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ISSUE
9
Welcome to the Backtohealth.com Newsletter, an assortment of articles,
interviews, news and tips about back pain and sleep solutions.
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| Getting
Back to Basics - 10 Ways to Reduce the Risk of Back Pain - By Sue
Sarko |
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Low
back pain affects 60%-80% of the U.S. adult population at some time
during their lives. Back symptoms are among the top 10 leading reasons
to visit the emergency room. With statistics like these, it only
makes sense to do what is necessary to prevent problems from occurring
in the first place. Here are ten easy ways to help maintain a healthy
back:
| 1.
Always lift with your knees, never with your back. Squat down,
knees bent, back straight and angled forward slightly. Lift
the object and slowly straighten your knees as you go. |
6.
Keep your cool. Stress can aggravate many conditions, bad backs
included. |
| 2.
Keep your back limber through exercise. When at the gym, don't
overlook the importance of back exercises. Doing back exercises
along with your regular routine will keep you're back strong
and will help avoid injuries from back strain in the future. |
7.
Stretch during the day. Take a few minutes midway through the
morning and midway through the afternoon and stretch your body.
You'll be amazed at how refreshing this simple exercise can
be. |
| 3.
Keep trim. Excess weight puts enormous strain on
your back. Any woman who has ever been pregnant can tell you
how the extra pounds take a toll on the back muscles, especially
during the last few months. |
8.
If you spend a good portion of your day behind the wheel, pick
a parking space farther away from the building rather than choosing
the closest one you can find. The walk will do you and your
back a great deal of good. |
4.
Pay attention to the ergonomics of your work station. Be certain
that you're not crouching down to type at your computer. You
should be able to maintain good posture at your desk.
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9.
Maintain good daytime posture. Walk with shoulders back and
even with hips. Mom was right, don't slouch in your chair. Sit
up straight shoulders back, low back slightly arched. Slouching
can put tremendous strain on your back muscles. If you think
that the assistance of a back and/or seat support would help
you maintain good posture, by all means invest in one. |
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5.
If your job requires heavy and/or repetitive lifting,
consider talking to someone about wearing a lower back support.
There are numerous styles available depending on your situation
and needs.
Click
here for information on getting a Contour Leg Pillow to
help relieve lower back pain.
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10.
Maintain good nighttime posture. The average person replaces
his/her mattress once every ten years. Does this make sense
considering that we spend 1/3 of our lives in bed? Pay attention
to your sleeping surface. It should support a good sleeping
posture. Even the best, most expensive mattresses can't always
provide proper support and alignment. You need something that
matches your body's natural contours. Consider purchasing a
mattress topper to help maintain good support and alignment.
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| Research Corner - Research
Shows Sleep Offers a Competitive Advantage in the Business World |
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Do
you ever have days where you feel like you're "in the zone,"
and think to yourself, wow! If I could be sharp and on the ball
like this everyday, I'd be so much more productive. Well, sleep
may have more to do with that feeling that you'd realized. For some
reason, our generation seems to ignore the importance of sleep,
and perhaps even frowns upon individuals who get "too much"
sleep. Some brag about how they're so busy they only got 5 hours
of sleep the night before. In fact, a recent poll conducted by the
National Sleep Foundation, a nonprofit group in Washington, D.C.,
found that, on average, most adults sleep less than seven hours
a night during the workweek, despite the fact that the average adult
needs about eight hours of sleep per night. In fact, before the
turn of the century, between nine and ten hours a night was the
norm.
A number
of recent scientific studies show that sleep deprivation is a leading
cause of workplace inefficiency. One study shows how sleep affects
things like reaction time, mathematical ability and other cognitive
variables, and the results were consistent and clear: the more sleep
you get, the better your performance. Other studies have shown that
sleep deprivation can cause judgment and decision-making abilities
to decrease by 50 percent; communication skills can go down 30 percent
and memory down by 20 percent. With this type of research out there,
it doesn't take a genius to make the connection between sleep and
the bottom line.
Several
high-profile business tycoons like Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos and
Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen have recently admitted that
they log at least eight hours of sleep per night, further bolstering
the idea that sleep deprivation should not be worn like a badge
of honor. Scientific research combined with these confessions will
likely cause a shift in current American culture. With the growing
awareness that sleep does, indeed, affect the bottom line, it should
regain the respect that it has lost over the past several decades
and the idea of getting adequate rest will once again, be "cool."
Click
here to order a Contour
Secret Pillow and receive a free quilted cover and a free lumbar
pad .
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| Feature Article - Tips for Preventing
Winter Back Injuries - By Amy Smith |
| After
an unseasonably late start, winter has arrived across the country.
When snow, sleet, ice and cold are in the forecast, you should take
extra care to protect your back.
Consider
these tips for preventing winter back injuries:
Keep
warm. Mom was right - dress in layers. Layered clothing helps body
heat stay in, keeping muscles and joints more flexible and less
stiff.
Dress
for the weather. It's too late once you get cold and/or wet. Stay
tuned to local forecasts so you know what to expect if you are going
away from home.
Warm
up before doing any cold weather exercise, including skating, skiing,
sledding, hiking or even shoveling snow. Joints and muscles are
especially vulnerable to injury in the cold.
In
fact, warming up before winter sports and outdoor activities is
so important that Olympic speed skater Derek Parra recommends that
if you're short on time, it is better to shorten your workout so
you can warm up longer.
"You
can complete a good warm up in 15 - 20 minutes, and believe me,
it will make your workout more pleasant and safe," says the
Parra, a World Cup gold medal winner and Olympic hopeful. He suggests
10 minutes of light aerobic activity, such as jogging or biking,
followed by stretches.
Finally,
remember to use good technique and form when shoveling show or scraping
ice. Do not twist or jerk. Bend at the knees and let your leg muscles
bear the weight. Turn your body as required, instead of twisting
into an awkward position.
Viscolas
heel inserts and insoles make your feet feel great. Click
here for more info
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| Fitness
& Exercise -Bicycling Without Back Aches - By Sue Sarko |
To
reduce the risk of back strain, a bike must be set up properly
for your body. Visit a bicycle shop where a professional can help
you determine which bike is best for your frame. When purchasing
a bike, there are four significant variables that must be addressed:
1. Correct frame size should leave at least one to two inches
of space between the top bar and the rider's crotch when the rider
straddles the bike with both feet flat on the ground.
2. Seat height is right if the rider's leg can almost straighten
out completely when the pedal is at the bottom of its arc. When
pedals are in the three and nine o'clock positions, the kneecap
of the forward leg should be right over the pedal. If it's not,
slide the seat forward or back accordingly.
3. Seat position should be angled so that the front part is slightly
upward.
4. Handlebars should be level with or just below the top of the
seat. If you place your elbow against the tip of the saddle, the
tips of your extended fingers should just touch the handlebar.
The
type and quality of bicycle that you buy matters a great deal.
For example, a racing bicycle's low-drop handlebars place greater
strain on the rider's back and neck, whereas mountain bikes have
straight handlebars that allow you to sit more upright. Plus,
they have fatter tires that absorb more shock and provide more
cushion for the ride, a good thing for bad backs.
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| Ask the
Expert - Today's Expert: Dr. Scott W. Donkin |
|
Your
latest questions will be posted next week. Please bookmark this
page and check back.
Click here to "Ask The Experts"
at www.BackToHealth.com
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| Sleep Solutions - The
Power of Naps - By Sue Sarko
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What
do Albert Einstein, JFK, Winston Churchill, Ronald Reagan and Bill
Clinton have in common? They all believed in napping, and, as it
turns out, the all had the right idea.
The
body's circadian rhythm, or internal clock, dips naturally in the
afternoon, generally between 12:00-2:00. Evidence shows that the
brain actually falls into a lull, indicating that the propensity
to nap is actually inborn. Further substantiating this belief is
that most people can drop off quickly and sleep deeply during this
portion of the afternoon than other times of the day.
Sleep
experts believe that a mid-afternoon nap of just 20-30 minutes can
boost mental alertness and concentration significantly, and it can
actually put you in a better mood. Fifteen minutes does not produce
a measurable difference, and if you sleep much longer, you may have
trouble falling asleep at night.
Studies
further demonstrate that afternoon napping is an effective way for
people to make up for not getting enough sleep at night. In fact,
if you want to make up for lost sleep during the night, it's far
better to nap than to sleep late in the morning. Too much sleep
in one single stretch can throw your internal clock off and cause
further sleep problems.
It's
also best to keep your body on a schedule, waking up at the same
time each morning and going to bed at the same time each night.
The average nighttime sleep ideal seems to be from 10:00 p.m. to
6:00 a.m. That is the norm, but everyone is different. Some people
require just seven hours of sleep per night, others, like me, need
a full nine. This is a pre-determined factor that really cannot
be changed, so it's best to find your natural rhythm and go with
it. If it seems to include a mid-afternoon catnap, by all means
try to fit it into your schedule. You'll likely notice a difference
in your level of production and you'll feel better, too.
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