Back pain

Lower back pain is one of the most common ailments that many people suffer from and deal with on a daily basis. It can be caused by a variety of factors, making it sometimes difficult to pinpoint the cause. Lower back pain can range from mild to severe and knowing what causes lower back pain can help you better understand how to treat it and prevent it from returning. In this blog post, we’ll explore and outline the three most common causes of lower back pain and what you can do to prevent the issue from arising. Muscle Strain One of the most common causes of lower back pain is muscle strain. This occurs when the muscles in your lower back become overworked or strained due to an activity or exercise that you’ve done. Muscle strain can be caused by lifting heavy objects, bending over for long periods of time, or engaging in activities that require repetitive motions such as running or swimming. Symptoms of muscle strain include soreness, stiffness, and difficulty moving around. It’s important to make sure before you engage in physical activity that you stretch properly so you can prevent a lower back injury from occurring. Poor Posture A lot of us are guilty of this — and sometimes, we may not even realize it. But, another common cause of lower back pain is, indeed, poor posture. Poor posture can put extra stress on your spine and muscles, leading to mild to severe pain and discomfort. This can be caused by sitting for long periods of time with poor posture or not stretching properly before engaging in physical activity. Symptoms that are commonly associated with poor posture, alongside lower back pain, are neck and shoulder stiffness. You can work with a professional to correct your posture which then can help reduce your lower back pain. Physical therapy is great for this sort of thing! Injury The third common cause of lower back pain is when you’ve suffered an injury. Injury to the spine or muscles in your lower back can cause severe pain and discomfort that may require medical attention. Common injuries that lead to lower back pain include car accidents, sports injuries, falls, and lifting heavy objects incorrectly. Symptoms associated with injury-related lower back pain may include swelling, bruising, difficulty moving around normally, and numbness and tingling in the affected area. Conclusion To wrap it all up, lower back pain is a very common ailment that affects many people every day. The good news is that Optimize Mobile Physical Therapy in Anaheim, CA can help! Physical therapy is one of the best routes to recovery when it comes to lower back pain. We work with you closely to find the root cause of your problem, correct the issue, and reduce pain so you can get back to living a healthy, normal lifestyle without lower back pain. Understanding the three most common causes can help you take steps towards preventing them from occurring in the future so you don’t have to suffer from painful episodes again! And if you’re interested in learning more about how we can help YOU reduce your lower back pain, be sure to contact us today for more information! We’d love to hear from you! Ask About Availability & Pricing

Back pain: very few people go through life without feeling its debilitating effects. From dull aches to sharp, stabbing sensations, back pain can afflict many of us in various ways. For a some people, back pain is a prolonged struggle that can strike at any moment, the intensity and heartache of which seems to increase over time if left untreated. For others, however, back pain seems to appear later on in life, and the predominant assumption is that it is therefore age related. Here’s the thing, though: it isn’t necessarily true. Yes, that’s right. Back pain – especially when you’re older – actually has very little to do with your age and a lot more to do with your lifestyle. In this post we look at why we often mistake middle-age back pain for something “normal” or “natural”, and we discuss some of the ways in which you can overcome the pain and get back to the active, mobile lifestyle you deserve. The biggest issue with back pain in later years is that, well, it’s accompanied by general acceptance. Most people who experience back pain when they’re older just accept it and try to work around it, so to speak. And while we’re not denying that back pain may come with age, we are saying that the pain is NOT a product of age, rather that it is a result of an aging mindset or imbalanced lifestyle. Let’s think about this for a moment: it is true that, as we age, our bodies require a little more maintenance. We no longer have the metabolisms of 18 year olds, and we can’t really keep up on the soccer field. Yet, that doesn’t mean we have to give up on trying to be active or healthy. The problem with middle-age back pain is not that it is a natural response to aging, but that we allow it to be defined by age. If we maintained healthy lifestyles, kept active, and enjoyed a healthful diet, our age would not determine the health of our backs – our lifestyles would. In other words, age is just a number, but you really, truly are what you do. Here are some of the reasons you might incorrectly assume that your back is sore simply because of your age: Breaking Good Exercise Habits When you were younger you had the motivation and will to run the extra proverbial mile. Getting up at 6am to go to the gym wasn’t a chore, and the pay-off at the end of the day was worth the endurance it took to stay slim and healthy. However, as you aged, you had to work a little harder, struggled a little more to wake up early, and found that juggling a job, kids, pets, and a social life left little in the way of time for exercise. And the result? You aged. Yes, that’s right. As controversial as that may seem, the minute you let yourself break all the good habits you had when you were young, you started to age. And, sadly, the consequences of that meant – yeah, you guessed it – back pain. Here’s the thing: the habits you forge define who you are and how you feel. If you incorporated movement, exercise, cardio, and stretching into your life, right now, you’d jumpstart your journey to health by strengthening the muscles in your back. You’ll feel and look younger! Do some yoga, Pilates, or Tai Chi – whatever you choose, stretch and move those muscles! If you want something a little less adventurous, why not start by taking a daily walk, getting up a couple of minutes earlier to hit the yoga mat, or joining a spinning class in your local gym? It’s amazing what a mind-shift can do you for your body. Posture Problems Let’s face it, when we’re young we really don’t worry too much about the position in which we sit, how we stand, or how evenly we distribute our body weight. The only problem with this is that our mistakes eventually catch up to us. Poor posture is one of the leading causes for back pain experienced in middle age – not only does a lack of mindful joint and muscle positioning mean that you place stress on the spine, but it also means that you constantly repeat the same detrimental stances and gait. You end up entrenching the pain by destabilizing your body’s balance. Thus it comes as no surprise that the battle against back pain is the battle against poor posture. And, of course, poor posture makes you feel older: you’re bent downward and you feel less inclined to move. So, in a bid to rid yourself of discomfort, start by correcting your posture and practicing more mindful ways of positioning the spine during sleep and the hours spent at your desk. Your back will thank you. Weight Gain Woes Here’s the rub, right? Weight gain is perhaps the most quintessential middle-age battle; we gain weight as we age and, unfortunately, the weight carries a lot more than a few extra pounds. Gaining weight often means excess stress not only on your organs, but on your joints and muscles, too. Your back actually incurs a dramatic increase in pressure as you gain weight, the result of which can often lead to disc damage or spinal injuries. Controlling your weight is absolutely vital is maintain a healthy back. So, why not opt for a cooking course to learn a few new recipe’s, or take your partner up on that new dish he or she has been dying to make. Increasing the amount of vegetables, berries, fruit, healthy oils and fats, as well as beans and legumes in your diet will help you maintain a healthy weight. Let’s be frank: back pain can rob you of your happiness and joy. We also realize that living with back pain is something that can feel too big to tackle on your own. And that is why we