Postural Rehab for Low Back Pain in a Young Woman with CP

Lower back pain treatment & rehabilitation
Dr Barry L Marks, Chiropractor Orange, CA 92868

I received a request for help from a young woman who has CP (cerebral palsy) and has limited use of the right side of her body. She has lower back pain and wants to know how she can strengthen and balance her body with her limitations. She mentions also that her large bust has caused her back problems in the past and that since having a child her tummy is  a bit out of shape as well.

My first recommendation for anyone with postural stresses like hers (large bust, tummy out of shape) is to strengthen the upper and middle back area to support her mid and lower back to compensate for heavy breasts. Next is to increase the tone of her abdomen to also support her lower back. And then in general, if appropriate, shed a few pounds of excess weight to enure she is carrying around less mass which increases back stress.

This of course is all complicated by the fact that she cannot do some of the more common exercises I generally prescribe such as push ups and planks becasue her right arm cannot bear her weight due to the CP.

What I learned however is she CAN pull with her right side. So rather than push-ups to strengthen the middle back she will use elastic therabands attached to a door knob and do rowing style exercises. Doing single arm and double arm rows will build up her back muscles and pull her shoulders back. Additionally, she will do pectoral stretching exercises to lengthen the pect muscles, which in most cases of postural stress due to a heavy bust are quite tight and overworked.

For the abdomen, I have recommended she perform crunches and Pilate’s “hundreds.” These exercises will increase abdomen tone without stressing the lower back.

To gain lower extremity strength and general cardio without increased stresses due to an imbalanced gait caused by the CP, I recommend swimming, walking in a pool or stationary cycle.

For weight loss and general health, she is advised to consume at least 2 servings of dairy a day and take a dietary supplement of calcium citrate with Vitamin D (600 mg in AM, 600 mg in PM). This alone has been shown to be a healthy and effective way to shed pounds slowly while preventing conditions such as osteoporosis and hypertension. (At her age she is not concerned with these problems yet, but creating good habits now will help her in the long run) She will also be instructed to increase her fiber intake through fruits, vegetables and whole grain products and increase her protein intake. Her body weight should normalize slowly over a period of a few months as she makes these minor modifications and begins exercising more.

And finally she is recommended to seek out a local chiropractor to provide spinal adjustments to improve the motion and flexibility of her spine and reduce back pain.

After a few months of this routine, the patient’s posture should be improved and she should feels stronger and capable of doing more exercise, which would then be slowly introduced. It is expected that her back pain would also decrease as a result.

Summary of rehab to improve posture:

Exercises to be done 3x each week

• Theraband rows single arm left 10 reps, x 3 sets
• Theraband rows single arm left 10 reps, x 3 sets
• Theraband row both arms 10 reps, x 3 sets
• Theraband low back rows 10 reps, x 3 sets
• Crunches as many as can do in 20 seconds, rest 10 seconds repeat x4 sets
• Hundreds, as many as can do up to 100 reps with 10 second breaks if needed
• Swim 10 – 15 min or stationary cycle 15 – 20 min

Back Pain Stretches & Exercises for Lower Back Pain

Lower Back Pain relief Stretches and Exercises
Dr Barry Marks, Chiropractor, Orange, CA 92868

Therapy Ball Abs

In order to keep your back healthy and strong, you need to keep the “front” of your back tight. That means your abdominal muscles (abs) must be firm.

Try this alternative to regular sit-ups or crunches.

• Lie flat on your back with your legs resting on a large Swiss/Therapy ball.
• Reach your arms out and curl your shoulders up off the floor, hold for 1 second.
• Lower your shoulders and repeat.
• As in all ab routines, go until you cannot do another. Rest for 10 seconds then repeat. 2-3 sets like this should be sufficient.

You may substitute a chair or the side of a sofa for the ball.

To really work your abs, try different exercises and mix things up to work all aspects of the abdominal wall. Try a set of Therapy Ball Abs, followed by a set of Regular Crunches then a set of Oblique Crunches.

For more information about back stretches and exercises check out Free Back Pain
Remedies Book

Lower Back Pain Stretches, More Exercises for Back Pain

Lower Back Pain Stretches and Exercises
Dr Barry L Marks, DC
Orange, CA

Lower Back Arch

The lower back arch is good to stretch out and elongate your entire spine. This may relieve pain and tension from back strains, disc herniation, bulging discs, degenerative disc disease and arthritis.

• Assume a hands and knees position
• Arch your back up 
• Tuck your tail and head downward and squeeze lightly while exhaling
• Take a breath in and straighten your back then repeat

For more information on lower back pain exercsies and treatment go to http://orangespinaldecompression.com

Exercises, stretches for lower back pain

Lower Back Pain Stretches and Exercises for Back Pain
Dr Barry L Marks, DC
Orange, CA

A good stretch for lower back pain due to disc herniation, bulging disc, degenerative disc disease, sacroiliac strain and tight lower back due to a strain is the Knee-to-Chest stretch.

• Simply lie flat on your back
• Bend your knees and grasp them with your hands
• Pull knees up towards chest and hold for a 5 count
• Lower slightly and repeat

An alternative is to use only one knees at a time or to bring one knee up towards the opposite shoulder and hold. This is good for stretching the sacroiliac joint.

For more information on back pain and lower back pain exercises go to
Cure for Lower Back Pain

“Help For Pain of Bulging Discs”

If you are sufferingg from back pain or sciatica due to disk herniation, bulging discs, degenerative disc disease or a slipped disc, here are a few tips to help ease the pain. These tips may not be a cure for lower back pain, but they will provide back pain relief while you are pursuing a lower back pain treatment program.

What causes the back pain from a bulging disc?

The pain comes from two main sources:

1. The disc itself has nerves in its outer fibers. When a disc has been injured and is bulging and swollen, these nerves become irritated and send out pain messages to your brain. Your brain interprets the pain messages and you feel the characteristic pain. The pain is usually deep and achey and is located in the central area of the spine or just slightly off to one side or the other of the spine.
2. If the bulging disc or disk herniation is large enough, the spinal nerves will be irritated which causes referred pain down to the buttocks, thigh, leg or foot. This is called “sciatica.” How far down the leg the pain travels depends on which nerves are involved.

So now you know where the pain comes from and that’s just great, but…

What can you do for back pain relief?

This article is going to assume that you are already under the care of a doctor and you are trying to solve your problem with some sort of medical/chiropractic/acupuncture/physical therapy treatment. Although you may be in the middle of a back pain relief program, you may still be experiencing pain. So what to do while you’re waiting for this treatment to “kick in” and make you feel better?

Here’s what I recommend to my spinal decompression patients:
(Do these in order, one immediately after the other.)

1. Hot shower, hot wet towels or moist heating pad for 15 minutes

2. Knee to chest stretch

3. Disc & sciatica relief position while lying on ice
(remove ice after 12 minutes, keep laying in this position for 1 hour total)

Perform this routine 1-3 times a day to get relief from back pain due to disk herniation or bulging discs.

If you are suffering from back pain or sciatica due to disk herniation, bulging discs, degenerative disc disease or a slipped disc and you’ve tried drugs, shots, chiropractic, acupuncture and/or physical therapy without success, you owe it to yourself to at least look into spinal decompression. Get a Free Guide to Severe Back, Disc and Sciatica Pain written by a former Associate Clinical Professor and a noted OC Spinal Decompression specialist and author with over 22 years experience here:
http://www.orangespinaldecompression.com/

“Do 100 Sit-ups Part 2″

This is Part 2 in a quest to do 100 sit ups a day to aid your lower back pain treatment or just for general fitness.  

Warning:
If you are having more than just mild back pain from disk herniation, bulging disc, degenerative disc disease, stenosis or other cause of back pain, go back to this article (Do 100 sit-ups per day) and stick with those abdominal core exercises for back pain.

If, however, you are not in severe pain and are in fairly good shape and ready to advance your ab workout to the next level, then try these variations on Pilates, Yoga and rehab abdominal strengthening exercises.

Swiss Ball Crunch A
Lie on floor with legs resting on therapy ball. Reach arms out at a 45-degree angle, lift torso off floor hold for a second, lower then repeat until fatigued.

Swiss Ball Crunch B
Sit on your therapy ball with your feet firmly planted on the floor. Roll with ball until you are on your back. Assume crunch position and lift your torso up until your abs tighten. Hold for a second, lower and repeat until fatigued.

Jack Knife
Lie on floor on your back with feet together and hands together, simultaneously lift your leg and arms up towards each other until only back is on the floor hold for a second, lower then repeat until fatigued.

Swiss Ball Side Lifts
Lie on the floor with a therapy ball between your ankles. Lift your shoulders and legs off the floor hold for a second, lower then repeat until fatigued.

Bicycle Crunch
Lie on your back in crunch position, lift your left elbow and right knee up towards each other, lower then repeat until fatigued.

Variations:

• Basic:
  Do the exercises as described above, 1 set of each exercise until fatigue

• Advanced:
  Quickly do as many reps as you can in 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds then move to the next exercise until all exercises have been done. That would be 1 set. Rest for 30-60 seconds between each set. Do 1-3 sets.

Try adding these advanced core muscle exercises into your lower back pain treatment program to tighten up your abs and stabilize your back.

“Back Stretches for Bulging Discs: Side Stretch”

Back muscle pain and back pain from strain, subluxation, stenosis, disk herniation, bulging disc and degenerative disc disease can be relieved by this simple side stretch exercise.

This stretch can be used as part of a spinal decompression rehabilitative program or for general fitness. The goal of the side stretch exercise is to elongate and relax the lateral muscles of the back and abdomen. Muscles such as the latisimus dorsi, the quadratus lumborum, erector spinae and abdominal obliques are effectively stretched with this core muscle exercise.

 

Side Stretch

Begin by sitting on the floor as shown. Lift one arm up and lean to the side. Make sure you feel the muscles stretch all along your side from your lower back up to your shoulder. Hold for a count of 5 then release and repeat 10-20 times.

 

Switch sitting position and stretch to the other side.

 

Alternate version often seen in Pilates and Yoga workouts is to use a therapy ball (Swiss ball). Stand holding therapy ball over your head with both hands. Slowly bend to the side while reaching out with the ball. Hold then repeat 10-20 times each direction.

Add this stretch to your lower back pain treatment plan to help get back pain relief.

 

Core Strengthening Exercises for Lower Back Pain: Butt 2

This is the second buttocks/pelvis exercise for core conditioning to help cure back pain from strain, subluxation, herniated disk, bulging disc, degenerative disc disease, facet syndrome, stenosis, chronic back pain and failed back surgery. Patients undergoing spinal decompression will benefit from these exercises when they make the transition back to active exercise. The goal is to strengthen and stabilize the pelvis and lower back.

Donkey kick
Assume a hands and knees position on floor. Lift one leg up and extend up and out. Hold for a few seconds then lower and lift the other leg. Repeat 10-20 times each leg.

Alternate #1: When lifting the leg, bend the knee at a 90 degree angle and push your foot towards the ceiling.

Alternate #2: For advanced users, perform the kicks in rapid succession for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds then repeat for 2-4 sets.

Try this exercise to strengthen your buttocks. It will increase your core strength and assist in stabilizing your lower back.

More core exercises coming soon!…

Core Strengthening Exercises for Lower Back Pain…Butt 1

Buttocks and Pelvis
The buttocks and pelvis muscles are an important part of core conditioning and should be a part of every back pain therapy program. These muscles are often overlooked in favor of their abdominal and back muscle counterparts. The following exercises are common among Pilates, Yoga, Chiropractic and physical therapy practitioners to strengthen and stabilize the pelvis.

Bridge

Lie flat on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on floor. Push down with your feet while lifting the buttocks off the floor. Hold the pose while tightening your buttocks for a few seconds then lower. Repeat 10-20 times.

Alternate #1 for more advanced users: After you lift your buttocks of the floor, gently oscillate your pelvis up and down a few inches several times before lowering.

Alternate #2: Swiss ball version. Place feet on therapy ball and push buttocks off of floor.

 

 

 

 

 

More core strengthening in the next post…

 

“Back Pain Remedies: Bounce on a Therapy Ball”

Spinal decompression causes water to move in and out of the discs to nourish and re-hydrate them.

After spinal decompression has been completed with a DRX9000 machine, home therapies are recommended. One therapy to keep water moving in and out of the disc is a therapy or Swiss ball exercise.

Therapy ball exercises (Swiss ball)
Simply sit on the ball with feet flat on ground. Now gently bounce up and down. You don not want to bounce vigorously. All you need to do is create a small, gentle oscillations up and down. This causes the disc to compress and decompress over and over to help with water exchange (imbibition).
Perform this exercise for 5-10 minutes as part of your regular daily exercises for lower back pain.

Therapy balls are often used in Pilates and Yoga for back pain and other exercises for core muscles. They are widely available at sporting goods stores and large retailers like Wal-Mart and Target. Be sure to find the ball that is right for you. You should be able to sit on it and comfortably have your feet on the ground to control and balance the ball.