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Lumbar Back Pain and Chiropractic Treatment

Many individuals experience lower back pain, also referred to as lumbar back pain, below the rib cage in their body, which causes extreme pain and discomfort. It is usually contracted by individuals because of different work related activities which involve the lifting of heavy objects or long and strenuous hours for operating various machines at the workplace. Chiropractic treatment is reputed to be highly beneficial for relieving the pain of the individuals suffering from lower back pain.

What Is Lumbar Back Pain?

The lumbar or lower back area, provides support to the physical structure of a human being. It also facilitates the movement of an individual and protects different body tissues. Lumbar back pain is the pain experienced by an individual in the lower area of the spine, which may be caused due to a slipped or ruptured disc, problems in the ligaments, spinal cord or nerves.

The pain usually starts below the rib cage and eventually affects the movement of an individual. The pain may be caused because of involvement in any strenuous activity, trauma or accident. The symptoms of lumbar back pain include weakness in the leg and loss of bowel and bladder control. In some cases, the patient might also suffer from a fever along with heightened episodes of pain, while coughing or sneezing. These symptoms are glaring indications of a severe lumbar back pain experienced by an individual.

If an individual experiences lumbar pain, because of a ruptured disc, then it might exert pressure on the nerves. If the sciatic nerve is pressurized, then the individual might face excruciating pain and even problems in mobility.

It is very important to adopt certain changes in the work styles and everyday activities, in order to prevent a constant back pain from developing. Different postures at the work place prompt lower back pain in individuals which can grow to dangerously severe proportions if not treated in time. Patients of lumbar back pain require a few weeks of rest for the pain to subside successfully, whereas in extreme cases surgical treatment may also be required.

Chiropractic Care and Lumbar Back Pain

Chiropractors provide non surgical treatment procedures for different musculoskeletal disorders like carpal tunnel, sciatica, neck and back pain. They offer joint manipulation and muscle adjustment services for the quick recovery and relief of patients. The treatment is focused on therapy sessions which aim to relieve the extreme pain suffered by the patients and provide them a healthy solution to their muscle strains and back pain problems.

Image used under Creative Commons Licensing: Blausen 0484 HerniatedLumbarDisc.png

Disc Injuries -Thoracic Disc Herniation and Chiropractors

The demanding activities and tasks at the workplace and the lifting of heavy objects at home, causes pain in the back and neck region of the body, which if not treated appropriately, can result in serious disc injuries. Thoracic spine herniation is a medical condition, for which chiropractic offers effective treatment methods.

What Is Thoracic Disc Herniation?

Thoracic disc herniation is a type of disc injury in which the upper back region of the body is affected and a tingling pain permeates throughout the affected area. In some cases, the patient might feel pain in his chest and rib cage, which might be because of the pressure exerted on the nerves in the area.

The thoracic spine of the body consists of 12 vertebra, referred to by doctors as T1 to T12. The thoracic spine begins at the base of the neck, and continues until the end of the rib cage, where the T12 vertebra joins with the first vertebra of the lumbar region.

Thoracic disc herniation is a medical condition caused by the bulging or swelling of the pulpous and nerve material, located in the center of the disc. The material squeezes out of its narrow space and becomes exposed. The pressure exerted by the disc on the exposed nerves causes extreme pain to the individual which hampers him in engaging in different everyday activities.

Disc generation is also a probable cause of thoracic disc herniation, as the disc experiences wear and tear due to age and strenuous usage. This medical condition is more likely to develop in individuals who are in the 40 to 60 year age bracket.

Medical professionals conduct MRI scans in order to determine that there is no pressure and damage to the spinal cord because of the degeneration of the disc. In extreme cases, where the herniated disc exerts pressure on the spinal cord and the nerves, an individual can even suffer from a paralysis in the lower region of the body.

If the disc herniation is more to the side, it might cause pressure or impingement on the nerve root, causing pain in the abdomen and chest walls. In other cases, the pressure on the nerves might cause a combination of different symptoms ranging from upper back pain to tingling sensations all down the spine.

Chiropractic and Disc Injuries

Chiropractic offer non-invasive treatment methods for different spine, neck and disc injuries. They provide services for joint adjustment and relief from various musculoskeletal disorders. Chiropractic is gaining popularity for effective treatment of different painful muscle strains and disorders.

Image used under Creative Commons Licensing: the neck thing. ouch. no really…ouch! by Beth Punches

Get Balanced Solutions

The brain and spinal nerves communicate position sense and balanced equilibrium. Nerve interference cause unequal weight distribution, disharmony and stress to the body, muscles and joints. There two things that happen when you have a bone out of place in the spine. First, when the bone is out of place and twists the spine, it pinches the nerve. That doesn’t cause pain. It causes weakness. You have an energy, brain waves, that flow from above down, inside out, that comes from your brain through the spinal cord. If you’re choking off that nerve flow, whatever that nerve is going to will be weakened. The other thing that happens is that when the bone is out of place, it’s like having the front end of your car misaligned; the tires or axle wears out.

Improve Productivity by Eliminating These Things

We’re busy people. We fill every hour of every day with tasks to the point that we cry, “If only I had more time!”

One way to get more time is to become more efficient at what we do. There are a few activities that suck us dry that could either be eliminated from our daily activities, or we must change our behavior surrounding them.

Social Media. While social media is a fabulous way to stay in touch with friends, family, and clients, it can also drain away valuable hours without our even noticing it. Even if you’re using social media for business, allocate specific times you will update your status, search for tweets to retweet, or otherwise promote your business.

Cell Phones. Many people justify a smartphone by saying that it allows them to stay productive by staying on top of things for work. But after reading the previous paragraph, you might want to limit your cell phone usage because most people use it to stay in touch via social media with friends. Turn the phone off or set it on airplane mode because even a vibration indicating that you some kind of message will distract you from a given task and every distraction takes time to recover from.

Work Distractions. Studies have shown that when an individual is working on a project that consumes their entire focus they are very productive. Interruptions in the form of a phone call, a smartphone vibration or just a knock on the office door will pull that individual out of their laser focus. And even though your colleague says, “It will only take a minute,” getting back into that original groove of focus can take as long as fifteen or twenty minutes. Is it any wonder we feel that we work really hard every day and have gotten very little to show for it? Establish set hours where you will work alone and uninterrupted in order to accomplish tasks and then have regular office hours where you are available to collaborate with coworkers and team members.

Internet connection. This is just as bad as the smartphone problem, and considered one of the top time wasters in today’s world. Having your computer continuously connected to the internet is no good if you’re constantly refreshing emails, googling things that have nothing to do with your project, reading news headlines or just watching YouTube videos of cute animal antics. Again, to manage your time here, set up specific hours where you handle email and do your online research. The rest of the time, keep your internet connection on your computer turned off.

By handling these top four time wasters, you may be surprised to find that you have hours left at the end of your day.
Photo Credit: Subway Stop via Chris Ford at Flickr

Do Mosquitos Like You Better Than Anyone Else?

Summer means it’s mosquito season in most of the country. Warmer parts of the country see mosquitoes almost year round. No one I know likes mosquitoes. But something that has irritated me about mosquitoes is how much they seem to like me compared to other people around me. I sit there swatting and scratching while others enjoy being outdoors without much trouble.

I find that I’m not alone. About 20 percent of people seem to be favorite food to mosquitoes. As such, they get bit more than other people. So it’s true and not your imagination that you might be pestered by mosquitoes more than the people around you.

What makes you so enticing? Here are a few things that make you so tasty:

Blood Type. This is the most obvious answer, and scientists have found that mosquitoes land on people with Type O blood about twice as often as they land on people with Type A blood. There is also a less known fact that some people secrete a chemical signal through their skin that mosquitoes seem to be attracted to, indicating what type of blood they have. About 85% secrete this chemical and 15% do not.

Breath. More specifically, carbon dioxide. This is how many insects are attracted to mammals is by smelling the CO2 that we exhale with every breath we take. Mosquitoes can sense carbon dioxide from over 150 feet away. Larger people exhale more carbon dioxide and will attract more mosquitoes than smaller people. This might explain why children get bit less often than adults.

Skin. Bacteria that lives naturally on our skin seems to be especially appealing to mosquitoes. Those areas of our skin that are more bacteria rich, like ankles and feet, get bit more often than the rest of our bodies.

Metabolism. Mosquitoes can also smell lactic acid, uric acid, and ammonia that are released through our sweat. The more we sweat, the more we attract the blood suckers. And if you are naturally warmer, the mosquitoes want to cuddle up with you.

Pregnancy. Just being pregnant makes you a target. Pregnant women exhale over 20% more carbon dioxide than the average person and they tend to run about one degree warmer than normal while they are pregnant.

Alcohol. Beer, just one bottle of beer, makes you more attractive. It could either be the alcohol in your sweat or because drinking increases body temperature.

Clothing. Mosquitoes use vision as well as scent to locate sources of blood. Wearing black, navy, or red seem to make you easier to find.

Scientists are using all this information to try to determine a more natural mosquito repellent. Until then, be aware of how appealing you seem to be to mosquitoes, and offer the big guy next to you another beer after you dance.

Photo Credit: Mosquito bite via James Jordan at Flickr

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