Spinal canal stenosis and lumber herniated disk are a part of 15 % of known causes of low back pain, but the causes of 85 % of low back pain are unknown.
By the recent research of brain science, it turned out that some of the low back pain which cause is unknown and difficult to treat are related to the decline of the brain function caused by the decrease of blood flow in a part of the brain where is related to pain. 73 years old woman had been suffering from the pain and tingling sensation in her lower back and legs which cause was unknown. Her MRI images don’t show any abnormality causing spinal canal stenosis and lumber herniated disk. When she keeps sitting posture, pain and tingling sensation in her lower back and legs get worse. When we feel pain, our brain secretes substance which suppresses the pain so the pain gradually decreases. But if we are under too much stress, the secretion of the substance which suppresses the pain decreases. That makes us sensitive to small stimulation that usually doesn’t cause pain. In her case, it was assumed that some kinds of stress lowered the function of the brain and she felt pain by small stimulation. She started rehabilitation of the brain in a hospital. The first step of brain rehabilitation is probing the cause of psychological stress lowering the function of the brain. What she talked about was that she had been regretting that she might not understand her husband who had passed away 9 years ago after his 7 years’ life of fighting cancer. Stress caused by the death of her husband could be the main reason of the lower function of her brain. Awareness of the events causing the stress is the first step. The second step of brain’s rehabilitation is physical therapy. It is assumed that self-confidence and a sense of accomplishment have good influence on the function of the brain and lead to increase the substance that alleviates pain. After 3 weeks’ of brain’s rehabilitation, her pain level decreased and she had more confidence and looked happier.
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Low Back Pain Type 2
Stage 1 47 years old woman. Sudden severe pain in her lower back occurred when she lifted up a heavy box at her work. The pain was like shock struck by a hammer. After 10 minutes’ rest, she was able to walk a little. Stage 2 Since then, she tried not to lift a heavy stuff but when she was in the kitchen to prepare dinner and bent forward to pick up dishes from a lower shelf, sudden severe pain in her lower back and tingling sensation and sharp pain radiating to her thigh and calf in her right leg occurred. After that, every time she bent forward, she suffered from low back pain, and pain and tingling sensation in her leg. Stage 3 6 months after the first low back pain, when she tried to climb up 1 stair, the low back pain and pain and tingling sensation in her leg started. Pain and tingling sensation which obstruct daily life occurs. Type 2 is herniated disk which is the disease that the contents of the disk comes out and presses the nerve causing pain. The disks are elastic at the age of 10s, containing a lot of water. But aging takes away the water, making the disks hard. Countermeasure to prevent Stage 3: Stage 1 When she lifted up a heavy stuff, her disk got cracks. That caused the pain like being hit by a hammer. At that time, the contents of the disk soaked into the cracks and inflammation occurred, causing chronic pain. Strengthening the muscles around the disks reduces the burden on the cracked disk, alleviating the pain and preventing the recurrence. Denting Abdomen Exercise 1. Sit on a chair, straighten your back and relax. 2. Dent your abdomen. (Fig. 1) 3. Put your hands on both sides of your abdomen and tighten your abdomen. (Feel the muscles are tight.) (Fig. 2) 4. Keep tightening your abdomen for 5 seconds and relax your abdomen. It is expected that doing this exercise 10 times a day reduces and prevent the pain. Stage 2 Bending forward caused strong pressure in the front of the disk and the contents of the disk came out, pressuring the nerve running near the disk. Taking a rest without bending forward reduced the pain because the stimulation to the nerve by the pressure became less. The contents of the disk usually come out to one side so the symptom appears in one side of the legs. Pappy Position Pappy position is a stretch like a baby bends the back backward raising the head. 1. Lie on your stomach bending your arms. (Fig. 3) 2. Raise your upper body making your arms vertical. (stop the exercise if you feel any pain.) (Fig. 4) 3. Keep the posture for 1 minute. 4. Go back to the relaxed position. It is effective to do this exercise more than 2 times a day.
Characteristics:
The similarities between these three are that it is painful when starting to move and it is improved after for a while. This is a typical symptom of low back pain. The major cause of this type of low back pain is aging. Aging causes degeneration of the bone and disks between the bones in the low back, and the muscles become thinner. Decrease of the muscles starts at the age of 40. Joints and muscles tend to become tight. In addition, being worried about the low back pain excessively makes people not to move, leading to the aggravation of the low back pain. Exercise for Low Back Pain Caused by Aging (1) Sit in a chair (Fig. 1) (2) Bend forward slowly and grab your left ankle with your right hand by twisting your waist (Fig. 2). (3) After returning the posture to the original state, grab your right ankle with your left hand (Fig. 2). Doing this exercise 3 times in the morning and evening softens the joints and the muscles around your low back, leading to the relief of the low back pain. |
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