Five Safe Exercises for Herniated Disk Back Pain

Herniated disk back pain can be relieved with a few gentle exercises that strengthen muscles, improve flexibility over time, and begins the healing process. Herniated discs affect young and middle-aged people and often affect the lumbar spine, which is the lower portion of the back. A herniated disk is a common spinal condition resulting in the disk material that protects and cushions each disk of the spine from external pressure to be pushed out past the hard exterior or when the structures stop producing this material. It leads to dehydration and disk collapse. Specialists often recommend rehabilitation and prevention as opposed to surgery. Keep reading for the safest five exercises for relieving back pain associated with herniated disks. Symptoms That Are Associated with Herniated Disks Generally, the first symptom of a herniated disk is lower back pain. Although it may go away after a short duration, usually other symptoms manifest such as numbness and tingling in the limbs, numbness and weakness in the lower body is also common. It may travel to your feet, knees or ankles. Gentle exercise is the best way to combat pain, improve your day-to-day life, and increase muscle performance. In addition to the exercises below, walking and swimming are also excellent options to build up your activity level after experiencing herniated disk pain. 1. Spinal Decompression Spinal decompression is the best exercise to start with when you have back pain associated with a herniated disk. It creates much-needed space between your vertebrae and relieves the pressure that may be causing you discomfort. The way to do this exercise is to find a place you can hang off of a bar. For instance, a door would work or a bar at the gym. The goal is to try to hang off the bar for 30 seconds at a time for three rounds. Release slowly and continue with other exercises. 2. Cobra Pose This pose effectively relieves back pain associated with a herniated disk because it pushes the disk material back into its original position and allows it to begin the healing process. This pose especially helps if you’re experiencing symptoms in your lower body and can help contain it to just your lower back. This pose can be done as a half stretch or a full stretch by laying on your stomach. Prop yourself up on your elbows for a half stretch and fix your hip bones to the floor. Hold this stretch for 15 seconds and go back to your starting position. Repeat this for ten rounds. When you are comfortable with the half-stretch, try to prop yourself up with your hands in a full arm extension. 3. Cat-Cow This stretch combines two yoga poses that help create space between the disks that are causing you pain and relieving the pressure on your spine. Additionally, it helps the recovery process and provides some spine mobility. When doing this pose, get on your hands and knees and look upward. Imagine a string is pulling your belly

4 Ways to Start Your New Year with a Healthy Spine

As the new year approaches, you might be thinking about ways in which you could improve the health of your spine in the year ahead. New Year’s resolutions are a great way to evaluate the habits you have developed this year and ways you can improve them. Whatever your resolutions are, there are four important ways you can build healthier habits your spine will thank you for. If you’re suffering from back pain, there are changes you can make to alleviate or reduce those symptoms and help you become the best version of yourself. Keep reading for some simple ways to start your New Year with a healthy and happy spine. 1. Stretching and Exercise Improve Your Spine Health Exercising is so great for your spine health because it targets the weak core muscles that support the spine, strengthening them for the long term. Exercises such as crunches, situps and pushups prevent spine and back injuries from occurring in the future. Aerobic exercises are great for contributing to a healthy spine by encouraging blood flow to the tissues that can help with providing repair and nutrients to any injured tissue. Stretching is another great way to support spine health. Practices like yoga especially assist in creating flexibility and strength in your core and back muscles. You don’t have to exercise for an extended duration to reap the benefits, about 30 minutes each day will keep your spine healthy. Great examples of spine-bolstering exercises include: Walking, jogging, or running 30 minutes daily Stretching and yoga Strength training such as crunches and pushups Incorporating these habits into your daily routine can help support the spine and keep it healthy into the New Year. 2. Prioritize a Good Night’s Sleep for a Healthy Spine Sleep is important for spine health because the body uses that time to restore and recover. To gain the benefits of a good night’s sleep, it’s essential that you also prioritize a long duration of sleep which allows you to experience the REM stage of deep sleep. This New Year’s goal will have to work in conjunction with another goal to promote the ability to relax and stay asleep, which can be difficult depending on your spine health. Some good strategies to improve your quality of sleep are: Removing any devices such as TVs, phones or video games from the bedroom Avoiding any caffeinated or alcoholic beverages before bedtime Have a set bedtime and follow it consistently Create a bedtime routine that involves relaxation techniques like reading, hot tea, meditation, or journaling Sleeping with a pillow under your knees Investing in a semi-firm mattress When you prioritize a good night’s sleep your spine will be able to restore and recover for the next day. 3. Give Up Cigarettes to Alleviate Back Pain This New Year’s resolution is challenging but can make all the difference in your spine and back health. To alleviate back and spine pain, consider quitting this coming year. Cigarettes often hinder blood vessels causing pain, discomfort

How to Know If Working from Home Is Causing Back Pain

Commuting to an office building to be surrounded by co-workers used to be the norm. Nowadays, working from a home office is a typical way to spend business hours. Working from home is steadily becoming the new norm. Some people have even turned their living rooms, bedrooms, or kitchen tables into home offices. Unfortunately, people who work from home are experiencing newfound back pain. Various factors can cause back pain, so its origin is not always obvious. At NJ Spine and Orthopedic, our doctors are skilled at identifying causes of pain and can advise you on the best course of treatment. Your home is more comfortable than the office, but you are still susceptible to office work habits that are harmful to your back health. If you have started to experience back pain, here’s how to know if remote work is the cause. Your Muscles Ache after Sitting Still during the Work Day Working from home requires us to be at our desks for hours at a time. Sitting still without taking breaks or changing position every so often can be bad for your back. Holding a stiff position while working can add pressure to your back muscles. Because of this, even people working at standing desks can experience lower back pain. If you notice that your muscles are aching at the end of the workday, incorporate more breaks during working hours. Take time to readjust the position of your body, stretch your muscles, and walk around to prevent further damage. You Hunch Your Shoulders While at Your Workspace As long as they have WIFI and portable technology, people can work from anywhere. Rather than work at a standard desk with an office chair, some people have opted to work from their coffee table, kitchen table, or even their bed. If you’ve made a makeshift desk out of the furniture around your house, then you’re likely working while hunched over your laptop. Hunching forward to look down at your screen can strain your back. Even with a proper desk, you can find yourself slouching with your shoulders hunched forward if you ignore your posture. Slumping or sliding forward in the seat of your office chair will compromise your posture and your back health. Keep your screen at a reasonable height and work while maintaining good posture to avoid strain and injury. Your Work Chair Doesn’t Support Your Back Not everyone is prepared to work from home full time. In the transition to remote work, you may have turned to whatever you had available to create your work from home set-up. Instead of an office chair, maybe you chose to sit on a stool at your breakfast bar or thought the couch would be a cozy place to handle business. While these choices feel fine for a moment, sitting in a chair that doesn’t provide proper back support can be harmful after working for hours on end. The Spine Specialists at NJ Spine Can Diagnose Your Back Pain As technology advances

4 Things You May Not Know About Back Surgery Recovery

Back injuries can keep you from being engaged in the most enjoyable moments of your life. Back surgery can get you the relief you need, but you should be prepared for the recovery process. Of course, there will be the things you often expect. For example, it’ll be challenging to move around, and you’ll have to take it easy for a while. However, there are things you may not have thought about before when it comes to back surgery recovery. There are a few things you may not know about recovering from back surgery. 1. Gentle Exercise Can Speed up Your Recovery After any major surgery, you’re advised not to perform any strenuous activity. That doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t do any exercises. During your recovery, you may be asked to perform breathing exercises using a spirometer and some range-of-motion exercises. You’ll want to get rest, but if you are inactive for too long, you can increase your risk of developing a blood clot in your leg, a condition called deep vein thrombosis (DVT). It is common for people to walk to stay active while in recovery. Being active will speed up your recovery by improving your blood flow. 2. Intimacy Is Not Completely off the Table during Your Recovery Because you’re expected to limit your activity after surgery, that often means sex is prohibited. With back surgery, you have to be mindful of how you’re moving your body, but that doesn’t mean you have to give up sexual intimacy. You can ask your doctor when it’s safe to engage in sexual activity and which positions will cause less back strain. Being upfront with your doctor and proactive about preventing injury during your recovery period could mean that sex isn’t off-limits. 3. You Will Have to Take Care of Your Surgical Wound While you’re recovering from your surgery, you’ll be responsible for taking care of your incision wound. It will need special care to ensure that it doesn’t get infected. For example, you may need to change your bandages periodically. You’ll have to clean the wound carefully to not damage the skin and delay healing. In some cases, you will have to prevent your wound from getting wet for some time. Also, you should be aware of signs of infection in case they occur so that you can alert your doctor. You’ll have to monitor the condition of your wound and watch out for symptoms such as swelling, discharge, odor, and fever. 4. You Can Buy Things to Make Your Recovery Period Easier Activities in your daily life will become more challenging during your recovery period. For example, we don’t always consider how much movement goes into our daily hygiene. Something as simple as using the restroom or cleaning yourself in the shower could be complicated or risk further damage. Fortunately, there are many tools that you can incorporate into your recovery period to ensure that you can still manage these daily activities. Buying a raised toilet seat or

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Five Safe Exercises for Herniated Disk Back Pain

4 Ways to Start Your New Year with a Healthy Spine

How to Know If Working from Home Is Causing Back Pain

4 Things You May Not Know About Back Surgery Recovery

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