Newsletter #1

Ideas and Exercises for Sciatica and Back Pain Relief

Hi,

A large proportion of people experience sciatica and back pain at some point in their life. For some it’s only a temporary condition, but for others it becomes a longer term challenge.

The problem with back pain is that it can become such a distracting or even domineering condition. Personally when my ankle, or knee or shoulder hurts I can usually put up with that and get on with things. However when my back is “playing up” it interferes with pretty much everything I do.

Newsflash: Read about my Mother's new rheumatism / back pain cure

Back Exercise - The Upright Back Bend

Benefits:

• This exercise stretches your chest, shoulders, trunk and hips and is a great break if you sit for extended periods. It also increases circulation.

Getting Ready:

• Stand fully erect with your the feet shoulder-width apart and toes pointing straight forward.

Instructions:

• Place the palms of your hands half on the small of your back and half on your buttocks. Gently squeeze your elbows toward each other, then slowly bend backward until you feel a gentle stretch in your trunk.

Important:

• Look up with your eyes, but keep your head aligned with your spine i.e. do not bend your neck back. Progress slowly with the stretch if you have poor balance.

How Many To Do:

• Aim for one or two stretches every hour. Count slowly and hold each stretch for 15 to 30 seconds.

Important:

• If you can only hold the position for a few seconds to start with that’s fine. As always, do not over exert yourself and stop immediately if you experience pain.

Exercise And You

Some people really enjoy exercise, some just do it because they know its good for them, other people absolutely detest it.

Some people are very physically active in their youth, but stop at a certain age. Others are sedentary for most of their life and then suddenly discover exercise in later years.

How your health – in general and specific to your back - progresses during your life is based on 2 main factors:

1. Your genetic heritage - i.e. what genes good and bad your parents passed on to you
2. How you treat your body – lifestyle, diet and exercise

It’s not my job to convince you that exercise is good for you. There are already a million and one books, websites and experts who do that. Ultimately only you can decide if you want to invest the effort in exercise and choose the effort / reward balance that works for you.

What I can say is that your back and its supporting muscles – sometimes called the core stability musculature – benefit if you:

1. Stop doing things that harm them – poor posture, repetitive wrong movements and so on
2. Do a few short, focused back exercises that don’t take a lot of time

That’s what the special exercises in the Better Back Book do. They help you strengthen and loosen key areas of your back and the supporting muscles around them in less than 10 minutes a day so you don’t need to spend an age exercising.

Devil's Claw - Treatment For Rheumatism & Low Back Pain

Devil's claw has been used for many centuries in Africa for treating a variety of conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, which is a major cause of joint and low back pain.

Today, the primary use of devil's claw is for conditions that cause inflammation and pain often in the back area:

• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Back pain
• Neck pain
• Osteoarthritis

The reason I’m writing about devil's claw is my mother who is now 74 years old is very enthusiatic about it and says it has made a huge difference to her rheumatism.

Her measure of success is she can now go on a full day’s shopping trip (which is roughly equivalent to spending 2 days on a commando survival course for you and me!) without her hips hurting.

Devil's claw is a plant that originally came from southern Africa and is also sometimes known as Grapple Plant or Wood Spider. The devil’s claw name comes from the small hooks found on the plant's fruit, but the active ingredients in devil's claw are taken from the secondary root.

Devil's claw is particularly popular in Germany where it was estimated to account for 74% of the prescriptions for rheumatism in 2001.

Dosage

For inflammation and pain, devil's claw is usually taken in capsule form. The recommended daily dose of devil's claw should provide at least 50 mg of harpagosides (the active ingredient) per day (check the amount of harpagosides in each devil's claw which should be indicated on the bottle). 

Safety Considerations

• Devil's claw should not be taken by people with gastric or duodenal ulcers.
• If you have gallstones consult your doctor before using devil's claw.
• People with diabetes or people taking medication that affects their blood sugar should only use devil's claw under the supervision of a qualified health practitioner.

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Good luck and stay well.

Chris