New Roads Chiropractic Center Shares Tips for Lifting Safely to Prevent Back Pain

Did you hear how lifting can be hard on a low back? If you are a New Roads chiropractic patient with low back pain, you have! You’ve likely even experienced it directly. New Roads Chiropractic Center explains proper lifting techniques to our back pain patients early on in treatment. It is essential to protect the spine while it heals! New studies suggest that back supports and even hand support techniques while lifting can help.

MECHANICAL LOADING DURING LIFTING

Mechanical loading is a key risk factor for low back pain. The loading may be due to lifting a heavy or light object that triggers New Roads back pain. Much of how the pain comes on is due to how the back muscles act during the lift. Newly designed “exoskeletons” are being tried. They go beyond a back brace but demonstrate some promise in reducing lumbar flexion and lowering the compressive force on the back by 13-21% while bending. Peak compressive force during lifting was decreased by 14%. The researchers are hopeful that such devices could lower the risk of compression-related tissue failure while lifting. (1) For now, New Roads Chiropractic Center focuses on what is accessible today to help our New Roads back pain patients control their back pain once the pain is diminished by controlling their spine-related motions.

CHIROPRACTIC LIFTING TIPS

It would seem that there would be a huge difference in spine action between picking up a pencil and lifting a crate, but there isn’t much difference when discussing how the low back responds during lifting. Crazy! Researchers explored how most people pick things up off the floor – with a hand on a thigh for support – made a difference. They thought that it would lead to decreased load on the back. The volunteers lifted two types of things - a pencil and a crate - off the floor with researchers logging every move and muscle response. Using a hand on the thigh for support while bending for the pencil on the floor decreased the average peak total stresses by 17 to 25% (depending on the lifting method). Hand support while lifting the crate reduced the peak total stresses by 13-19% for one-handed lifting and 14-26% for two-handed lifting. (2) Hand support while lifting may protect the low back. New Roads Chiropractic Center has some other ways to limit spinal stress during lifting to control New Roads back pain and its recurrence: support belts to exercise to spinal manipulation to back school. It is a comprehensive treatment plan you’ll want to embrace!

CONTACT New Roads Chiropractic Center

Listen to the PODCAST with Dr. Matthew Alexander on the Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes the effective, gentle treatment with the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management for his patient with spinal stenosis and low back pain.                                       

Schedule your next New Roads chiropractic appointment with New Roads Chiropractic Center. Lifting can put stress on the the low back. Chiropractic care eases the stress on the low back for back pain relief.  Contact us today!