Lessen your back pain with water

Mountain biking through a remote part of Northland in the pouring rain, covered in mud taking a sip of water from my hydra pack reminded me about posting a blog on the importance of water for lessening back pain.

Did you know that our discs in our back are water soluble?  The best way I can describe this is to think of running a car with-out oil, it would eventually start groaning creaking, blowing smoke and then entirely seize up, or blow-up.  The same is apparent with our backs.  BUT, its not just our discs but our muscles too, simply drinking water also helps muscles to expand and contract.
So the next time you have pain in your back, I challenge you to review your water intake for the day.
How hydrated are you?  Did you drink enough before exercise, during and after?
Hydration is proven to reduce back pain.  Best of all, its FREE (unless you prefer bottled water of course!).
There is however one side effect….you will find yourself in the loo more than normal!
Although this may sound a little gross, I’d like you to ensure you check the colour of your urine as this is a very good indicator on if you are hydrated or not.
If you are weeing almost clear, then this is a good indicator that your hydration levels are great.  If you are peeing a dark yellow, then this is an indicator that you have not had enough to drink.  So, you want to be hydrating until your wee is clear….got it?
Of course if you have other medical issues, then this may not be the case, however most people find it a fantastic indicator.  If you are taking multi-vitamins or vitamin C, then this will not work as the excessive vitamins will colour your urine orange or yellow so it will be hard to tell.
I’d be interested in hearing how those of you who try this for a few weeks go- let me know if it reduces your back pain.

It's time to move it move it!

I was recently on my way back from a conference in Seattle, USA where I had spent a week sitting on my chuff in presentation sessions behind heavy wooden doors.  The sessions ran from 8.00am in the morning and concluded with dinners around 8pm in the evening in the same conference rooms.  Lunch was provided in the same room, which sessions also ran through, hardly any chance to go anywhere….I was getting cabin fever!.  By the third day and the evening 'Ten-pin Bowling event' I started to get a little twinge in my back and it got me thinking……I must blog about why exercise is so important to relieve back pain.

Even for people like me, there are certain times where it's hard to escape even for a walk, those twinges we feel are for a reason- if you listen closely, you'll hear them singing in the tune to 'its time to move it move it'!

A Canadian study by Dr. Jill A. Hayden in 2005 of more than 6,400 people suffering back pain found that when it comes to chronic lower-back pain, supervised stretching and muscle strengthening exercises may relieve the ache best.

What your back is really saying is that you need exercise.  Sitting for long periods compresses your spine.  We are designed to be moving beasts and we should do it….and regularly!  Needless to say, I bowled my little heart out and played for several hours at the ten-pin bowling event, and even that made my back feel 10 times better (I came last out of a team of 8 people, but participation is everything isn't it?).  The next day I spent an hour and a half in the gym- just basic exercises  such as walking on the treadmill, press-ups, squats and bent over rows and Pilates.  I must mention at this point that the hotel gym was very budget and in a room the size of a wardrobe, it would have been hard to swing a cat in it….but still, a  better option than exercising in 2 degrees outside!.   Needless to say I was a little put off when one of the other guests stopped at my wardrobe door (opps gym)! to watch me as I was mid-way through Pilates (awkward).  I should have asked him to joint me but the bagel he was scoffing indicated that perhaps exercise was not really his intention at the time.

As a Back care professional and Personal Trainer, I understand movement and back pain and the correlation to this and future activities.  The reason I spent even more time in the gym that day, even after the evening of 10 pin bowling, was that I knew I was getting on a 6 hour flight to Hawaii that afternoon and that I seriously needed to move to make things comfortable for me for the next few days.

The enjoyment I had over the weekend in Hawaii was fab.  I had no back pain and managed to go on a Kayaking tour and the following day rent a Stand-up Paddle Board and paddle around with the turtles.  As I was paddling around with the said turtles on my Stand-up Paddle Board, I had a big smile on my face….realising that the only reason I can do this sort of thing is because I have such a great awareness of how important exercise is for back pain reduction and how great my life has been since I realised this.   Is it time for you to "move-it-move-it yet?

Have a read of the study details here if you are interested in more detail of the Canadian study on exercise and back-pain reduction.
http://bodyandhealth.canada.com/channel_section_details.asp?text_id=3606&channel_id=42&relation_id=30086