When I was young, I had a lumbar disc herniation, and orthopedic doctors used 7 tricks. After 20 years of lumbar injury, I never had another attack!

• by EVOMT
• 2020-06-24

"I am a patient myself." When I was in graduate school in 1993, I bent over to lift a heavy object and suddenly got up. Doctor Pan Hao accidentally developed acute lumbar disc herniation

"I can't wear shoes and socks. Four people in the dormitory meet to go out for dinner. It takes me 5 minutes to stand up, so I can experience the dilemma of having a bad waist better than others."

So, what has Dr. Pan Hao done since then, and he hasn't suffered from a back injury for 20 years now

1. Instead of bending over, squat down to hold heavy objects

In 1996, Pan Hao went to work in a hospital and began physical therapy. With professional knowledge and experience, he must be careful when picking up objects, avoiding lifting heavy objects as much as possible. He squatted down before getting up, and his back pain never occurred again

When seeing someone around him changing the bottled water, he often reminds him, "Don't bend over. After squatting down, hold the bucket close to your body, straighten your back and slowly stand up."

2. Exercise core muscle groups

To enhance the stability of the lumbar spine, it is necessary to enhance the strength of the lumbar core muscles. After realizing this, Pan Hao insisted on performing a "five point pose" exercise at home: lying on his back, supporting himself with his head, hands, and feet, raising his waist, and maintaining an arch bridge posture

"When exhaling, lift your waist, hold it for 10-20 seconds, and then inhale and lower it. Do 3 to 4 groups of 10 times a day, each group." Dr. Pan Hao reminded that at the beginning, it is important to step by step and not exercise too hard

Five Point

Another trick is the "Flying Swallow Style": Lie prone and lift your hands, feet, and head together. He suggests that elderly and obese people with insufficient limb strength can only lift their upper body. This prone and backward stretching exercise also has the effect of exercising the core muscles of the waist

Flying Swallow Style

3. Get up and exercise every 45 minutes of sitting

"People with lumbar disc herniation cannot sit for long periods of time, and they should get up and move around every 45 minutes. Don't choose the boss's chair, either." As an orthopedic expert, Pan Hao's office chair is a hard bench with a moderate height, ensuring that the back of the waist is basically straight and the legs are at right angles when sitting down; He also specially placed a lumbar support on the car to support the waist and back when driving

Dr. Pan Hao demonstrated sitting posture

"If conditions permit, you can buy a massage chair and leave it at home or massage for a few minutes on a massage chair in a public place, but don't blindly go to a small shop outside for massage and massage." Pan Hao reminded that bone setting and repositioning are professional tasks, and the degree of illness must be clarified before massage, otherwise it may backfire

4. In wet weather, rub your back waist with the palms of both hands

After entering the plum blossom season, the weather is humid, and cold and dampness are the driving forces for lumbar spondylosis. In this season, Pan Hao pays particular attention to health care. He often holds his chest up and looks straight up in his spare time, puts his hands over his crotch, and then rubs his back waist with the palms of his hands until his body heats up

"Rubbing the waist can increase blood circulation and stimulate local acupoints. In traditional Chinese medicine, pain points are referred to as' Ashi acupoints'. Usually, people often search for pain points and massage them."

5. When sleeping, cushion a pillow under your leg to relax your waist muscles

"In the past, I used to love raising a pillow and lying half in bed watching my phone. Later, I found that it was easy to have problems lying down for a long time. When people were lying half in bed, their waist muscles were in a tense state, and their waist was even worse, causing cervical spine injuries."

Now, Dr. Pan Hao habitually places a pillow under his leg before going to bed to relieve pressure on his waist. He suggested that people who prefer to sleep on their sides might as well put a pillow between their legs

6. It is recommended to take running and swimming exercises

With plenty of time, Pan Hao also suggested running and swimming. "Many people feel that running hurts their knees, but among our orthopedic doctors, there are many people running marathons."

As long as he is free in the morning and evening, he will also jog in the community, running more than 10000 steps a day. Every half month, swimming or mountain climbing events are also arranged. However, as long as you feel tired, you will no longer do intensive exercise on this day, just walk

Adults need more calcium supplements after the age of 35

In addition to exercise, dietary supplements are also important. After years of orthopedic work, Pan Hao found that when young, calcium supplementation is important, but when old, osteoporosis is less likely. He also often recommends patients to take appropriate calcium supplements

"After reaching middle age, a large amount of calcium in the body begins to drain, especially in women who have decreased estrogen during menopause and are more prone to osteoporosis. Therefore, it is best to supplement calcium early, starting from a young age."

Pan Hao said that when children are young, they should drink more milk, get more sunlight, and regularly screen for osteoporosis through ultrasound bone density and dual energy X-ray. Adults after the age of 35 need more calcium supplements, drink less carbonated beverages and coffee, drink more milk, and eat foods with high calcium content such as shellfish and soy products. If conditions permit, you can buy a bottle of ordinary calcium carbonate tablets at the pharmacy and chew one tablet every day

Pan Hao reminds us not to blindly choose calcium carbonate tablets with high content. Excessive calcium is difficult to be absorbed by the body, and can easily lead to stones and constipation. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to drinking more water during taking

8. Reminder: Wear waist protection for more than 6 weeks continuously

Family and friends who often have low back pain around them are asking which type of waist protection is appropriate. Pan Hao does not forget to remind them that waist protection should be worn during the day, but should be untied when sleeping at night. It can only be worn continuously for 3 to 6 weeks to avoid waist and back muscle atrophy