back pain

Guest Blog: Age With Grace- The Proven Diets That Help Relieve Back Pain

Many foods in your diet have been shown to reduce or increase inflammation. Inflammation is the cause of the back pain you experience, typically as you age older. Inflammation can cause all kinds of problems, including low-back pain. Hence, creating a diet with foods rich in anti-inflammatory properties is how to keep a healthy back as you grow older and maintain good nutrition. For example, there are certain solutions that Talk Kratom can provide.

Some specific causes of back or knee pain can include injuries, incorrect posture, a sudden jerk, or lack of exercise. This can last you for up to a day or more extended periods. Although maintaining a proper fitness regime is an excellent idea to ensure your health, your diet is another way to enhance your body’s strength. This article will introduce diets that will help relieve and ultimately reduce back pain.

Extra virgin olive oil

Extra virgin olive oil is rich in properties that help reduce inflammation. It also contains oleocanthal which has a similar effect as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin and ibuprofen. However, avoid heating the olive oil to a temperature of about 410 degrees because it will kill some beneficial properties. At lower temperatures, it makes an excellent base for sautéing vegetables. You can even switch out unhealthy butter usage with extra virgin olive oil.

Calcium

Calcium is the most prominent known vitamin to improve bone strength and is essential for the health of your bones in general. Calcium helps maintain the required level of bone mass throughout the lifespan of a human being, especially older aged individuals. An adequate calcium intake will prevent the development of osteoporosis. This disorder is characterized by weak, brittle bones and can result in painful vertebral fractures in the spine. However, calcium alone will not do the job of ensuring your bones remain strong. It would be best if you balanced it with other synergistic nutrients. Calcium is found in foods like dairy products, dark green leafy vegetables such as kale, some types of fish, and many more.

Vegetables

Vegetables are rich in calcium, as stated above. They are also a good source of vitamins A, C, and K. This includes leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and spinach. They also offer a natural compound called sulforaphane, which is known to block the enzyme that causes joint pain and inflammation.

Green leafy vegetables are fibrous and should be incorporated into your daily diet plan to help your body maintain a healthy life. Other vegetables that come under root vegetables (beets, pumpkin, and carrots) have beta-carotene. It is a powerful antioxidant that significantly reduces knee and back pain.

Fruits

Another food rich in antioxidants and can help your back pain is fruits. Especially the juicy variants of fruits should be a part of your everyday diet. Fruits like oranges, apples, berries, pineapples, and grapes all contain flavonoids and antioxidants. They work in tandem to ease inflammation caused by back pain.

Regular consumption of tomatoes is highly recommended since it contains lycopene. It is an extremely potent antioxidant and prevents ligament cells from perennial damage. It also works towards repairing inflamed tissues in the body.

Magnesium

Magnesium is a mineral required for more than 300 biochemical reactions in the body. When blood magnesium levels drop, magnesium is pulled from the bones. Magnesium deficiency is not uncommon as you may think, and supplements are needed to maintain your bone density to prevent further back problems. The nutrients help greatly relax and contract muscles to ensure that your muscles are strengthened enough to support the spine.

You can find magnesium in green leafy vegetables, beans, fish, nuts, seeds, whole grains, yogurt, bananas, avocados, and even dark chocolate with 70% or higher amounts of cocoa.

To sum up

Some specific diets and foods can help relieve back pain. Extra virgin olive oil contains oleocanthal which has a similar effect as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Therefore, use some in your salads and as a substitute for butter. Calcium is prominently known to increase bone strength, and you can find calcium in dairy products, dark leafy green vegetables, and some fish. Similarly, vegetables are versatile and contain vitamins C, E, or K. They offer a natural compound that blocks the enzyme that causes joint pain and inflammation. Another on the list of foods high in antioxidants is fruits. Magnesium consumption in the form of some foods is also necessary to maintain bone density to relieve and prevent any back problems in the future.

We hope this article has been informative and helps you discover a diet that aids you in relieving back pain. Thank you for reading!

By |2023-02-21T12:34:50-05:00February 21st, 2023|Dr. Mauk's Boomer Blog, News Posts|Comments Off on Guest Blog: Age With Grace- The Proven Diets That Help Relieve Back Pain

Guest Blog: Spinal Health: How to Decrease Your Back Pain

 

Back pain can affect every aspect of your life from your job, sleep, sitting posture and so much more. It prevents you from being able to accomplish your daily tasks. In fact, back pain causes the highest number of job-related disabilities. As such, you need to take care of your spine today to ensure that you reduce the chances of getting back pain in the future. Here are a few ways to do that:

Sleep Right

While you sleep, your spine should be restful and straight. You can ensure that happens by getting the right pillow and mattress combination. Get a firm or a medium-firm mattress that supports your spine as an old and soft mattress allows the spine to sag. Choose pillows that only elevate your head enough to align the spine.

The pillows and their placement should be ideal for your sleeping position. For back sleepers, place a pillow beneath your knees. For side sleepers, place a pillow between your knees, and you can also have a neck pillow to support the neck.

Exercise the Core Muscles

Exercising the core muscles gives them the strength to support your spine. These are the muscles of the lower back and the abdomen. When they are strong enough, the muscles will take the pressure off the lower back. In most cases, you will not exercise the core muscles during everyday activities. To exercise the muscles, you need to take on targeted exercises. If you already have back pain, or you have other medical conditions, you need to talk to your doctor or therapist to find the best exercises for you. There are those exercises that can reduce back pain to keep you comfortable.

If you do deadlifts, you need to lift right. When lifting, use your legs and knees instead of the lower back to lift the item.

Surgery to Ease the Pain

If you have a nerve condition that causes back pain, you need less invasive surgery to correct the pain. This surgery, known as rhizotomy, helps correct back pain for people with conditions, such as arthritis, joint pain, disc herniations, degenerative spinal conditions, spasticity, pain from cerebral palsy, and trigeminal neuralgia.

A specialist will assess you to determine the level of nerve pain and whether the procedure is right for you. If they determine you are eligible for the procedure, they will place an electrode through fluoroscopy and then stimulate the nerves and then deaden the sensory nerves to stop the pain.

Massage the Lower Back

Massage has several advantages. For starters, it increases blood flow to the back, loosens the tight muscles and the connective tissues, and helps you relax. The massage doesn’t have to be vigorous. Get some moderate level massage, and it will be stress-relieving.

If you are not able to visit a massage spa, due to financial or time constraints, you can get a massage chair, which offers Swedish or shiatsu massage. Combining massage with exercises for the core will give you all the benefits of a strong lower back. Besides, the massage will help with insomnia, restore the full range of motion, and increase endorphin levels.

Besides massage, you can use heat therapy around the muscles that surround your spine. This will increase the flow of blood to the spine and in turn bring healing. You can go for heating pads, heat wraps, or seek professional heat therapy.

Eat Well

Your diet can help maintain the health of your spine. To get the best from your food, limit your food intake to only the items you can find in nature, such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, meats, legumes, and others that are rich in anti-inflammatory agents and antioxidants. When you take foods rich in vitamins and calcium, you can treat conditions, such as osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.

Limit the intake of processed foods and unhealthy sweet treats. This will help you fight weight gain and reduce pressure on your spine. People who are obese place too much pressure on their spines, and losing weight can be a good remedy.

There are many other practices that can help you relieve back pain. These include re-evaluating your sitting posture, doing yoga, staying hydrated, and paying attention to any back pain warning signs.

 

By |2022-03-14T19:37:03-05:00March 14th, 2022|Dr. Mauk's Boomer Blog, News Posts|Comments Off on Guest Blog: Spinal Health: How to Decrease Your Back Pain
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