YMCA Healthy Living Magazine, powered by n4 food and health Summer 2017 | Page 18

DR RICHARD PARKINSON


Dr Parkinson is a highly trained neurosurgeon who has performed ground breaking and
complex surgery on some of Australia’s elite sportspeople. He is recognised as a leading
expert in sports injuries and has attained internationally esteemed qualifications from both
the USA and Australia, making him a highly respected specialist at the forefront of
neurosurgical science and development. To find out more visit www.ispine.com.au

SIX TIPS TO
PREVENT BACK PAIN
Neurosurgeon Dr Richard Parkinson shares these tips to help prevent back pain.
hy do so many people suffer
from lower back pain? Studies
have found the answer lies in
the pressure in the lumbar disc with
different physical activities. The more
active you are, the less pressure on
your disc.

W

If you walk, the pressure in your disc is
a lot less than if you sit. The bottom line
is to get active. It’s important to have
regular breaks from sitting down, so try
and commit to taking a break from
sitting every hour, to get up, stretch
your legs and perhaps do some basic
exercises.
It is not just your lumbar disc that
benefits from taking a break. Other
health benefits include improved blood
flow, improved muscle tone, reduced
cortisol levels and improved weight.

Six tips to prevent back pain

1 Be careful how you lift

Don’t lift more than 10kg or 15kg out in
front of you and try to keep the weight
as close to your centre of gravity as you
can, rather than reaching out.

2 Avoid twisting

Don’t twist your body at the waist
while lifting. Avoid forcible bending,
twisting or pulling as much as you can
while carrying heavy weights (this
includes children – try to keep them
close to you and lift them when they’re
in front of you).

3 Don’t wing it at the gym

4 Look after yourself

Maintain your health, weight and lifestyle – excess weight and body fat
puts unnecessary pressure on the back and increases the risk of injury.

5 Stop smoking

Smoking increases the risk of degeneration in the lumbar disc and it
increases the risk that you will herniate the disc again (if you’ve had a
disc herniation already). In the event you need a lumbar
fusion, smoking increases the risk it won’t work, as it
reduces the amount of oxygen to the disc and
releases toxins into that disc.

6 Ask someone

Before embarking on a new fitness or strength
training regime, seek out a physiotherapist
or a qualified trainer to help. 
If your pain hasn’t gone away within
four to six weeks of an initial
diagnosis (as this is about the time
where serious ongoing pain is
generally not going to improve), then
you should seek a specialist review
from the likes of a spinal surgeon (rather
than a chiropractor or physiotherapist). 
If your back pain has gone away and come
back at a later date, the causes need to
be looked at. The three main indicators
that treatment needs to go beyond
rehabilitative strategies are
dysfunction, intractable pain, or
progressive deformity.
Only a very small percentage of
people experiencing back pain
will require surgery. However,
persistent pain should be
referred to a surgeon as it
may be nerve pain, and this
should not be ignored.

Get as much help as you can,
especially if lifting more than 10kg to
15kg. Don’t lift big weights straight off
the get-go.

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YMCA HEALTHY LIVING MAGAZINE SUMMER 2017