Ever since men and women decided to stand upright rather than lope along ape-like on all fours, back problems became inevitable. In more recent times, poor posture,
soft furniture and fashionable footwear have worsened the situation.
Also, bad back are often an occupational hazard for those people whose
jobs involve heavy manual work such as bricklayers, lorry drivers and Dockers.
If the spine was a long, straight bone we would be upright all the time and unable to bend over. The back is therefore made up of a series of bones called the vertebrate which are joined together by facet joints and keep in place by powerful lumbar muscles. Between the bones are the discs which act like rubber pads, allowing the back to be flexible. Down the centre of the vertebrae passes the spinal cord from which arise all the nerves supplying the different parts of the body. The most well known is the sciatic nerve which goes down the legs. Any swelling or injury to the back can cause pressure on this nerve, producing sciatica.
The combination of muscle spasm stuck facet joints is the most common back problem and responds quickly to natural therapy. Spasm is best relieved by heat and gentle massage. Anything warm helps muscles to relax and a hot water bottle applied to the area is a simple remedy. Apply gentle massage to the affected muscle, with the removal of the spasm much of the pain will disappear.
However, it was still important to rectify the cause of the spasm, which are the locked facet joints. Sometimes they will free themselves spontaneously or they can be moved by gradual rocking pressure. If this fails, then the most suitable treatment is manipulation by an osteopath or chiropractor.
Both these specialties work on a system of manipulation intended to realign any structural abnormalities. Most people who consult an osteopath for the first time are suffering from back pain. However, it is not unusual to find, after treatment for the main complaint; the patients also report improvement in other conditions which they would never have thought suitable for osteopathic treatment.
The osteopath used a combination of manipulation, deep massage along the nerve roots and postural re-education, on the whole spine, and not just the locked joints. One of the beauties of osteopathy is that once the joints have been freed and the spine realigned, relief can be instantaneous.
It is the holistic approach taken by osteopaths that accounts for their high success rate in back problems. Many patients who have suffered for years have never had a thorough spinal examination. Often, the visit to the osteopath is the first time the back sufferer has been asked to taken his shirt off.
Chiropractic is closely aligned to osteopathy and is a good alternative. It works more on the principle that pressure on the nerves that is the main cause of the problem.
If the spine was a long, straight bone we would be upright all the time and unable to bend over. The back is therefore made up of a series of bones called the vertebrate which are joined together by facet joints and keep in place by powerful lumbar muscles. Between the bones are the discs which act like rubber pads, allowing the back to be flexible. Down the centre of the vertebrae passes the spinal cord from which arise all the nerves supplying the different parts of the body. The most well known is the sciatic nerve which goes down the legs. Any swelling or injury to the back can cause pressure on this nerve, producing sciatica.
The combination of muscle spasm stuck facet joints is the most common back problem and responds quickly to natural therapy. Spasm is best relieved by heat and gentle massage. Anything warm helps muscles to relax and a hot water bottle applied to the area is a simple remedy. Apply gentle massage to the affected muscle, with the removal of the spasm much of the pain will disappear.
However, it was still important to rectify the cause of the spasm, which are the locked facet joints. Sometimes they will free themselves spontaneously or they can be moved by gradual rocking pressure. If this fails, then the most suitable treatment is manipulation by an osteopath or chiropractor.
Both these specialties work on a system of manipulation intended to realign any structural abnormalities. Most people who consult an osteopath for the first time are suffering from back pain. However, it is not unusual to find, after treatment for the main complaint; the patients also report improvement in other conditions which they would never have thought suitable for osteopathic treatment.
The osteopath used a combination of manipulation, deep massage along the nerve roots and postural re-education, on the whole spine, and not just the locked joints. One of the beauties of osteopathy is that once the joints have been freed and the spine realigned, relief can be instantaneous.
It is the holistic approach taken by osteopaths that accounts for their high success rate in back problems. Many patients who have suffered for years have never had a thorough spinal examination. Often, the visit to the osteopath is the first time the back sufferer has been asked to taken his shirt off.
Chiropractic is closely aligned to osteopathy and is a good alternative. It works more on the principle that pressure on the nerves that is the main cause of the problem.
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