Never twist your body when holding something. It is common for me to ask a patient with low back pain how he hurt his back and he responds that he was holding a heavy box and twisted his back. This is one common way to cause a disc in the low back (lumbar spine) to …
Tag Archives: back safety
What Your Toothbrush Tells You About Back Pain
Where do you store your toothbrush? Most of us store it right on the bathroom sink. Why do you store it there? Why don’t you store it up on the top shelf or down in the bottom drawer? Your answer gives a simple example of BODY MECHANICS! You store your toothbrush within close reach to make …
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The danger of your first episode of Low Back Pain
Did you know that one of the biggest risk factors for low back pain is prior low back pain? It sounds obvious, but this has huge implications for you. It means that preventing a first episode of low back pain decreases your chance of having future episodes. Therefore, you are less likely to have chronic …
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How many times per day do you reach to the floor? Part 2
15. Reach into bottom drawer of the refrigerator for an apple. 16. Reach down into lower kitchen cabinet for a tupperware to take leftovers to work. 17. Pick up your keys, which you dropped on the floor. 18. Throw your bags into the trunk of your car or your back seat. 19. Reach down to …
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How many times per day do you reach to the floor?
How many times per day do you reach down to the floor to pick up a light object? Consider how you do this reaching because it is quite frequent. And if you bend/twist your back every time, you are at high risk for back pain. So let’s consider a typical weekday and count up the …
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Top 7 reasons why sitting causes back pain
1. Most people sit with slouched posture, which puts your low back in a rounded or flexed position for hours each day. Our backs were not made to stay in one position all the time. This can cause future problems in the spine such as arthrits, herniated disks, and sciatica. 2. People who sit at …
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Right and wrong way to pick up toys
Charging your cell phone and laptop
Unless you follow my blog regularly and have begun to think like a PT, you probably have never thought about body mechanics while plugging in your electronic devices. But everything you do can and should be done with good body mechanics so as to PREVENT PAIN! So here are some tips for the next time …
How to sit at a computer
The perfect SQUAT
In light of yesterday’s video, “How to make a bed,” let’s talk about squatting. Can you squat down to the floor while keeping your back straight? If there were a 20-lb. box on the floor, could you pick it up by squatting the right way? Can you make your bed without bending your back? Just …
Pain Talks 