Source: People's Daily Original manuscript
Winter has arrived, the weather is cold, and the number of people with waist discomfort is increasing. Especially the middle-aged and elderly people, it is even more painful to suffer from waist pain, and some people even hurt so much that they can't stand up straight.
"Low back pain is one of the common problems in orthopedic clinics, which refers to pain in the lumbar spine, lumbosacral, sacroiliac, buttocks, etc., and can occasionally be accompanied by symptoms such as swelling, pain and numbness of the lower limbs on one or both sides." Yu Tong, deputy chief physician of the Department of Orthopedics of Guang'anmen Hospital of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, said that low back pain tends to occur in autumn and winter, and is more common in middle-aged and elderly people, especially in women over 50 years old.
Why does low back pain occur? Dr. Yu Tong said that low back pain is mainly caused by four etiological mechanisms. The first is acute and chronic waist injuries, improper lifting of heavy objects, excessive weight bearing at the waist, long-term fixed position or excessive exercise, etc., which can lead to waist injuries. After the injury, the local qi and blood are not running smoothly, the blood stasis blocks the meridians, and if it is not clear, it is painful, so the symptoms of low back pain are seen. Secondly, the wind and cold invade, the cold season does not pay attention to keep warm, resulting in muscle and vein cramps, affecting the operation of qi and blood, and then low back pain, which is also the main reason for the frequent occurrence of low back pain in winter. The third is degenerative lesions, the waist length time to bear a variety of loads, so that the intervertebral joints, intervertebral disc degenerative changes, and then lead to bone hyperplasia, lumbar deformation, intervertebral disc herniation, spinal stenosis, etc., the surrounding soft tissues also occur corresponding pathological changes, but also cause serious symptoms of low back pain. In addition, congenital developmental abnormalities such as congenital spina bifida and scoliosis deformity can also cause symptoms of low back pain.
"Prevention is the fundamental way to reduce the incidence of morbidity, and we must start from now on to enhance the awareness of protection in order to stay away from low back pain." Dr. Yu Tong recommends that to protect the waist, it is necessary to cultivate a good body posture such as standing, sitting, lying down, and walking. When standing, the eyes are level, the jaw is retracted, the chest is upright, the lower back is straight, the calves are slightly retracted, the legs are upright, and the feet are naturally separated at the same width as the pelvis. When sitting, straighten the chest, abdomen, jaw slightly retracted, put the body flat on the back of the chair, both lower limbs together, can pad a footstool, to avoid excessive stretching of the lumbosacral ligaments, muscles, etc., to maintain lumbar integrity; avoid semi-supine sitting position "Ge You lie" and sedentary. When sleeping, when lying on the side, the knees are slightly bent, and a soft pillow is added between the legs; when lying on the back, the body is stretched, and the pillow can be cushioned under the knee, which can make the low back muscles in a relaxed state, which is not only conducive to falling asleep, but also relieves or prevents low back pain.
Dr. Yu Tong also said that not all low back pain needs to be rested, and scientific and reasonable exercise can effectively improve the strength of the low back muscles, so as to achieve the purpose of preventing waist injuries and waist pain. You can do 20 to 40 times a day "prone arch bridge" movements, that is, on the back bed, with the feet, elbows and the back of the head as the fulcrum, the hips are raised. Relieve the fatigue of the sedentary waist, you can do the action of pedaling the bicycle empty, and increase the flexibility of the lumbar spine. Swimming in water at the right temperature can also play a role in strengthening the waist muscles and preventing waist pain.