Back Pain

Happy New Year to our IFM family and friends!

Doctors Seyedan and Dougherty are seeing a lot of suddenly intense low back pain in the last month or so, and so we thought it would be helpful to share some useful information with you about this trend.

Clinics that offer acupuncture already see a lot of low back pain. It is probably the most common condition we treat even if it is a secondary issue for the patient. However there is an acute uptick in cases for the last month and there are few possible causes.

First, the Covid-19 lockdown has caused a lot of us to sit in chairs at home for work that are not well-designed for all day sitting. This has led to a general low back weakness that we've seen since the past summer time and again. Poor ergometry combined with less physical movement/activity has created low back pain for those that didn't experience any before, and has made things worse for those with pre-existing chronic pain.

All of these factors have combined with the seasonal cold air to be a perfect storm for low back pain. Dr. Dougherty recently saw a case where the patient had been working in the same chair at home for most of last year, the exact same way, for the same amount of time, but only two weeks ago got up from the chair and almost fell over from his back pain. We often forget in the modern world that seasonal changes do play a part in our health.

For the prevention of low back pain, please consider changing the chair where you work at home to one designed for long-term sitting, and be mindful of your posture. Also placing a heating pad on your low back while sitting or at rest is a great way to stay warm, and to keep the back muscles loose.

If you are experiencing any kind of low back pain, even if you have had it for years, please make an appointment with us as soon as possible. Don't live with pain when you don't have to.