It seems that living a healthy life is no longer the norm. Just take a look around you, more than half the population is overweight; many more have a poor diet. It is common to not exercise and it is even common to be over-stressed! These are some of the contributing factors that lead to another increasing norm; pain, especially back pain!
According to the experts, 80% of us will experience a back problem at some point in our lives…that’s pretty much all of us by the way! (1) Back pain is the second most common reason for visits to the doctors office, is the second most common cause of sick days off work and costs ACC more than $300 million per year.
Disturbingly, back pain is not just restricted to adults and is becoming increasingly common in children and teenagers, much of which appears to be lifestyle related. TV watching is the biggest culprit with 59.3% of our children who watch 1-2 hours per day of TV and 68.8% of those who watch more than 2 hours per day having experienced back pain. (2)
Those of you with back pain (current or past) will most likely have poor posture too, especially forward head posture. This is because posture is a direct reflection of how well your spine and nervous system is functioning.
Aside from being extremely unattractive, the spin-on effects of poor posture play a big part in how healthy you are and your quality of life and include: myofascial pain, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndromes, as well as shoulder, neck, head and jaw pain.
Not only are you likely to experience pain, but your function will also be significantly decreased as well. The 1994 American Journal of Pain Management states that function and posture are tied together (3), so in addition it is also likely that you will be experiencing tension, headaches, fatigue and low energy, an inability to concentrate as well as a decrease in your overall mood and wellbeing. (4) Kapandji states that for every inch (2.5 cm) our heads move forward, it gains an extra 5 kg in weight, placing a huge amount of pressure on the muscles in the neck and back (5). Forward head posture also reduces our lung capacity and ability to breathe (3 & 6) and is associated with a 1.44 greater rate of mortality (7) – crikey!
You may well think that the outlook is bleak and that you are doomed to suffer forever if you have pain or bad posture. However you can take control and ownership of how well your body functions and how fabulous you feel by incorporating a few simple steps into your life.
When it comes to feeling fabulous and restoring your function you have a couple of different options to consider:
Option one
You can do a patch up or a quick fix. With this option, people often resort to painkillers so that you no longer feel the pain. Whilst this may be a good option it certainly doesn’t go to the source of what created the pain and dysfunction in the first place.Option two
You take stock of your health and life and start living a “Life By Design” – a life that is congruent with how you were designed to function. Living “By Design” is your guide to an extraordinary life and incorporates five key principles. To be truly well, you need to do all components at the same time – preferably a lifetime. How well you chose to be is really up to you! Here are the steps to get you started:1. Power By Design: A clear brain-body connection
- Your brain and nerve system controls and coordinates your entire body. Any interference to this connection means that you cannot function at your best.
- Get checked by a wellness orientated chiropractor to see how well your control system is functioning
2. Eat By Design
- Eating by Design, is going back to basics and eating foods that are found in nature. This decreases inflammation within your body (a major contributor to PAIN)
- It is usually necessary to supplement with a few key ingredients that are no longer very abundant in our food supply. The amount you need to take will depend on where you currently are health wise. The key supplements are:
3. Move By Design
- Be Mobile
- Move Slow
- Move Fast
- Lift Heavy things
4. Think By Design
- Do you have a clearly defined purpose? A map of where you are going in life?
5. Rest, Play and Love
- We live in a world where demands are constantly being placed on us and our time, which is the most precious resource we have and one we cant get back. Finding a balance of rest, play and love helps us to maintain equilibrium and maximise our enjoyment of life. Rest (in complete darkness i.e. free from alarm clock lights etc) has also been shown to be an important component of maximising our vitamin D absorption and utilisation.
- Vallfors, B. Acute, Subacute and Chronic Low Back Pain: Clinical Symptoms, Absenteeism and Working Environment. Scan J Rehab Med Suppl 1985; 11: pp 1-98.
- Balague F et al. Low-back pain in school children: An epidemiological study. Scandinavian Journal of Rehabilitative Medicine, 1988, Vol 20, 175-179.
- 1994 America Journal of Pain Mangement (www.forwardheadposture.org)
- Posturing for Wellness. Good Health Begins with Good Posture. (2001). Journal of the American Chiropractic Association. May 2001 (POSTURE & HEALTH)
- Kapandji, Dr A.I., Physiology of the Joints Volume III: The Vertebral Column, Pelvic Girdle and Head. (2008)
- Cailliet, Dr R. Rene Cailliet M.D., director of the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Southern California (http://www.westportchirorehab.com/blog)
- Kado, D.M, Huang, M.H. et al (2004). Hyperkyphotic Posture Predicts Mortality in Older Community-Dwelling Men and Women: A Prospective Study. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2004; 52 (10): pp 1662-1667.
