The worst habits for your back, according to spine surgeons

When I write this, I wear a immense heating pad on my back like a cape. Why? Because when I parked the car in a grocery store, I made a mistake, spinning to grab the shopping bags from the back seat.

I felt the pain in the middle of my back. Uh Oh!

Research shows that more than a third of adults in the US experienced back pain over three months-but few treatments actually work, according to the up-to-date study, which were analyzed hundreds of research.

So I thought that focusing on how to prevent back pain could be helpful. I asked orthopedic doctors for the best tips.

Skip “BLT”

My car incident “is what we euphemistically call BLT” or Bend, Lift and Twist, said Dr. Arthur L. Jenkins III, a neurosurgeon in Novel York, who specializes in spine surgery.

By performing all three actions at the same time, whether, changing snow or separating a child from a car seat, “maximizes stress on disk, which increases the likelihood of cracking,” said Dr. Jenkins. “As a spine surgeon, I would never do it.”

Dr. Jenkins said that if you are going to BLT, beaten and try to make any movement separately.

When raising the object, make sure that both feet are planted and your weight is evenly distributed, said Dr. Gbolabo Skunbi, a spine surgeon in the hospital for a special operation in Manhattan. Then lift your feet instead of arms and back, he said. While lifting them, keep heavier items close to your body less load Dr. Skunbi added on his spine.

Dr. Jenkins added that completely avoid twisting, forcing your feet to what you raise.

And be particularly cautious in every situation that covers bulky items, advised Dr. Sokunbi. “I am in the mid -1940s and I no longer support family members to move furniture,” he said.

Do not play Pickleball without prior warming.

Dr. Alpesh Patel, a spinal surgeon in Northwestern Medicine, often sees patients “getting into trouble” with such activities as Piklegal, Widzmóm and Golf.

“Many people consider them a low risk sport,” said Dr. Patel. But these actions, he said, may be a shocking spine and often involve a sudden twist.

In the case of the spine, “flexibility is crucial,” said Dr. Patel. Therefore, build a sultry -up and stretching routine before and during these sports, recommended Dr. Patel. “For example, with turtleneck, add low back and chest every three holes.”

Do not overload your cache.

Several experts said that they often saw patients who injured themselves, lifting bulky hand -held bags to the upper aircraft compartment.

“This is not a move that most people make every day,” said Dr. Skunbi. So be careful not to overload your luggage, he advised.

Before going to the airport, test the weight of the cache, said Dr. Rahul Shah, an orthopedic spine surgeon at Novel Jersey.

He said that lift the bag to your waist and assess if it can be done without difficulty. If not, he said, remove some items. Then check if you can raise the bag from the waist level to the subtraction level.

“This should be a clear, two-stage process,” said Dr. Shah, because the muscles that raise the bag from the floor to the waist are much stronger than those that transfer it from the waist to the hypertrophis. He added that apply the same two -stage process on the plane. And if you travel with a powerful companion, he said, ask them for support.

It is always safer to check all your bags, especially if you already have problems, said Dr. Jacob Joseph, a neurosurgeon from the University of Michigan Health specializing in spinal injuries.

“Personally, I never take a plane bag,” he said.

Avoid sittups.

Sea body he withdrew crisps From the physical fitness test, because the exercises have “increased risk of injuries, including lower back pain.” Instead, they signed in boards.

Dr. Joseph said that while sittuts and crisis can strengthen your core, they can burden the disk in the spine. Core exercises such as boards, pilates, swimming, yoga and an elliptical machine “are much healthier for your back,” he said.

Good habits can also be protected by your back, said Dr. Patricia Zheng, an associate professor in the Orthopedic Surgery Department at the University of California San Francisco.

Dr. Zheng said that if you sit a lot during the day, get up and move every hour to break away from the spine. She added that set the time if you had to, she added.

I would like to connect my cape in the office, but I don’t want to alert my colleagues. I will leave it at home and try to level back pain with a immense amount of walking.

And I finished with BLT – unless it’s time lunchtime.

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