Do you have a sharp pain that frequently radiates through your buttocks, down the outside of your leg, right into your foot? If so, you might ask me as so many others have: Is sciatica causing leg pain? That's an easy one. No. How can you say that without ever meeting me you ask? Let me explain. The term sciatica can … Read More
Prevent Lower Back Strains When Shoveling Snow
Winter has certainly hit with a vengeance this year. Snowfall records have fallen all along the eastern seaboard. The deep south has seen rare snowstorms. And with several more weeks of winter to go, we can expect to see a lot more of the white stuff across much of the United States. Snow shoveling is great exercise. But lo … Read More
Arnica for Back Pain Relief
Arnica is a member of the daisy family native to mountainous regions of Europe and Siberia. Its flower has been used in herbal medicine preparations to treat muscle aches and inflammation for nearly five centuries. Although arnica is available as a homeopathic remedy to be ingested, most scientific evidence points to topica … Read More
Back Pain Mattress Recommendations
One of the questions we get most here at the Healthy Back Institute is: "what's the best mattress for back pain?". A good mattress can make all the difference in the world for getting a good night's sleep. When sciatica or back pain makes sleeping difficult, picking the right mattress takes on even greater importance. Conv … Read More
Is Being Overweight Causing Your Back Pain?
There has been little disagreement for decades that packing on extra pounds can be detrimental your health. Now there's reason to believe higher levels of belly fat have a direct relationship with pain throughout the body. Having an "apple-shaped" body with more fat around the midsection has been proclaimed as unhealthier t … Read More
TENS for Back Pain?
TENS is back in the news again. TENS therapy is widely used to treat chronic lower back pain by sending electric currents to nerves from a pocket sized battery pack through electrodes attached to the skin (TENS stands for transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation). The big news is the National Academy of Neurology no longer … Read More
Hurt Back? How Exercises Can HURT Your Back
Walk into the office of virtually any doctor, chiropractor, or physical therapist with a back pain complaint and chances are you'll return home with the same sheet of paper they give to every patient who walks through their door. On it you'll find various back pain exercises and stretches illustrated. At first glance one mi … Read More
Bad Genes to Blame for Back Pain?
A recently published study out of Denmark was widely reported by news agencies around the globe last month to prove a link between genetics and back pain. But how much can you really blame your back pain on your genes? After reviewing the similarities and differences of 7,664 pairs of twins - about 56% fraternal and 44% ide … Read More
Get Rid Of Back Pain At Work
Have you ever wondered why your "case of the Mondays” is in full force by lunchtime on Monday? You’re ready to throw in the towel and the countdown to the weekend has already begun, that’s if you even make it to the infamous ‘hump day’. Do you just hate your job that much or is it your colleagues grating on your nerves with … Read More
Top 5 Causes of Back, Neck and Sciatic Pain
One of the reasons so many people struggle with back pain and all the many variations of it, is because the majority of the treatments recommended by doctors don't address the main causes of the pain... So I wanted to make sure that you know what the most common causes are and how to address them... because it's highly un … Read More