Encouraging Health

Here’s a way to keep up with your favorite TV show and get healthy at the same time: Sit on an exercise ball while you watch the tube.

Research shows that lounging for long periods of time may actually switch off back muscles, setting people up for low-back pain down the road. But sitting on an exercise ball engages those muscles. Try it!

Muscle Meltdown
Couch potatoes beware: Prolonged sagging and slumping may be almost as bad for your back muscles as an injury. When muscles aren’t used, they can actually waste away in much the same way as they do after a back pull or sprain. So make TV time toning time by plopping your butt on a ball. Bonus: It will help you stay awake, so you won’t snooze through the cliffhanger ending.

How is it treated?
Most people with low back pain and sciatica get better no matter what they do.

Often nonprescription medicines for pain and inflammation, such as aspirin, ibuprofen, or naproxen, can ease the pain. Talk to your healthcare provider about whether you should take these medicines.

Your provider may prescribe stronger pain medicine or other types of medicines. Your provider may prescribe oral steroids or you may be given a steroid shot into your spine to control pain and inflammation.

Ice packs or a heating pad may help reduce pain. (Do not sleep on a heating pad because it could cause burns.) Your provider may also suggest physical therapy. A program of gentle exercise may speed your recovery.

If you continue to have symptoms, you may need to have surgery. However, most people who have herniated disks do not need an operation.

How long will the effects last?
People who have sciatica with back pain recover more slowly than people with other kinds of back pain. However, you will probably begin feeling better within a few days of a back strain or injury if you don’t strain your back again and if you take some medicine for pain and inflammation. Often the pain is gone in a week or two.

3 More Easy Back Boosters
Keep your back in tip-top shape with these simple tips:
Try the YOU2 Workout. It uses your own body weight to strengthen and tone your back, arms, shoulders, and legs. Walking and tai chi are other great options.

If you’ve pulled a back muscle, don’t stay in bed for more than 48 hours.

Stand up straight.

For more health tips, browse Encouraging Health.