by Vic Shayne, PhD

Back problems — especially lower back pains — are among the top health complaints in the United States. Nobody is completely sure why this is, but it’s possibly from one or more of the following — overweight conditions, sports injuries, incorrect lifting, poor posture, spinal injury, disc problems, bad sleep, poor bedding/mattresses, insufficent exercise, stiffness from an over-acid diet, etc. (Sometimes lower back pain may be due to menstrual cycles, painful ovaries, kidney problems or gas pains as well).

Some back problems are in the muscles, while others are from ligaments, tendons and the spine.

Here are 6 ways to Help Your Aching Back:

1. Take 10 ProMin tablets a day. This product contains a variety of foods and herbs supportive of the musculoskeletal system. It’s used by chiropractors and other doctors all over the country.
2. Visit a Chinese Medical Doctor (not just an acupuncturist). Chinese medicine uses a combination of herbs, massage, acupuncture and other techniques that have been proven to relieve pain and restore health.
3. Rest your back but keep moving. Researchers have discovered that lying in bed motionless is actually not as good as moving around. But don’t be lifting weights, moving heavy objects, or bending over without great care.
4. Lose weight if you are overweight. Carrying extra pounds of weight is a strain on back muscles.
5. Take a hot bath.
6. Use a lumbar support cushion for sitting and driving to take the pressure off your lower back.

Says back expert Stephen Hochschuler, MD, “Engaging in exercise and fitness activities helps keep the back healthy by allowing discs to exchange fluids which is how the disc receives its nutrition. A healthy disc will swell with water and squeeze it out, similar to the action of a sponge. This sponge action distributes nutrients to the disc. In addition, fluid exchange helps to reduce the swelling in the other soft tissues that naturally occurs surrounding injured discs. When there is a lack of exercise, swelling increases and discs become malnourished and degenerated.

“Exercising the back reduces stiffness by keeping the connective fibers of ligaments and tendons flexible. Improved mobility through back exercise helps to prevent the connective fibers from tearing under stress, which in turn prevents injury and back pain.”

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