 3/4-inch thick wooden board A quilt, blanket or soft cushion is enough. The bed surface should be wide enough, as it may cause discomfort if it is too narrow.

2. The best sleeping position is to sleep on your side, with your hands in front of your body, your knees and hips bent. When lying down, you must place a pillow under your knees to raise your lower limbs and keep your lower back flat. Do not raise your hands above your head.

3. Pay attention when getting in and out of bed: before getting out of bed, lie on your side on the edge of the bed, bend your knees and move your hands to the edge of the bed, move your body with your hips, and support your body weight with your hands to sit up. When getting into bed, sit on the edge of the bed first, bend your elbows and lie on your side, bend your knees and move your legs to the bed.

u Moving heavy objects or lifting things:

1. When moving heavy objects, use a crane or other tools as much as possible to reduce the chance of injuring your back.

2. If you have to move heavy objects, you must do it correctly. You must bend your knees and squat down, use your lower legs to try to keep the objects close to your body, and stand up slowly; do not bend down to pick up things or lift heavy objects. Don't twist your back.

3. Don’t reach over other objects when taking them, and don’t reach out but do so reluctantly. Don't make any movements across furniture to open or close windows.

Driving:

1. Before driving, you should prepare the driver's seat so that your knees are bent higher than your hips so that your feet can move when you step on the accelerator and brake again. Easy to operate. If the seat is too soft, you can prepare a seat to support your waist and adjust the height of the headrest on the seat to make it more comfortable.

2. When driving, your waist should be close to the back of the chair, keep your upper body straight, do not lean forward, and fasten your seat belt.

3. When driving long distances, it is best to stop and walk around every hour to relax your nervousness.

uWork and family affairs:

1. Work that requires long periods of sitting or standing requires changing postures and moving around every once in a while (one to two hours). Work only makes the muscles overtired.

2. When doing household chores, such as washing dishes, using a vacuum cleaner, etc., do not bend over excessively. Try to bend the knee joint slightly to maintain normal lumbar curvature.

Exercise:

1. Develop the habit of regular exercise, such as walking, swimming, aerobic dance, calisthenics or back exercises, etc., to maintain good health.

2. Warm up before each exercise, and exercise from slow to fast, then from fast to slow down.

3. Avoid excessive extension of the lower back during exercise, such as bending down at will, jumping up suddenly or raising the legs, etc.

4. If you have any signs of back pain during exercise, do not be careless and seek medical advice immediately to prevent it from getting worse.

uOthers:

1. The use of belt support or waist support can limit spinal movement, reduce mechanical stress, correct bad posture, and also help relieve pain.

2. Avoid collisions, sudden jumps, and twisting movements, and do not climb or lift weights.

3. To prevent constipation, eat more fresh fruits and vegetables and high-fiber foods.

4. Maintain appropriate exercise.

5. Women should not wear high heels.

6. Maintain a happy and relaxed mood.