Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic Shares Tips for Lifting Safely to Prevent Back Pain

Did you hear how lifting can be hard on a low back? If you are a Montreal chiropractic patient with low back pain, you have! You’ve likely even experienced it personally. Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic describes proper lifting techniques with our back pain patients early on in treatment. It’s essential to protect the spine while it heals! New studies report that back supports and even hand support techniques during lifting can help.

MECHANICAL LOADING DURING LIFTING

Mechanical loading is a major risk factor for low back pain. The loading may be due to lifting a heavy or light object that triggers Montreal back pain. Much of how the pain comes on is via the response of back  muscles during the lift. Newly designed “exoskeletons” are being tested. They go beyond a back brace but show some promise in decreasing lumbar flexion and decreasing the compressive force on the back by 13-21% while bending. Peak compressive force during lifting was lowered by 14%. The researchers are hopeful that such devices could lower the risk of compression-related tissue failure during lifting. (1) For now, Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic focuses on what is accessible today to help our Montreal back pain patients control their back pain once the pain is lessened by controlling their spine-related movements.

CHIROPRACTIC LIFTING TIPS

It would seem that there would be a huge difference in spine action between picking up a pencil and lifting a crate, but there is not much difference when discussing how the low back responds during lifting. Interesting! Researchers wanted to see if the common way most people pick things up off the floor – with a hand on a thigh for support – made a difference. They proposed that it would result in decreased load on the back. The volunteers lifted two kinds of things - a pencil and a crate - off the floor with researchers logging every move and muscle response. Using a hand on the thigh for support while bending for the pencil on the floor decreased the average peak total stresses by 17 to 25% (depending on the lifting method). Hand support while lifting the crate dropped the peak total stresses by 13-19% for one-handed lifting and 14-26% for two-handed lifting. (2) Hand support during lifting may help the low back. Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic has some other ways to limit spinal stress during lifting to control Montreal back pain and its reappearance: support belts to exercise to spinal manipulation to back school. It is a comprehensive treatment plan you’ll want to embrace!

CONTACT Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic

Listen to the PODCAST with Dr. Matthew Alexander on the Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes the effective, gentle treatment with the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management for his patient with spinal stenosis and low back pain.                                       

Schedule your next Montreal chiropractic appointment with Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic. Lifting can stress the low back. Chiropractic care eases the stress on the lumbar spine for back pain relief.  Contact us today!