Sadly, the warm weather is slipping away, the days are drawing in and before you know it, you’ll be once more wrapped up in thick winter woollies. I hope you’ve managed to make the most of the summer, soaked up some vitamin D and kept yourself in reasonable shape for the winter ahead. It’s all too easy with shorter days to become less active so in this newsletter, I’m taking a quick look at back care as well as a reviewing a book that just might help you, help yourself.
10 facts you may not know about back pain
The week of the 3rd – 7th of October is Backcare Awareness Week. In recognition of this, here are 10 facts about back pain that you may not know…
- Back Pain is common and normal
- Scans are rarely needed
- Bed rest is not helpful
- More back pain does not mean more back damage
- The perfect sitting posture may not exist
- Lifting and bending are safe
- Avoiding activities and moving carefully does not help in the long-term
- Stress, low mood and poor sleep influence back pain
- Exercise is good and safe
- Persistent back pain CAN get better
To read more about each of these facts, visit our latest blog, ‘Ten lesser known facts about back pain’
Back to Life – book review
Very occasionally, a book comes along that offers great insight for those struggling with persistent pain. ‘Back to Life’ by David Rogers and Dr Grahame Brown fits into that bracket.
It manages to cover the latest theories and research into chronic pain in an accessible way suitable for both the lay person and for those involved in treating patients. More and more is being learned about the complexity of back pain and how factors such as stress, thoughts about pain and lifestyle can impact on pain and hamper a person’s recovery. Most usefully, it also includes tips and techniques for managing pain including exercise advice.
Our work as osteopaths isn’t just restricted to the treatment session. We look at what’s happening at work and at home to see if any changes can be made to speed your recovery. We suggest stretching and strengthening exercises, give advice on posture and work stations and give guidance through blogs and newsletters on other things that can help us all. To that end, ‘Back to Life’ is a really useful guide which if you’ve ever struggled with back pain, I think you’ll find both informative and helpful and a useful addition to your library.
A request for help!
We thought it would be useful for all new patients to be sent an email prior to treatment to give some basic information before they came along. Is there anything you wished you’d known beforehand? Is there anything that you think we should include in these emails. Feedback is always useful so, if you have any thoughts regarding this, please email me at adam@midsussexosteopaths.co.uk
