There are ads all the time for shoes. Shoes for every season. Shoes for every event. There are work shoes and play shoes. Pool shoes and party shoes. From flat shoes to five inch heels, there is no end to the large selection of styles and colors to choose from. But have you ever wondered how your choice of shoes has an important role in your posture and the health of your back?

Our feet support our bodies. How we stand while wearing shoes will affect our posture.

Some shoes with narrow toe space and high heels will alter the posture and arches of the back and ultimately placing enormous stress on the spine. In time that bad posture will cause back pain.

Wearing high heels will slowly pull the weight of the entire body forward, thus corrupting the posture and arches of the back. High-heels are the leading cause of Spondylolisthesis which is a forward dislocation of one vertebra over the one beneath it producing pressure on spinal nerves.

Shoe material is also a consideration when purchasing the proper shoe. Durability, flexibility and breathability of the material has to be accounted for. Very stiff leathers have no “give” to them and can be uncomfortable.

Wearing the right shoes has an immense consequence on the health of our spine, so it is very important to incorporate fashion with comfort. One option if you are not wearing supportive shoes that provide you a comfortable fit, is to invest in Orthotic shoes to relieve your back pain.

If you are suffering from lower back pain, you should know you are not alone, millions of Americans suffer from this condition every day. How do these millions of people get relief from the pain that, at times can be debilitating? Well, to be honest, most don’t, they wait it out just as I have always done after being told by a doctor that bed rest for one to two weeks is the only thing that will help.

I was told that the only way to relief the pain was to not aggravate it any further and the best way to do that was to stay in bed and move around as little as possible. After years of dealing with the pain I decided there had to be away to relief the pain and keep it from returning.

The first thing I discovered was that my lower back pain was being caused by two crushed discs in lower part of my spinal column and when the vertebra where out of alignment my sciatic nerve was getting pinched. When the nerve gets pinched, it becomes inflamed which causes sever pain in the lower back and sometimes extends down the leg.

The second thing I found out was that using a heating pad to relief the pain, sure made it feel better but, after removing the heat the pain was worse so I would reapply the heat just for some relief, turned out to be the wrong thing to do. The right thing to do is to apply cold (ice packs) for about twenty minutes at a time every two hours or so, especially when the lower back pain is first experienced. This is because the pain, 95% of the time is caused by inflammation and heat only inflames more.

The third thing I discovered was that by spending five to ten minutes every morning doing the correct stretching exercises not only helped to relieve my lower back pain but also helped it from returning. These exercises are associated with extension or backward bending which helps keep the spine in alignment.

I have been wondering recently, as I see more and more information on the news and in magazines on gravity inversion tables, if bats suffer from back pain. There is quite a bit of logic involved in the concept of pain relief brought about by hanging upside down. Theoretically, I can understand the relief from lower back pain that you may feel when the weight of your body is taken off your spine. Of course, it is a fact of life that the more weight we are carrying, the greater the load on our vertebra and spinal column thus exacerbating general aches and pains into severe back pain.

There are many forms of back pain ranging from back injuries, to sciatica, to fibromyalgia, all of which impact on our body and mind in a different way and require different back pain treatment methods. Visits to the chiropractor, the massage therapist, Bowen therapist, Reki Master, Medical Practitioner, pain management clinic, the list goes on and on…. All of which require time away from home and our money, both of which are precious to us. To be able to find ways of managing our pain within our own environment is certainly worth looking into. There are different back pain exercises available to assist us cope with everyday life. These are available from your physiotherapist, or perhaps your local book store. Sometimes something as simple as going on a diet may help relieve your symptoms.

I am certainly not trying to make light of any pain that you may be experiencing. The devastating effect that pain can have on our physical, mental and spiritual state can be overwhelming to yourself and your family. Chronic back pain can cripple your lifestyle and cause all sorts of personal and social problems. Certainly it is worth investigating and pursuing all avenues that may help give some relief.

Sciatica is the term used to describe a set of symptoms including pain in the lower back, buttock, leg and foot, tingling sensations, pins and needles and difficulty in moving the limb; these symptoms are usually felt on one side of the body. Clinically it is referred to as “Radiculopathy” meaning that a disc in the vertebral column has moved out of place and by protruding, puts pressure on the sciatic nerve. You need to clearly understand that Sciatica is a symptom not a medical diagnosis, of something that causes compression or irritation of the nerve root in the low back.

Treatments vary from person to person because the causes of the nerve compression or irritation maybe due to different reasons. This article takes a look at some of the causes of this problem.

* Spinal disc herniation: the spinal discs separate the vertebrae and provide room for the nerve roots to exit through the spaces. Herniation of the disc happens when the liquid center that the disc is made up of bulges outward; to do this it tears through the out ring of fibers, extruding into the spinal canal and compressing the nerve root of the vertebra. This may result in inflammation and swelling of the tissues further compressing the nerve root and causing the pain.

* Tumors: on the spinal cord or nerve roots result in severe back pain that extends to hips and feet and causes muscle weakness.

* Trauma: car accidents or other types of accidents can cause damage to the nerve roots that could result in “Radiculopathy”.

* Spinal Stenosis: narrowing of the spinal canal causes compression of the spinal cord and nerve roots, giving rise to sciatic problems. Anything from bone spurs to inflammation can cause the pain.

* Pregnancy: when the uterus presses on the sciatic nerve or compresses the vertebrae due to the added weight, it could give rise to sciatic nerve pain.

* Personal habits: like sitting on a big wallet that is in your back pocket or even sitting on your feet for long periods of time can give rise to sciatic symptoms.

At the first sign of pain or tingling, it is recommended that you seek medical assistance because Sciatica can be cured.

For many people, maybe like yourself that suffer with lower back pain a visit to their local chiropractor, physiotherapist or osteopath can be a god send. But how many of you have to go through the same process again months or even weeks later? The problem is that by using just manipulation or massage you are not getting at the underlying reason for the problem. This article takes a look at how a few litres of water a day can give you long term relief from your lower back pain.

One of my failings as a business man is that I get my clients better too quickly and that I am able to give people the right advice to keep their lower back pain for long periods of time. I am happy with that because it makes me a good osteopath and also because it would drive me crazy seeing the same people again and again week after week.

Whenever I mention that I am an osteopath the conversation inevitably gets on to lower back pain. They say? that they have had it for years and they usually have to go and see their chiropractor, physiotherapist, or osteopath who sorts them out over a few sessions. This is a bit of an occupational hazard. The situation gets more uncomfortable when they ask me for my advice. The reason it is uncomfortable for me is because, through experience many people aren’t going to like my answer. Many people through conditioning are happy to accept an explanation of “your vertebra is out of line” or, “you have a trapped nerve”. When I start to mention things like diet or nutrition I quickly see peoples eyes glaze over and they quickly go on the defensive, saying that their diet is fine.

For people a bit more open such yourself the simple answer is that if people are dehydrated then it can lessen the strength in the muscles in your? lower back. In particular the psoas muscles which? large core muscles that are important for stabilising the back. These are particularly sensitive to changes in hydration.

So if your lower back pain starts to resurface again try drinking a pint or two of water and see what happens.

As children we have the great gift of a mobile, strong, well designed and painless spine and it is unusual for stiffness to be an issue as the lumbar spine has evolved to do the job of weight bearing and providing movement. Intervertebral discs separate the spinal vertebrae, allowing more movement in areas where they are thicker and also coping with variable loads. The posterior spinal facet joints limit and control segmental movement, preventing the spine from displacing inappropriately under the shear forces. Strong, balanced and coordinated muscle actions complete the picture.

Inhibition of the stabilising musculature occurs with an episode of acute spinal pain and this can persist beyond the resolution of the pain to generate a long-lasting instability which puts the segment at increased risk of re-injury over time. Longer term effects include the occurrence of degenerative alterations in the spinal structures such as joints and discs, causing segmental levels to develop stiffness and eventually chronic back pain. The discs have fluid forced out of them by gravitational compression forces and must counteract them by generating a fluid absorption force.

If over time the compressive force gets the upper hand, the disc loses some of its hydration and eventually narrows. Narrowing can be seen on x-ray but the disc can start to become troublesome before it is changed enough to show up on the x-ray. In the spine two vertebrae and the intervening disc are known as a segment and it is the segments with altered discs which become stiff, preventing normal movement and forcing anatomical structures to take abnormal loads in abnormal positions. The vertebra above a stiff segment is unable to participate in normal movement and this stiffness can be felt by a physiotherapist.

After an acute back pain injury the surrounding musculature tends to go into muscle spasms to splint and protect the injured segment until inflammation reduction and healing have had a chance to begin. Steady reduction in pain and progress in healing is usually accompanied by lessening of the back spasms and a restoration of normal spinal movement. However, this does not always occur as muscles may remain contracted and overprotective, causing a shortened tissue area which keeps the local joints and other tissues in a permanently shortened position.

Segmental stiffness can also be contributed to by sitting too much with its increased spinal compression forcing fluid from the discs. Avoiding flexion for many of us has led to a loss of this useful and disc-maintaining movement which increases fluid throughput to the discs and keeps them healthy. Other contributors are maintaining abnormal postures and weakness of the abdominal muscle group.

Chronic segmental stiffness is usually indicated by a history of back pain and general backache with some leg referral also possible. Since many and variable areas of the spine can be stiff or mobile, the stiffness which contributes towards the painful problem might have been present for some time. The pain is worse on sitting for long periods or doing bent over activities, anything which stresses the stiff segment towards the end of its available range of motion. The facet joints become stuck in an extended position and the segment tightens up by adaptive shortening, losing its ability to flex or maintain flexion comfortably. My back problems are like this and can be quite troublesome on stressing, leading me to avoid heavy work such as lifting objects of any weight.

However, I have been significantly improved by following Sarah Key’s method of back care, popularised in her book Sarah Key’s Back Sufferers Bible. While it is hard to agree with all the assertions she states in her book (as she herself admits), there is no doubt she has some very good ideas on how to practically manage low back pain. She describes the chronically stiff segmental back along with several other back pain syndromes and prescribes an exercise and management regime for treating them. The regime is not difficult but has very good results, particularly in my case where I felt I was stuck with my lower back pain and now realise this may not be the case.