PIt can take many different forms and have different causes but one thing is certain: the Back pain is an increasingly common disorder. Especially from pandemic onwards. According to a survey published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health the prevalence punctual cases of back pain have passed from 38.8% pre-quarantine to 43.8% after the lockdown, with one total case growth of 11%. The causes include little movement, favored by smart working, and incorrect postural attitudes. Habits that many have maintained even post-pandemic.
How to reverse this trend and prevent the disorder? Providing useful information is theosteopath Vito Polignano author of the book “The VIP method – A practical and innovative path to prevent and overcome back pain” (Dario Flaccovio Editore).
Muscular back pain: how to recognize it
First rule: recognize the cause of the problem. “The muscular back pain it’s what I see most often in the office – explains the osteopath. – It affects whom maintains an incorrect posture for a long timefor example those who spend hours driving or at a desk. We can recognize it even just by touching the muscles of the cervical area, in particular the trapezoidwhich will be contracted and rigid”.
Other factors that favor this type of back pain they are closed shoulders, curved back, set back jaw «but also nocturnal oral breathingwhich stiffens the column, e scars like c-section that interfere with posture.”
How to intervene
How do we intervene in these cases? «The treatment is twofold – suggests the expert – and foresees osteopathy sessions with realignment postural and of course changes in lifestyle habitswith movement, balanced nutrition, good sleep and stress management. There diaphragmatic breathing is among them recommended exercises because it helps to rebalance the dorsal curve.”
To manage pain, too heat therapy can be a valid remedy, “For decontract, reduce tension and then allow manual treatment to be more effective. However, it is important to remember that heat alone is not enough: if you don’t change your posture and don’t do targeted exercises… muscular back pain is destined to return.”
Back pain: when the problem is circulation
However, it is not just incorrect postures that play tricks because sometimes the pain is caused by circulation. “The circulatory back pain it is very annoying and, if not recognised, can last for years, leading one to believe that there is no permanent solution – explains the expert. – It is a disorder sneaky: Many people think they have a back problem instead it’s the visceral circulation that doesn’t work well. When you suffer from circulatory problems, in fact, the blood concentrates in the abdomen creating back circulation problemswhich through pain “warns” of poor blood flow.” As recognize this type of back pain? “Usually worse in the morning but better after “warming up” and sometimes after emptying the intestine – explains Polignano – and often it is associated with bloated belly or constipation».
Useful remedies
«In this case the sedentary lifestyle is the “poison” and the movement is the solution – explains the expert again. – Brisk walking, exercise bike, I swimfirst of all, followed by postural training and exercises for pelvic mobility, they are recommended activities because they “move the blood”, they drain and bring oxygen back to the whole body. In my experience, following advanced osteopathy protocols, this type of pain does often resolves within a month by combining daily movement and treatment».
Stiff neck: swelling can also have an impact
Equally annoying is the stiff neckeasily recognizable because characterized by the inability to rotate the head laterally or bend it to the right and left. «The stiff neck comes like a bolt of lightning: sudden, stinging, disabling – explains Polignano. – Many don’t know, but it almost always depends on a swollen belly or a visceral blockage which alters the curves of the back and stiffens the cervical spine.” The most effective remedies? «First of all it’s good find an unloading position immediatelyperhaps on your stomach with your feet resting on the ground, or on your side. Then you can use one hot water bottle. To solve the problem, however, osteopathy is also recommended in this case unlock the cervical, diaphragm and abdomen».
Back pain: what to do for the ‘witch’?
Among the different types of back pain, it is impossible not to mention the classic ‘witch’s stroke’. «It is acute low back pain, with intense pain in the lumbar area, often caused by sudden effort or incorrect movement – explains the osteopath. – The muscles contract, preventing you from returning to an upright position and forcing you to remain “stuck” in the position in which the pain appeared.” What to do? «You must remain calm and contact an osteopath to reduce the contracture – advises Polignano. – After the session it is necessary perform exercises and do not sit still: contrary to what one might think, in fact the witch stroke DOES NOT pass by standing still, On the contrary it gets worse. A light movement is recommended, such as walkand exercises mobility of the pelvis. Also place a bag on itWarm water on the abdomen may help».
Back pain: good habits to prevent the disorder
As they always say, however, prevention is better than cure. To avoid dealing with back pain, the advice is therefore to adopt healthy daily habits. THE’constant physical activity, for example, it effectively prevents the disorder. “There fast walk and perhaps uphill it is the simplest but at the same time effective activity – suggests the osteopath. – Also correct exercises in the gym and weights to strengthen the abdomen, buttocks and back muscles can be helpful.”
How important is hormonal balance
Without forgetting that there are factors that can influence and that we tend to underestimate, such ashormonal balance. «In particular it is necessary maintain balance between cortisol and GH, growth hormone, which allows our body to recover during the night and cannot be produced in the presence of cortisol – underlines Polignano. – Cortisol is defined by many as the “stress hormone”, I prefer to call it the movement hormone since it has a fundamental function: it gives the command to the body to produce energy, prepares for action, for reactivity… The problem arises when, due to hectic rhythms, poor sleep, sedentary lifestyle, inflammatory food, the body remains in “fight-flight” mode for too long. At that point cortisol remains high even when it shouldn’t».
How to lower cortisol levels before bed at night? «For example by doing breathing exercises – concludes the specialist. – Breathing with your eyes closed in a dark room, inhaling for three seconds and exhaling for three to five seconds, for about three minutes, breathing through your nose and inflating your belly, helps to prepare our body for a good night’s rest».