In May I was working backstage at the House of Blues. The band’s lead guitarist told me he had right- sided low back pain for years which was getting worse. Every time he bent backwards the pain got worse. I did a quick assessment and determined that he had “facet syndrome” at the right lumbosacral junction. In English, The lowest of the 135 joints in the spine was “stuck”, or subluxated, on the right where the spine and pelvis meet. It had been a few years since his last chiropractic adjustment. I reviewed what to expect. I performed Active Release Techniques® (ART) on his low back muscles, adjusted his low back, put Kinesio® Tape on his LB and had him “test” the painful motions. He was thrilled to report that there was no pain at all in his low back!
An hour later, while I was enjoying the concert, I watched this guitarist launched into the first of many solos. He immediately put his spine into the iconic guitar solo posture. He bent backwards, twisted his spine to the right as the neck of the guitar pointed straight to the sky. Ouch, I thought. That’s it! That’s why he has back pain. Night after night he is on stage twisting and bending his low back to the right. He had no idea that this position was causing his pain. Unfortunately for him, I did not see him after the show so I could not tell him what he was doing wrong and how that affected his back. He’ll have to wait until next time they perform in Boston.
All day long patients say to me, I don’t know how this happened. Why does my _____ (fill-in the blank) hurt. 95% of the time it was not one incident, but the pain was caused by repetitive micro traumas. Like bending wrong all days. Every time you bend with your legs straight and back bend you are stressing your low back with 70% of your body weight and whatever you may be picking up. Do this all day, every day and eventually your back will fail you.
The same goes for sitting at a computer with bad ergonomics, or cranking your neck down as you read or text on your smart phone. Slouching on the couch where there is no lumber support is also a significant cause of spinal pain from micro-trauma.
When people say to me how did this happen to me, I try to dig and find out what they do all day- how they use their body at work and at play. I wish I could follow my patients for a few hours a day to see what stresses they put on their body that may contribute to their pain syndromes. Then I can tell my them, this is what is perpetuating your pain. It is important to improve your biomechanics. There are always counter-measures to take to keep you balanced and functional as possible. Even if you sat on the most ergonomics chair in the world, you still need to get up every 20 minutes and stretch and periodically do a standing or sitting Bruegger’s stretch, (visit the Self Care Tab on our website).
There are new devices coming out which monitor how you use your body all day. I am not endorsing a particular brand, but am excited about a new device called a Lumo Lift which helps you with posture and tracks how long you sit and move during the day. For more information here is the website: https://www.lumobodytech.com/
There are a lot of “potholes” out there that we hit with our bodies all day. Just as we align the wheels of our car and get our teeth cleaned, maintaining the proper function of our spines and supporting muscles is a key to preserving our bodies, so we can enjoy life and do the things we enjoy doing, for as long as we want to, without limitations due to pain caused by dysfunction. Don’t look back 20 years from now and wish you took better care of your body! Be pro-proactive starting today! We’re here to help assist you!
Brad Weiss, D.C.