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MOVEMENT
Many
patients with severe low back pain report
that their pain came on suddenly when they
did something as simple as bend down to pet
their cat, put on their socks, or pick up
the newspaper. Just about everyone would
agree that a person’s body should be able to
handle such simple movements. So what has
happened?
In every
one of these cases, the joints of the
patient’s body were “all locked up” -- they
were barely moving at all. When the joints
in one area of the body do not move the way
they should, other areas of the body are
forced to move more in order to compensate.
This creates a significant stress on those
areas that have to pick up the slack, and it
soon leads to pain and inflammation. At the
same time, the areas that don’t have normal
movement will slowly worsen as the muscles
continue to tighten, the joints stick
together, and the ligaments and tendons
shorten. This leaves the body in a very
unstable condition; if left unchecked, this
process will continue until the body can
hardly move at all. That is how a person
comes to suffer flare-ups of pain at the
slightest provocation.
Most of us
have seen people who have lost most of their
normal mobility: they look like bodies have
been starched stiff whenever they try to
move around. This is especially prevalent
among the elderly. Contrary to popular
belief, however, this is not an inevitable
effect of aging; rather it is the inevitable
effect of not maintaining the body’s
mobility through exercise, healthy
alignment, and body mechanics. There are
people in their 60s, 70s, or even older, who
are stronger and more flexible than the
average person in their 30s, simply because
they keep themselves exercising.
Maintaining
mobility is critical in order to live free
from pain and disability.
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