Back & Neck Pain - Headline News
Good morning!
Some of you may have seen the reports this week in the Guardian (link below) of their back pain survey.
What's the news? Well more of us than ever have back or neck pain - not really a surprise to us at the BackCare Foundation - we are osteopaths and yoga teachers - so we see this day in, day out.
The reasons for spinal pain are well-known: stress, normal ageing, poor tissue health, not enough exercise, too much exercise, the effects of modern living and of course illness and injury too.
Now, if you've got pain, I sympathise - I had a bout of neck pain after Christmas (injury - putting the lights on the front of the house) - so I know it can literally be a pain in the neck.
As a backcare expert, it was doubly annoying - first of all I knew the recovery would take a few weeks and worse, it proved that I'm not super-human (blow to ego - haha).
So, what have I done to recover?
- common-sense first aid - rest, ice, painkillers, not panicking
- behaviour modification - calling on others to do lifting and moving (should have done that before lugging the ladder out of the shed and standing on it for a couple of hours tbh but there you go)
- help - I've had treatment from my lovely team & my acupuncturist
- move - gentle exercise to start with, now working on strength training
- quelled the annoyance & the worry by breathing and laughing (and sharing the episode with you - am hoping it will be cathartic!).
IF you are one of the many who do get bouts of pain - which of these do you turn to? What is your default setting? This fortnight in the clinic I've heard the following from patients:
- I generally ignore my pain and hope it's going to go away
- I've been thinking of coming to see you for the last 9 months but other things got in the way. Now it's worse so here I am
- I haven't been able to put my shoes on for 2 weeks
- I don't like taking painkillers
- I haven't called the GP because I don't want to bother them
- I feel so much better after exercise, but some types of exercise make my pain worse
- I've seen physios, doctors & more, what can you do to help?
We can all be forgiven for ignoring our pain (or Can We?). Life is busy, we want to get on with the things that REALLY MATTER.
But.
The body is a machine - the 'primary machinery of life'. So take care of it! Help it to find its best health - not so you can instagram pictures of your abs (well you can do that if you want) - but so it can help you do WHAT MATTERS without pain. Would you be more efficient?
An aside - if you car has a funny noise, do you take it to the garage? Of course - because you know that if it breaks down it will be a bigger disruption. See where I'm going???
As the article says: "most cases of neck or back pain can be resolved or improved with PROMPT assessment, advice & rehab", noting that at the moment, NHS wait lists for this are huge.
I've also heard:
- I'm so glad I saw your team, I feel so much better
- "Mike is a magician"
- Konstantinos makes me feel like I've got a new back
- Your one class (of Yoga for BackCare) has already improved my back
So, what's the SO WHAT of all of this?
Take care of your back - you've only got one. It's strong, it's designed to support you and help you power through life. At the same time, back pain is normal, happens to nearly everyone, but the suffering isn't a necessity.
So don't become a statistic. Get help if you need. Check out my YouTube 'FindingHealth with Anji) for simple exercises, see your trusted therapist for an MOT or come to class. My team are here if you need us (but other good therapists are also available!). Booking links for clinic below.
Oh, and IF YOUR PAIN IS REALLY BAD - CALL THE DOCTOR. They would rather hear from you than not, I promise. Remember too that Osteopaths & Physios are registered healthcare professionals, trained to diagnose spinal pain. If we see you and we think you need referring to the GP for further investigation - we will tell you and write to them. We will also tell you if other therapists might be better suited to help - and give you some trusted names.
HOMEWORK: We are still in the first weeks of the year. If you haven't done your health-care audit & plan yet, do it today.
2 quotes about health:
"Take care of your body, it's the only place you have to live."
"A year from now, you will wish you had started today."
Have a good week. With love.
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PS - this week I was also approached by a company to discuss providing BackCare support to their employees. If you are a business owner or HR person & would like to explore this with me for online or in-person support - please reach out. Health employees are happier ones.
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