Most backache is "muscular." This may not sound particularly terrible but it really feels terrible! Most of the time it happens through a sort of "runaway" situation occurring. The muscles serve a support role, they are like the guy ropes to the masts of a ship. Thus their role is really crucial as it is vital that the integrity of the spine is maintained. This is because through the spinal column passes effectively a cable of nerves from the brain and branching out all over the body. They branch out forming a total of 31 branches that pass to all parts of the body. Most backache happens when the muscles go into a "spasm" in order to protect the back. They tense up making the vertebrae immovable. Although this does protect the back, the muscles themselves become inflamed, thus creating more pain and thus more muscles tense up. It is rather like a cramp and once this condition happens there is simply no easy way out. Periods or rest with gentle movement, laying on the back with knees raised and gently rolling from side to side, painkillers, deep hot baths and gently moving, gentle traction by way of holding onto something like a firm surface like a table and then letting the lower body semi dangle, the same sort of idea can be done by gripping onto 2 stair handrails and then dangling the lower body momentarily, the Cat Stretch, these are the sorts of things to help ease the cramp in the lower back. If it is severe it will take at least several days to go away.
It is most important that the source of the backache is determined and this is where professional advice and a medical examination may be needed. Generally though the muscles will go into the kind of spasm mentioned above through a combination of the following 2 reasons.
a) Response to an earlier back injury
If there has been a "slipped disc" or some other injury to the ligaments or muscles, there will be a tendency for the muscles in the vicinity to "lock up" in order to prevent further injury. I will talk about the different types of back injuries later in this article. Vertebrae fractures are a more severe injury that can happen through an accident. So this is why a person who has backache needs to be aware of any injuries they may have been sustained maybe years earlier and have the extent of these injuries thoroughly investigated.
b) General overwork, stress, exhaustion, worry and so on.
The lower back muscles are prone to tense up through "bad stress." Also poor posture and sitting for long periods of time and concentrating. (Like reading this article!) Although decent chairs and correct height of surfaces help, it must be borne in mind that it is completely unnatural to be charged up ready for action, alert and mentally ready, but with no bodily movement. This is the state that most people would be at their computers at work. The human body upon a stimulus for action is designed to MOVE, not sit still. The lower back muscles tense up ready for action. But if no physical action takes place they are predisposed towards runaway tension and therefore back pain. If Microsoft really cared for the welfare of the human race they would set up their Windows operating system so that the computer would shut down every 20 mins for 10 seconds with a command that you get up from your chair and jump around the office. Common sense says that most of the things in modern life will predispose us towards back pain and there is no simple solution.
My boyfriend is tall and tends to be very prone to backache. He says that going round "like a monkey" helps a lot. This means using your hands to grip onto any available surface, to grab the chance to ease the lower back. Have no inhibitions on going on all 4's on the ground and rolling on the carpet on your back with raised knees several times a day even at your business conference. You can still talk to each other. Leaning on your elbows on a firm desk and then elongating and straightening the back he says it really helps. Keep changing chairs and location frequently.
Moreover the following 2 conditions increase the likelihood of the muscles going into spasm.
1) General body weaknesses
Generally the weaker the muscles are, particularly the "core support" muscles the more prone they would be to going into spasm. They don't have the strength or stamina and so give in easier. The same applies to overall cardiovascular fitness. Poor levels of this means that the overall circulation is poorer and therefore "stress hormones" build up. So therefore any sort of physical exercise will greatly benefit. In bad cases swimming can be really good as the body is supported horizontally. Cycling can also be good as the hands on the handlebars take some of the body weight. Jogging should be approached with caution owing to the jarring effects, soft ground would be more better. Belly Dance would be fantastic as the lower back is gently worked constantly, but caution should be exercised during the earlier lessons with "sit down" breaks taken as necessary. This is because the back is being worked the whole time and if the person has come to belly dancing after a period of relative inactivity the sudden change can be perhaps too sudden. Obvious as it may sound, anyone with a weak back should ease into belly dancing gradually, to allow the back to build up stamina and strength. But after having said that Belly Dance would be the most ideal thing for them.
2) Particular abnormalities
Overweight and especially if the excess weight is on the internal organs thereby creating an enlarged stomach, will cause problems as the centre of gravity is further forward putting a great deal of additional strain on the lower back. The tendency to put on weight in this fashion tends to be more common with men (i.e. the beer gut).
Excess curvature in the lower back can also create more strain, this condition is called Lordosis (lôr do"sis). Overweight and pregnancy can make this condition worse. There is no simple cure, just the awareness of this condition will mean that the person would have to take additional steps, and once these are in place and they are stopping the backache then let this condition continue! Obviously anything slanted at posture and body alignment such as Pilates and Yoga will especially benefit, but not if the person is unlikely to enjoy or otherwise sustain these activities.
Specific Back Injuries and conditions
- Slipped Disc.
This is where a tear or rupture takes place within the discs that are the cushioning elements between the vertebrae. When this happens a section of the misplaced disc will intrude into the spinal canal and thus irritating the spinal nerves which usually affect the legs and feet. This produces a sharp, severe pain down the entire leg and into the foot. The compression and subsequent inflammation is directly responsible for the pain one feels down the leg, and is termed "sciatica." This pain often is described as sharp, electric shock-like, severe with standing, walking or sitting. The pain is frequently relieved by lying down or utilizing a lumbar support chair or insert.
Awful as this may sound 90% of those who suffer from slipped discs only require "conservative" treatment (i.e. not surgery) and these involve various types of physical treatments such as ultrasound, traction and manipulation. The reason is that most of the pain comes from the back muscles in spasm so the treatment is to relax the muscles which are in spasm and secondarily inflamed from the compressed spinal nerve
The whole idea is to relax the back muscles surrounding the affected area and to gradually strengthen them. Rest and heat and general physiotherapy will relax them and then a series of back exercises gradually increasing in intensity will help to support the damaged anatomy and allow it to recover.
Medically prescribed medication can range form simple analgesics such as aspirin or paracetamol, through to the non-steroid anti-inflammatory preparations.
Finally, a local injection of cortisone together with a local anesthetic might be required in the case of persistent acute pain.
As part of this programme belly dancing with the cautions mentioned above will be excellent. But it must be remembered that over repetitive use of the back may well enflame or irritate the damaged area. So it is important that the teacher is aware if any of her pupils have suffered slipped discs. It is important to realize that the belly dance will improve immensely the overall condition of the back muscles by way of coordination particularly and strength and endurance as well.
So we have a situation that a careful balance must be struck. In belly dance the lower back is constantly being used but in a very gentle way. So really what is needed here are repeated short rests for anyone who may have back trouble. We make it so that at any class someone may "sit out" at any point without feeling self conscious, so don't hesitate to sit out a few times during the class if necessary. We have chairs with lower back supports and also ensure that there is a suitable area where a person may lay down and raise and hug their knees for a few moments or do the "cat stretch." The highly friendly and informal nature of the classes, low lighting and suitable areas to do these things means that you can do these things easily and as necessary. All health authorities stress the importance of building up the lower back muscles as it is these going into spasm that cause most backache. Belly dance and especially our style really builds up the muscles of the lower back that are central to the function of stability of the components of the back but as stressed before repeated rests may be essential in the early stages. So it is "rest and use, rest and use" not "lie idle" is the advice here!
But some movements may also aggravate the injury. In an ideal sonario the person would have a medical advisor, preferably a back specialist and this person would be able to advise which belly dance moves to be more cautious with and over what length of time to bring in more and more moves.
Spondylitis, ankylosing (spon d* li"tis, ang k* lo"zing). Ankylosing spondylitis,
Also known as bamboo spine, is a condition in which the bones of the spine (vertebrae) fuse together. This causes stiffness, and the spine can become bowed. Early symptoms are backache and stiffness in the morning. Ankylosing spondylitis occurs more often in men than in women and usually starts early in adult life. The symptoms gradually worsen, but pain need not be continuous. The patient's eyes often become inflamed (iritis) and the joints can become swollen and tender (arthritis). The cause of ankylosing spondylitis is not known.
We have several pupils with these conditions and they have all reported that the belly dancing really has been marvelous! In fact one lady whose spine was more or less locked rigid has said that gentle persistence has completely loosened up the spine and completely reversed the effects of this debilitating condition.
The large number of gentle repetition of moving the spine which belly dancing is characteristic of belly dance so this is an ideal antidote to the spine seizing up in this way. In its varying forms this is quite a common condition and if left unchecked can have very severe consequences.
People with this condition will find any "wavy" motions with the trunk particularly difficult if not impossible. But these are the very moves that with persistence will slowly come. As there isn't a local injury as in the case with slipped discs the issue of great caution to avoid aggravating any part does not arise so it is largely a case with these people to be gently encouraging and sympathetic as lots of the moves they will find very hard at first.