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Shane Mangrum, MD

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Wow... this helped!! I just did these exercises while watching and it helped a lot! Thanks!!

--YouRuv comment from "TheIntelligentView"

 

I am a desktop user and I have a huge problem of neck pain. Sometimes I find it very difficult to sit even for an hour. I was looking for something which could help me solve my problem regarding the neck pain and I stopped at you.  You have provided really a very valuable information about this. Thanks for sharing. 

--Sandra Rikhav

 

In the last 5 weeks I encountered very painful sensations in my neck (C5/6/7) and left shoulder and left arm.  I started when grasping the low position on the race-bike-handlebars. Then it stayed non-stop painful, even walking > 100 yards made the pain-sensation in the arm almost unbearable.

...But after 1 day of McKenzie exercise (turning head to the left and pushing it a little through the barrier) 80% of the pain was gone! Slept much better (before exercise I slept 2 hrs. and then awaked by the pain) and could tilt my head again a little to see further ahead...  Now, 3 wks later, after new McKenzie exercise with the chin tucked and then bending head backwards (roll-back) and nerve-flossing, only left with some 5/10% of pain. Handlebars now 1 inch higher and cycling is possible again. Find this site very, very informative and giving good directives to patients.

 --Marc Droog 

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Articles
« A Little Exercise Goes a Long Way | Main | The High Cost of Medical Care for Low Back Pain »
Sunday
Jul032011

The Perils of Sitting and Low Back Pain 

DateSunday, July 3, 2011 at 10:23PM | |

A recent study published in the Spine Journal[i] investigated the effects of sitting on lumbar disc as measured with an MRI.  The investigators found several interesting changes:

  • Or just stand more frequently.  Research suggests that we should stand at least every 20 minutes to limit the amount of strain/stress we place on our spines 

That is a lot of change for just 15 minutes.  Not extrapolate that over the 8.5 hours that most Americans sit per day and you have a lot of change (and trouble potentially).[ii]

So what can we do? 

Here is a plug for an app for your iPhone (I have no financial interest but think it is a nice app): Alarmed ~ Reminders, Timers, Alarm Clock.  Just set the app to remind you to stand every 20 minutes and presto you’ll save your spine a lot of stress.

 

[i] Spine J. 2010 Apr;10(4):297-305. Epub 2010 Feb 26.

[ii] http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/25/health/25consumer.html?_r=1 

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