BACK PAIN

BACK PAIN (Few of us have been spared the agony of back pain).

In the past 12 months along, over a third of the population has suffered back problems, says the charity Back Care. For some the agony is fleeting but for many it can last for weeks, months, and even years. Why has back pain become to common? According to leading physiotheapist Sarah Key, our sedentary lifestyle, and the fact that we have taller and heavier than we used to be, are to b lame. The secrets in the spine: Sarah keys's advice includes going to bed if your back's in agony. As the explains in her new book, the Back Sufferer's Bible, most back pain has the same physical cause - one or more of the discs between the vertebrae of the spine dry out and stiffen, as a result of inactivity, poor posture, obesity or injury. "A normal, healthy human spine is an upright, bendy column, says key, who counts Prince Charles among her many well known clients."It rises out of the pelvis in three gentle curves, like a cobra from a basket, its S-shape helping to hold it upright." But if a spinal disc dries out, the vertebra above that disc loses mobility and back problems can develop. "All of us are walking around with spiners riddled with ' stiff links', never knowing they are there,' never knowing they are there', says Key. "In may cases - particularly in the lower spine, which arrives more weight - the link can become so stiff that it gets painful. This is the chief cause of common or garden backache.: From that point, the problem is progressive. Key explains there are five stages, from the initial stiffness described above to the worst-case scenario- an unstable spinal segment;, which can leave you almost unable to walk, and possible in need of surgery. : The good news," says Key," is that the right therapy almost anywhere along the route of spinal breakdown can stop it in its tracks and turn it around - even with stipped discs.. Some of her advice is controversial. For instance, she recommends bed rest when pain is acute, or touching your toes on a daily basis both to prevent and treat back pain - this is the opposite of current advice to keep moving and avoid straining. She also says people who deliberately spare their backs byh bending their knees are actually doing themselves harm - " unless an item is extremely heavy(in which case lift it with bent knees), you must get your back to do the work: lifting the detergent from under the sink or any other similar daily chores should be done by bending over." Many myths have built up over recent years about how to deal with back pain, and much of what is widely publicized in wrong." As for pilates, often billed as a back protective form of exercise, it focuses too much on the core strength (strong abdominal muscles) and puts the back at risk by not developing the spinal muscles".  Remember, if you are in severe pain; consult your GP, physiotherapist or a specialist at a back clinic