So when we wrote about back pain, we didn't expect it to be so popular. To date, that particular entry has been viewed by four times as many people as any other blog we have written. We did a search for back pain and blogs and what follows is a screen shot of just the blog results.
There seems to be an infinite number of results for that search, and with good reason. According to ABC News, 6 of 10 people report back pain. And that's a lot of people! Back pain is even worse when we realize that almost everything we do involves using our backs. Even sitting still requires our back muscles to hold us in place.
And if we have a chronic condition, it really impacts our lives. Why do so many experience back pain? Depends on who you listen to, however, most people really don't care, they want it to go away.
The causes of back pain are many. It may be because of our jobs, or because of our body mass, or even the posture that we keep ourselves in. It could be related to injury, or even genetics. And the big one, in our view, aging. The problem is, that unless we can repair the damage, the pain will continue, and in some cases intensify.
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How can we repair it? Again, depending on the source, many different things. We do propose a consistent and quasi scientific approach. Remember the old joke: Doctor my back hurts when I do this. And the Doctor replies Don't do that! We actually feel that is relevant advise. We also believe that the human body is an amazing machine. For minor to some extreme problems, your body will strive to fix itself. Tissue regeneration, and other things can help, as long as you do not continue doing what caused it in the first place.
We like to suggest to start with the most natural approach to back pain. Keep in mind that you should at least mention it to a medical professional, they will have insights that you will not. Pain in general is a warning sign that something is wrong, back pain is no different. The first thing to do is determine what is causing the pain. Once you have isolated the cause, then you can consider what to do. Obviously, if the cause is an accident, medical attention is critical.
The natural approach is our primary choice simply because for thousands of years it was the only choice, and our bodies have a significant arsenal to deal with it. The biggest weapon in that arsenal is sleep. During sleep our brains are regenerated, information is committed to certain memory centers, and our physical body is addressed.
Muscles freeze during sleep, at one point you are paralyzed. This mechanism helps the body find and deal with minor injuries of the previous day, but also more severe injuries. Doctors even induce coma to help with certain injuries. A coma is very similar to sleep. Here's the hitch, though, if sleep is causing the pain, it won't fix it until you figure out why.
Doctors, Osteopaths, and Chiropractors all would probably recommend to sleep on your back. They would probably go farther to tell you to use a pillow under your knees. But why? What they are trying to do is to get your body in a good posture position. Taking the stress off the joints, allows the body to start repairs. We go one step farther, we suggest you look at your sleep space.
Since the late 1800s, Innerspring mattresses have provided us with our sleep surface, and today 70% sleep on springs. That is not bad, as long as all those decades of experience doesn't influence your decision when you buy a mattress. There are many myths about mattresses that we all take as fact. Spring beds can be a great surface. Too many of us buy them wrong. Hard is not firm, there is a minute difference. Firm indicates that the surface helps your body maintain posture. Hard just indicates the feel.
Today, there are alternatives to springs, and many have been developed since the 1960s. If you have pain in your back, especially in the morning when you rise, do research on what each technology can do for you. Please do not exclude any technology until you have experienced it. For 25 years, I traveled for a living. Driving town to town all over the Midwest. Staying in a different motel most nights (by the way, I am glad those days are over). As a result, I slept on many different beds. Springs were the most, but water beds, memory foam beds and air beds were also in the mix.
I found, as an example, I did not do well on memory foam, water beds made me cold, if I forgot to turn on the heater, and some motels had really bad spring beds. That was my experience, yours may be different, after all we are individuals. So what style of bed would work best for you? Here's the natural approach: Check the styles out in stores, the ones you think you may do well on keep in mind. Once you have a idea of what you would like to try, consider a weekend trip with your spouse or significant other. Find a motel or hotel that has the style you want to try. Spend a couple nights on it. Evaluate how well it worked, or didn't work. Repeat. Two things come from this approach, your social life is helped, and you can experiment relatively cheaply. Build your perfect bed in your mind.
Once you have the style in mind, continue shopping. Look for models that feature what you want. If you are a side sleeper, you will probably like lots of comfort materials on top. Back and stomach sleepers prefer much less. Do not buy a "fashion" bed, or in other words, a bed that is popular because of a TV show, or a brand name. Brand names can be useful, but do not assume all offerings in a brands catalogue are the same. The trend today is "Good, Better, Best" marketing. Use a retailer that is genuinely interested in you, not in up selling. You can tell by observing how they approach the sale, keep in mind that they all want your business and will ask for it. Are they overly hyping one brand over another? Are they trying to sell you on the lowest price? Do they listen to what you say?
The last step is to try to find a store that has a return policy. We are making a good guess, but you never know. Continue to evaluate how your pain is feeling for several weeks, if it is improving, you made a great choice. If not, it is time to try other things to help it.
Since back pain is a popular subject, watch for our next entry as we continue to explore ways of helping us live pain free lives, naturally. Until then...
Sleep Well!
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