Balanced Body: Life Without Back Pain

HEALTH &WELLNESS The Newsletter About Your Health And Caring For Your Body

A life free of back pain is within your grasp. For some, back pain is a daily occurrence that dictates the way you live your life. Every movement, every motion is determined by the pain in your back. Standing, sitting, laying down, driving, walking or running — the pain persists. (continued inside) INSIDE Back Pain Is Sooo Last Year • How Physical Therapy Helps Back Pain Free 15 Minute Consultation • Relieve Back Pain In Minutes BACK PAIN IS SOOO LAST YEAR

HEALTH &WELLNESS The Newsletter About Your Health And Caring For Your Body

In ages past, back pain was difficult to treat. If you experienced back pain, whether as a result of a work injury, trip-and-fall accident, or even just as a result of aging, the answer was almost always the same: head home, take a long rest, and give your back time to heal. This isn’t the way that things go anymore,and forseveral reasons.Tostart, theworld isn’tas forgiving.Heading home and taking a long rest until your back is healed may work for some, but not for most. With deadlines and carpools and work schedules to keep up with, there needs to be an alternate solution to dealing with back pain that doesn’t require you to completely remove yourself from your responsibilities. What’smore, recent research indicates that restingmaynotactuallybe the ideal solution for long-term back care. Spending too much time on the couch or off your feet can cause the back muscles to weaken and can even weaken bone strength.This could lead to more long-term issues with back pain — not fewer. Exercise, in general, is shown to increase strength and flexibility, supporting healthy muscles and bones, and therefore supporting ideal back health. Physical Therapy for Back Pain While rest and relaxation can help you overcome the immediate pain of a back injury, and may even be recommended by your physician in the early days following an injury, it is not a long-term solution. Physical therapy offers a long-term solution to back pain by using targeted exercises that focus on the cause of the pain. Throughacombinationofstrengthandflexibility training that focusesonmuscle developmentand jointmovement,physical therapycanaddress theunderlying cause of the pain and significantly improve your quality of life. BACK PAIN IS SOOO LAST YEAR (continued from outside)

Understanding the Why and How There are a lot of different reasons that back pain can develop. Even when you breakdown injuries,whether fromoveruseorathleticpursuits, therearedifferent problems that can develop. Sprains and strains are common, but so are issues with the vertebrae, blood flow, and even concerns regarding the spinal nerves. Youmightbeamazed todiscover thedifferent factors thatcouldbe influencing your back health. Such as: • Your personal level of physical activity, including how often you exercise and the intensity of your typical workouts. • The types of shoes that you wear, in addition to how frequently you walk in different types of shoes, particularly shoes that lack support or those with high heels. • Prolonged engagement in sedentary behavior, including sitting at a desk for eight hours or more consecutive days of the week, or spending free time on the couch or otherwise relaxed. Aerobic activity and strength training exercises actually make it possible to reduce your risk of injury and to improve your ability to overcome back pain by strengthening the vertebrae and improving blood flow and nutrient disbursement throughout the back. When you are inactive, blood flow can actually become impeded, and this can have a negative effect on the overall health of your back and spine.

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How Physical Therapy Helps

Words of Wisdom

What good is the warmth of Summer, without the cold of winter to give it

sweetness?” - John Steinbeck, Travels with Charleys in Search of America

Anyone who has struggled with back pain can tell you plain and simple: When your back is hurting, there is no way to pretend that it isn’t. Simply going from sedentary activity to being active and healthy isn’t an option — at least not so easily. It takes time and effort, and when back pain is obstructing you from getting started, it requires help. Physical therapy can help you overcome back pain by giving you the knowledge and support necessary to help your back feel better, giving you the option to get off the couch and push yourself to reach new goals. Working with a licensed and experienced physical therapist ensures that you do not take on too much too quickly, but instead are guided through the process of healing with gradual steps. For more support in finding relief from back pain, call 801.293.8888 today to schedule an appointment at Balanced Body Physical Therapy!

Relieves Back Pain In Minutes Try this movement to strengthen shoulders.

Healthy Recipe: Spinach-Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients • 20 medium mushrooms • 1/4 cup chopped shallots, scallions or onion • 2 cloves garlic, chopped • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar • 1/2 tsp soy sauce

• 2 cups chopped fresh spinach • 1/2 cup Plain Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt • Salt and pepper to taste

Relieves Back Pain

Directions Wash the mushrooms and carefully remove the stems without breaking the caps.Finelychop thestems.Combine theshallots,garlicandvinegar inasmall skillet or saucepan and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the chopped mushroom stems and soy sauce and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 5 minutes, until the mushrooms soften and release their juices. Add the spinach and cook, continuing to stir, until it is wilted and the liquid in the pan is absorbed. Remove from the heat and let cool for a few minutes, then stir in the yogurt. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Stuff the spinach filling into the mushroom caps. Place the mushrooms in a baking pan and bake for 20 minutes, until tender. Remove from the oven and let sit for a few minutes for the filling to set before serving. Yields 20 mushrooms. http://www.organicitsworthit.org/make/spinach-stuffed-mushrooms

www.simpleset.net

Four Point Flexion & Extension Start on hands and knees. Arch your back up to the ceiling as high as you comfortably can, and hold. Then, arch your back the opposite direction as low as you comfortably can, and hold. Repeat 6 times.

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“The best part of therapy was learning correctly how to do core strengthening exercises that DID NOThurt my lower back! This has gotten me back on the road to being active again. The exercises are easy to do at home and I don’t need expensive equipment to do them! Thanks Dallen!” - Leslie T.

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Snow shoveling can lead to a number of health risks for many people, from back injuries to heart attacks. The following tips can help keep you safer when you set out to shovel: Warm up. Warm your muscles before heading out to shovel by doing some light movements, such as bending side to side or walking in place. Push rather than lift. Pushing thesnowwith theshovel insteadof liftingcanhelp reduce the strain on your body. Lighten your load. Consider using a lighter-weight plastic shovel instead of a metal one to help decrease the weight being lifted. Consider multiple trips. Considershovelingperiodically throughout thestorm to avoid having to move large amounts of snow at once. Keep up with snowfall. Try to shovel snow shortly after it falls, when it is lighter and fluffier. The longer snow stays on the ground, the wetter it can become. Wet snow is heavier and harder to move. TIPS FOR SAFELY SHOVELING SNOW