YOU ARE ROYALTY, ACT LIKE ONE!

Many people do not know this…

Being born into a family - as a twin or an individual does not mean you would have the same experiences. 

Imagine a John Doe family - with a father, a mother, and three children. The three children create their own families and have their kids, and then the family tree continues. Yet with all the generations, there is a history of low back pain - perhaps from a particular age or across a gender.

What's going through your mind? It's probably a family thing, right?

We would agree with you, but we dare to tell you that research has proven that while it could be a genetic factor (such as disc degeneration) or an instability of their spine that predisposes them to low back pain - there might also be other reasons.

For more information on the other causes of low back pain - kindly wait for subsequent posts.

There is also the probability that while the low back pain in The Doe family is genetic, some individuals would never experience the pain, some would experience a little, while others would constantly be in severe pain. 

Is that possible? Yes

Do they use medications or herbal concoctions? Yes, it is a possibility.

Do we subscribe to that? No!

You might probably be wondering - how is that possible?

Let me let you in on this…

Every occupation has a hazard and while the Federal Government tries to pay its staff hazard allowance, there is an occupational hazard that cuts across almost all occupations in the world - low back pain due to improper posture. 

This occupational hazard is one of the reasons why different individuals in The Doe's family may or may not experience back pain even though they have a predisposing factor - i.e. the genetic factor. 

Similarly, you may not have genetics as a predisposing factor or other factors to your recurrent low back pain yet, you may or may not have low back pain – because of the continuous posture you maintain. This is where your occupational hazard challenges come in. 

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Low Back Pain - an occupational hazard

Some professions are more tasking on the spine (back), knees, neck, shoulders, or fingers of individuals. Yet, it's your knowledge of the occupational hazards you are prone to that helps to reduce its effect. 

Medical doctors (particularly students) are prone to standing on a spot during ward rounds for hours, same with the Dental Surgeons as well as Physiotherapists. Nurses have their bouts of occupational low back pain when they try to transfer patients or attend to immobile patients on the ward. The sanitary staff use the wrong sizes of broom or mops making them bend haphazardly. Some Pharmacists probably stand or sit for hours dispensing drugs. 

Outside the hospital setting, the lecturer stands or sits for hours in class, the secretary sits for hours trying to attend to documents, and the engineer has to bend his back to fix the machine or stand on the site to control the builders. The business owners stand or sit for hours to make sales. 

Either way, the back is working. While it is expected of the back to do some work, excessive load would lead to damage - which is where many of us are guilty. 

In sincerity, it is understandable that after a long day, you assume some wrong sitting or standing position – but never make it a habit.

Why? Because you are royal and you need to act like one. 

This week, you will learn how to pull out that royalty nature embedded within you…

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Your Spine - Your Royal Advantage

Being born into a royal family is not what makes you royal. Instead, utilize that part of your body that was designed for royalty. 

The spine is an inherent creation in us designed to make us royal - but over the years, it appears that only Princesses and Queens have understood this. In almost every picture you find of a royal person, they maintain an erect position, which prevents low back pain yet could lead to other complications.

Why? Because the body is designed to be mobile. 

The back is made up of three parts - upper, middle, and lower; which are S-shaped. However, the neck region and lower back region are expected to be concave; while the thoracic and sacral regions are convex in shape. All this is to ensure that the spine functions maximally. However, due to the various continuous positions, we assume the curvature of the spine may change - which elicits lower back pain. 

It's simple…

Remember those periods: after a long day all you do is slouch on a chair and end up sleeping off, or where you rest your head against the desk and sleep for hours, or when you rest your elbow on the armrest to sleep, or when you sit for long hours. All those positions cause microtrauma that may or may not 

By assuming those seemingly comfortable positions you tilt the balance of the spine - which could lead to pain or impingement on the intervertebral disc and spaces; making some presentations worse than others (because no two individuals use their bodies alike)

Everyone is guilty of assuming an improper position - although some are more guilty than others. 

So for those who already experience pain, know someone who has been complaining of pain already, or know you are guilty of assuming this position, here's what you should do; 

Avoid sitting on a chair without good back support.

Courtesy of Neuro Texas

1.  A chair with good back support allows your entire back to be well rested. With this support, you can allow your buttock to touch the chair and sit up with your chest slightly out. Here, your back is not being supported, but you are doing the work to hold yourself up. Try it now! 

You will notice that you are assuming the proper posture. 

What does this posture do for you? 

It helps you to remove all the load off your spine. It helps you to avoid compression of the intervertebral discs and opens up the spaces between them. 

2. Another position you can maintain is to ensure that your entire back is well rested on the back support. This might not always be possible, but let the upper back be supported.

You could also get a small pillow and put it in the lower back region for support. 

With either of these positions, the tendency to have low back pain from improper posture is reduced. Excessive standing in improper ways could also lead to lower back pain; therefore in any position you choose to maintain, let your spine maintain its normal spine curvature. 

If you have had a long day and need a break from being too royal, five minutes or less is enough. 

This would be very effective for you at your workplace where you spend most of your time. 

Avoid microtraumas now and enjoy an improved quality of life. 

Final note,

As mentioned earlier, no two individuals go through the same experience, therefore if after adopting this new method of sitting you still experience lower back pain, send us an email at thephysiodiary@gmail.com.

Until next week,

The Physio Diary