Precise diagnosis of the causes of lower back and hip pain is notoriously difficult because your spine is a large and complex organ that is full of joints, nerves and ligaments and is heavily interconnected with the surrounding muscles that support it.
For example, a doctor or back specilist may look at the back X-ray of a somebody with severe pain and see nothing unuusal apart from “routine wear and tear”. On the other hand, people who are exeriencing no back problems may have X-rays that suggest they should hardly be able to walk!
All the major nerves to your body’s extremities start by running down your spine and then branch out to these other areas. So if you have a problem with your middle or upper back you may find it affects the strength or feeling in your arms or hands.
The sciatic nerve exits the spine in your lower back and connects with your legs - thigh, calf, foot toes etc.
If your back suffers injury or degeneration it can affect the spine’s structure and/or alignment of the vertebrae (bones in your spine). This can result in pressure being placed on nerves as they exit the spine via gaps in the vertebrae.
This is what happens with sciatica - pressure is placed upon the sciatic nerve which results in pain and/or tingling and/or loss of function in your legs.
In terms of lower back and hip pain, the lower back is an area that is frequently affected by injury, aging, degeneration or wear and tear because it is an area of high stress. Lifting, bending, twisting, sitting or driving for long periods all affect your lower back in particular.
Note:
Commonly, “L4″ and “L5″ are 2 vertebrae in your lower back that are frequently impacted by wear and tear or injury and a cause of lower back and hip pain.
Once your back suffers an injury, or loss of function through aging and/or wear and tear (for example one or more disks may become thinner or distorted in shape), then 2 things are liable to happen:
1. The surrounding muscles are likely to spasm or “freeze” in an attempt to protect the spine from the threat of (further) injury.
2. This wear and tear can cause the spine’s alignment and vertebral spacing to change, thus leading to pressure being placed on nerves in and around the spine.
Both effects are likely to cause pain in the lower back and hip areas.
The Solution:
Here are ways we suggest you can treat back pain:
1. Get your spine back in alignment (as best you can allowing for injury and aging).
The options here include:
(a) active treatment from various therapists and specialists (physiotherapists, osteopaths, chiropractors etc)
(b) doing items 2-4 below and waiting for healing to occur naturally
(c) doing a mix of (a) and (b) - this is my preference
(d) back surgery (be very careful with this)
2. Review your habits with the objective of eliminating bad movements and poor posture.
3. Improve your diet - eat healthy food and/or take a natural wholefood supplement
4.3. Strengthen the muscles that surround and support the spine. This treatment of sciatica back injuries is the focus of the the Better Back System.
Reiki & Back Pain Relief
Reiki is a Japanese word meaning "universal life force energy". It is a simple, natural and safe method of spiritual healing and self-improvement that everyone can use. The benefits of Reiki are that it brings about deep relaxation, destroys energy blockages, detoxifies the system, provides new vitality in the form of healing universal life energy, and increases the vibrational frequency of the body. Reiki treatment aims to improve health and enhance the quality of life by treating the whole person including body, emotions, mind and spirit. It follows a traditional pattern of hand positions, resting without pressure on or above the body.
Spinal Decompression - Axiom DRX9000
Here's news about one of the most advanced, non-surgical treatments for lower back and neck pain associated with herniated and degenerative disc. The product is the Axiom DRX 9000C which is is the first non-surgical decompression system cleared by the FDA for cervical decompression. The DRX9000C relieves back pain by: enlarging disc space, reducing herniation, strengthening outer ligaments to help move herniated areas back into place reversing high intra-disc pressures through the application of negative pressure. Treatment results published in the American Journal of Pain Management suggest a success rate of over 80% with patients who suffer from lower back pain. Clinical studies have shown a better than 72% success
The Connection Between Nutrition (Diet) and Sciatica - Part I
The idea that by changing what we eat, we can cure many of our illnesses is not a new one. As more people understand the "holistic" view of health, they see that all parts of their body, including their back are affected by "lifestyle choices" especially what they eat. As outlined below, diet is now recognized as a means of preventing and controlling all sorts of ailments. Because the back is such a large and sensitive organ, it is likely to be impacted by any shortcomings in diet and nutrition. Studies have proven that particular foods can make the difference between
Inconvenient Truths About Treating Sciatica
A key approach that we recommend in the Better Back System is educating yourself and taking responsibility for your own health and the condition of your back. Especially, don't wait to get sick and then try and fix yourself, rather take steps in advance to look after your wellbeing. Exercise and diet are the two foundations of this approach. Another important aspect is to review your routine daily activities and look for habits or postures that are placing stress on your back. If you don't do this and start swallowing a few pills each day instead, can you explain how that is going to
The 7-Day Back Pain Cure - Free Book
We're always interested in systems / books / information that can help with understanding and treating back, neck or sciatic pain. One of the best resources that we've come across recently is a book called "The 7-Day Back Pain Cure" by Jesse Cannone. The good news thing is that right now (at the time of writing in Aug 2009) Jesse is actually giving the book away (the book is also for sale on Amazon). As part of the offer, he is going to donate $2 to St. Jude's Children's Hospital or Habitat for Humanity (your choice of charity) if you order your free copy from his
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