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Causes of Back Pain
Back pain may occur due to various reasons; be it a sports injury, pulling a heavy object or a fall/ injury to the spine. If you are suffering from back pain, it would be wise to have a look at some of the common risk factors and causes of back pain by consulting a Chiropractor.
Risk Factors
The risk of back pain varies in different individuals, depending on their lifestyle. People who work in a mentally stressful job, smoke or go through strenuous physical work are more susceptible to back pain than those who don’t. Other factors such as pregnancy, anxiety, depression and obesity can also lead to this condition. Age is also a factor, as older individuals are at a higher risk than younger ones.
Causes Of Back Pain
Strain
The most common cause of back pain is strained muscles and ligaments, which may be a result of lifting something heavy or a sudden awkward movement. It can also be caused by improper posture due to a bad mattress or sitting position.
Structural Problems
The human body is a complex structure composed of bones, muscle, ligaments and joints. A fault in any of these can cause numerous problems, including back pain. Some particular structural problems that may affect the back are as follows:
Arthritis
Arthritis can cause various joint problems in the hips and lower back.
Bulging And Ruptured Disks
The vertebra in our spine is cushioned by a disk, so a ruptured disk would result in more pressure on the nerves, resulting in back aches. A bulging disk would put even more pressure on the nerves.
Sciatica
A bulging disk can also press on a nerve in the spine, causing a shooting pain through the buttocks and down the legs.
Curvature Of The Spine
An unnatural curvature of the spine can cause the space around the spinal cord to narrow, causing back pains.
Osteoporosis
A vertebra fracture can be caused by the bones becoming more brittle.
Conditions, There are also some conditions which may cause back pains.
Spinal Cancer
A growth or tumor on the spine may press against a nerve.
Infections
Infection on the nerves (shingles) and spine may also cause pains.
Cauda Equine Syndrome
The growth of nerve roots at the bottom of the spinal cord can cause a dull pain, as well as lack of feeling in the upper buttocks.
The Eight Traits of Emotional Hunger
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The Eight Traits of Emotional Hunger Emotional and physical Hunger can feel identical, unless you’ve learned to identify their distinguishing characteristics. The next time you feel voraciously hungry, look for these signals that your appetite may be based on emotions rather than true physical need. This awareness may head off an emotional overeating episode Source:Virtue,Doreen,ConstantCraving A-Z (Carlsbad, CA:Hay House,1999) |
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Emotional Hunger |
Physical Hunger |
1.Is sudden .One minute you’re not thinking about food the next minute you’re starving. Your hunger goes from 0-60 within a short period of time |
1.Is gradual. Your stomach rumbles. One hour later it growls. Physical hunger gives you steadily progressive clues that its time to eat |
2.Is for a specific food . Your cravings are for one specific type of food such as chocolate pasta or a cheeseburger. With emotional eating you feel you need to eat that particular food. No substitute will do |
2.Is open to different foods. With a physical hunger, you may have food preferences, but they are flexible. You are open to alternative choices |
3. Is “above the neck”. An emotionally based craving begins in the mouth and mind. Your mouth wants to taste that pizza or chocolate doughnut. Your mind whirls with thoughts about your desired food |
3.Is based in the stomach. Physical hunger is recognized by stomach sensations. You feel gnawing rumbling emptiness and even pain in your stomach with physical hunger. |
4.Is urgent. Emotional Hunger urges you to eat NOW to instantly ease emotional pain with food. |
4.Is patient. Physical hunger would prefer that you ate soon, but doesn’t command you to eat at that instant |
5.Is paired with an upsetting emotion. Your boss yelled at you. Your child is in trouble at school. Your spouse is in a bad mood. Emotional hunger occurs in conjunction with an upsetting situation |
5.Occurs out of physical need. Physical hunger occurs because it has been four or five hours since your last meal. You may experience light headedness or low energy if overly hungry. |
6.Involves automatic or absent minded eating.Emotional eating can feel as if someone else’s hand is scooping up the ice cream and putting it in you mouth (“automatic eating”).You may not notice that you’ve eaten a bag of cookies (absent-minded eating) |
6.Involves deliberate choices and awareness of the eating. With physical hunger you are aware of the food on your fork, in your mouth and in your stomach you consciously choose whether to eat half your sandwich or the whole thing. |
7.Does not notice or stop eating, In response to fullness. Emotional overeating stems from a desire to cover up painful feelings. The person stuffs herself to deaden her troubling emotions and will eat second and third helpings, even though her stomach will hurt from over fullness |
7.Stops when full. Physical hunger stems from a desire to fuel and nourish the body.As soon as that intention is fulfilled, the person stops eating |
8.Feels Guilty about Eating. The paradox of emotional over eating is that the person eats to feel better and ends up berating herself for eating cookies, cakes or cheeseburgers. She promises atonements to herself (“Ill start my diet tomorrow”) |
8.Realizes eating is necessary. When the intent behind eating is based in physical hunger there’s no guilt or shame the person realized that eating like breathing or oxygen is a necessary behaviour |
Treatment and Prevention of Muscle Cramps during Exercise
Muscle cramps that are caused by exercise can be very painful and can cause athletes to drop out of competitions. Muscle cramps can happen in any types of sports and are usually a result of muscle fatigue, a loss of electrolytes or dehydration.
Cramps are not limited to sports, they can happen even to people who are not involved in any type of sports. Repetitive cramps can be healed by a chiropractor by aligning the vertebrae correctly in the spine using various techniques.
Causes of Cramps
The American College of Sports Medicine published a review on the causes of muscle cramps during exercise – two possible causes were identified that lead to muscle cramps.
The first was credited to muscle fatigue. Neuromuscular systems are embedded into muscles to allow control of contraction of the muscles. When this system malfunctions, contraction of muscle takes place and then causes the cramps.
Muscles that are regularly used, such as those of an athlete or a person with a very active lifestyle, are at a higher risk of experiencing cramps or spasms.
The second major cause is a result of an excessive fluid loss from the body (sweat), which decreases the body’s electrolytes level. This depletes the body of sodium.
Body’s Natural Cooling System
The body is designed to cool itself by sweating when body temperature starts to rise beyond normal levels. The loss of electrolytes due to sweating can cause depletion of body’s electrolytes and if it is not replenished properly, it will cause cramps.
What are Electrolytes?
Electrolytes are minerals including sodium, chloride, magnesium and potassium. They are dissolved in the body and directly control the required muscle contractions and nerve conductions.
Consuming bananas to treat muscle cramps has no solid ground and there is no evidence to support such a remedy.
Treating Muscle Cramps
– Fatigued Muscles
Treatment of muscle cramps depends upon the initial cause. For those people who experience a muscle cramp due to a strenuous workload such as exercise or sports, chiropractors recommend treatments such as a massage, application of cold packs to the affected muscles and passive stretching.
Proper rest must be given to those muscles which have experienced an overload due to stress.
– Cramps due to Loss of Electrolytes
For those people who suffer from cramps as a result of excessive sweating and a deficit of sodium, the same methods of treatment can be used besides replenishing the lost fluid levels.
Image Used Under Creative Commons Licensing: 111002-A-XY792-430 by Minnesota National Guard
Chiropractics and the Importance of a Proper Diet
Among the many things that a chiropractor recommends to a patient, a healthy diet is most important. A proper diet is essential to heal the spinal cord, along with prevention of further damage.
According to a study conducted in the state of New York, chiropractors were asked if they used any nutritional counseling in their treatments, which not just includes back problems, but also obesity, artery diseases, diabetes and a variety of other diseases affecting the human body.
Around 80 percent of those surveyed stated that they did use some form of nutritional counseling in their treatments, which gives an overview of the importance of proper diet in chiropractic. 50 percent of those who used nutritional counseling considered it to be a very important part of the chiropractic therapy.
The Link between Chiropractics and Diet
Chiropractic therapy treats numerous ailments, such as inflammation in the lower back or autoimmune anomalies like arthritis, scoliosis, neuritis or osteoarthritis. Research suggests that dietary changes can affect inflammation, which in turn can reduce the symptoms and pain caused by it. Also, most chiropractic patients are women, other symptoms that they may suffer from, such as menopause and premenstrual syndromes, can also be cured by proper diet and nutrition.
Not only that, but a proper diet can also help prevent spinal diseases from developing. As obesity is one of the most common causes of back problems, eating healthy non-fat foods can make a person less prone to spinal diseases like Sciatica.
There are numerous benefits in keeping a healthy diet, including increased energy, lower blood pressure and improved cognition, which result in a speedy recovery. Health foods such as low sugar whole grains, fruits and vegetables also reduce the risk of spinal tumors and cancer.
Improper nutrition, such as an excess of salts in the diet, can result in several other diseases as well, including high blood pressure. There is a direct link established between diabetes and excess Carbohydrates in the diet.
As dietary needs differ from individual to individual, you can ask your chiropractor to make a nutritional plan for you to follow according to your needs. A chiropractor could assess the nature of your ailment and devise a dietary schedule specifically suited to treat your condition.
Image Used under Creative Commons license. Photo Credit: Fruit & Vegetable Box by Ali Karimian
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