Treatment of Back Pain
Another applicable title for this chapter should be “Conservative Treatment”. As I mentioned repeatedly earlier, this is the best way to treat back pain. Remember, 95% or more of the problems that cause back pain can be treated by methods other than surgery.
Other than surgery and the conservative treatments mentioned earlier, there are few ways that a doctor or other medical professional can actually cure your back condition. There are many treatments that provide only short-term pain relief, except for the ergonomic principles and exercises in the “Four Weeks to Back Health” section. And usually, your back pain will subside no matter what. However, just because the last chapter was about diagnosis, it is necessary to talk about treatment in this chapter. I will spend a moment talking about medical treatment of back pain.
In addition to surgery, the ultimate common treatment for back pain by many doctors is one of the following three medical treatments.
1. medication
2.Physical therapy
3. pelvic traction
One of these three categories, the second, physical therapy, includes a wide range of conservative treatment techniques, as I have already discussed. I will not repeat them here so that you do not become bored. The purpose of this chapter is to give you an idea of what treatment your medical professional will give you if your condition does not yet require surgery.
Medication
Some doctors will prescribe medications that do not treat certain kinds of back pain. As I discussed in the chapter on conservative treatment, these chemicals have no greater effect than to give you more comfort. These medications include anti-inflammatory drugs, painkillers, and muscle relaxants. The risks and side effects that these drugs can bring make them unpopular, especially when compared to the minimal efficacy they can provide.
Aspirin and its alternatives are fairly safe anti-inflammatory drugs. Although they help relieve pain, exercise is the foundation of conservative treatment, as described in the “Four Weeks to Back Health” chapter of this book.
Physical Therapy
Many doctors, including chiropractors, prescribe physical therapy for their back pain patients. Physical therapists, or physiotherapists, use many of the treatments I list in the chapter on conservative treatment, including massage, ultrasound, analyzing and adjusting body mechanics and posture, providing exercise programs, and more. Physical therapists are the guides who control your back pain treatment, and the weapons in their arsenal are designed for both short-term and long-term treatment.
A good physical therapist not only cares about your pain, but your whole person. He or she will show you ways to reduce stress and tension, and will create an exercise program based on your needs. Some therapists will even come to your home to observe your living environment and suggest good habits that will help reduce your back pain.
Pelvic Traction
Pelvic traction is slightly different from the previously mentioned traction methods, which only provide short-term relief in. This type of traction requires a device consisting of traction straps, pulleys, and weights that are designed to stretch the back. The idea is to pull the bone and the area where nerve compression has occurred to reduce the pressure. Some traction is effective in relieving pain, but the back tends to return to its original state after the traction is over.
Exercise Programs
Chiropractic exercises are the foundation or root of a self-help chiropractic program. Chapter 6 provides a complete set of exercises designed to treat back pain.
Diet and Back Pain
We know that the condition of the body is important to the health of the back. Not only is proper exercise and a good knowledge of body mechanics important, but what you eat and how much you eat is equally important. This chapter is by no means meant to give you all you need to know about nutrition. But since a proper diet is an important part of back health, this chapter does cover the basics of maintaining a good diet.
As I’ve already said in this book, treating back pain is not just about treating the symptoms and getting the pain out of the way as such. Achieving overall health is critical, not only for your back, but for your entire body, and your positive attitude. Maintaining a sensible and healthy diet and nutrition is part of your own good attitude. Even if you are not overweight, what and how much you eat plays an important role in whether or not you feel good.
Nutrition
Nutrition is the science that explains the relationship between food and the functions of living organisms, including the intake of food, digestive processes, energy release, waste removal, and also the combination of all of these, which is the basis for sustaining life, growth and reproduction.
The diet should remember to include foods from the following 5 food groups
Meat and meat substitutes: Foods can be divided into several groups: milk, sparse fruits, meat and meat substitutes, bread-cereals, and other foods. Meat and meat substitutes include beef, veal, lamb, pork, various types of meat such as liver, heart and kidney, poultry meat, eggs, fish and shellfish, as well as dried beans, soybeans, nuts, etc. This type of food contains many useful nutrients. Because meat contains 9% to 19% protein, it is a very useful source of protein. The quality of protein is minimally affected by normal cooking, however, extended cooking time changes the binding of amino acids and protein internally, therefore reducing the quality of protein is.
Minerals, including calcium, copper, iron and phosphorus are high in meat and dairy. Within liver, iron and copper are particularly high. Pork liver contains more iron than beef liver, but beef liver is also an excellent source of iron.
The vitamin content of different meats varies. Thiamin, riboflavin and niacin, all of the B vitamins, are found in high levels in various meats. Pork is relatively high in thiamin, and liver usually contains high amounts of vitamin A.
Today, the fat content of red meat is a cause for concern. The fat content of a serving of meat is related to the type of meat, the number of ingredients and the cooking method.
Fruits and vegetables: The fruit and vegetable group includes all sparse vegetables and fruits. Many vegetables are important sources of minerals, vitamins, and fiber. Some vegetables, such as potatoes, provide significant amounts of starch. Vegetables contain large amounts of minerals such as calcium and iron present in vegetables, especially in soybeans, peas, and cauliflower. Vegetables also help supply the body with sodium, chloride, cobalt, copper, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus and potassium, which are needed by the body. Carotenoids (precursors of vitamin A) and ascorbic acid (vitamin C) are abundant in many vegetables. The fiber content of vegetables is also useful in the diet. Fiber is minimally digested in the body, but fiber provides the rough food necessary to move food around in the intestines. Citrus fruits are an important source of vitamin C. Yellow fruits, such as peaches, contain carotenoids. Dried fruits are rich in iron, and figs and oranges are high in calcium (good for bones and teeth). Like vegetables, fruits are high in fiber.
Dairy: Dairy includes milk, cheese, and ice cream. The importance of dairy in the diet has long been recognized. Milk contains a large amount of important nutrients, but very little iron and ascorbic acid, and less niacin. Milk is high in calcium and phosphorus, and whole milk is high in vitamin A, but this fat-soluble vitamin is removed from skim milk products. Riboflavin is high if the milk has not been exposed to light. In addition to calcium and other minerals, whole milk is composed of about 4,9% carbohydrates, 3,5% fat and 3,5% protein, and about 87% water.
Bread and cereals: The bread and cereals group includes all breads and cereals including whole grains, fortified, and restorative. Cereals are not high in protein, but in some diets the intake of cereals is high, making them the most important source of protein. All cereals are high in starch, making them a good and inexpensive source of energy. Grain products are generally low in fat, unless the food also includes germ. Whole grain products provide high amounts of fiber and trace amounts of vitamins and minerals, such as pantothenic acid, vitamin E, zinc, copper, manganese, and molybdenum.
Other foods: Used as an alternative to meat and to satisfy the appetite, other foods in the diet include: butter, margarine, other lipids, oils, sugars, or unfortified refined grain products. These are often used as ingredients in baked goods and mixed dishes. Lipids, oils, and sugars are also often added to foods at the time of preparation and can be added to foods after serving. Other calorie-providing foods can add to the total nutrients in the meal.
Calories
Calorie is a familiar nutritional term. A calorie is a unit of heat, first defined as the amount of energy, such as heat (Calor means heat in Latin), required to raise 1 gram of liquid water from 14,5 degrees Celsius to 15,5 degrees Celsius. Today, the calorie column is defined more in mechanical terms than in thermal terms. In this system, one calorie hour (cal) is equal to 4,184 watt-seconds (W-s) or joules (J).
The energy required to melt one gram of ice is 80 cal; to vaporize one gram of water requires more than 540 cal. The energy absorbed by the Earth’s surface from the Sun is closer to 2 cal per square centimeter per minute.
Get dizzy. What makes sense to you is this: the average adult needs 2,000 calories per day.
A vigorous run burns about 15 calories per minute. Losing weight is a simple matter: burn more calories per day than you take in.
Protein
An important component of some diets is protein. For an adult male weighing 154 pounds 23 years old, the recommended daily intake of protein is 56 grams. And for a 128-pound 23-year-old adult woman, it’s just 46 grams. Protein requirements for infants and children vary according to the rate of growth and body composition. The recommended daily protein intake in the 2nd trimester is 30 grams more than usual.