Short Attention Man Vs. Back Pain

Hello, friends, and welcome to my column. Here's where I'll talk to you from time to time, shedding the razor-sharp beam of my intense focus on important issues, giving you what you need to know and only what you need to know. None of this straying off topic stuff here, no sir or ma'am.

This time out, I want to address back pain, its causes, some of the related injuries, and some ideas to prevent it as well as help strengthen your back. This is no isolated problem, as four of every five adults suffer from some form of back pain. It's an epidemic, and a lot of it is avoidable.

Speaking of avoidable, have you ever just wanted to slap all heck out of those people who yell into their cell phones, then give you dirty looks when you give them dirty looks, like you've disturbed them by being disturbed yourself. I mean it, next time, next freakin' time, I'm gonna rip that cell phone out of their hands, grab Mister or Ms. Inconsiderate by the neck and...

Ask them if they have back pain, and what caused it if they do, of course, because I'm not one to get off topic. Now, there are many causes of back pain. The most common is muscular strains, little tears in the muscles. These, unfortunately, are real easy to come by. Turn the wrong way, and, POW! Off to Pain City.

Pain City. I tell ya, I've been there. I got sent there by my ex-wife just last year. Got the papers, and she alleges "mental cruelty" or something. She was actually kind of apologetic about that, said her lawyer told her to put that in, but she didn't think I was cruel, just insensitive. "Insensitive?," I yelled, "what do you mean by that?" "You never listened to me! And you couldn't focus when we had serious talks!" Oh, what a load, man, because I'm...oh, yeah. What was I talking about?

Back pain! The kind that's cause by herniated disks, let's say, that's another common one. That's when those discs swell up and pinch those nerves in there, coming out of the spine, that is. It can cause weakness, tingling, all kinds of problems.

Tingling? Yeah, tingling, been a while since I've had that sensation. Oh, sure, sometimes when I'm sitting at the computer, typing, like I am now, and I fold my leg under me on my desk chair...Oh, do I have a good desk chair by the way, soft but not too soft, good support...support of the, uh, yeah, the back.

Stretching can help with your back pain. There's one real good one, where you lay on your back on the floor, bend your knees, feet flat on the floor. Then you raise up your knees, hands under your thighs, right to your chest, and hold it there for about 15 seconds. Do this about 10 times, and you're set.

Exercise is important, it's so important that I think about doing it all the time. Yep, got the gym membership and everything. Think I've used it once. Hey...shoot.

So, anyway, long story short, lift with your legs, not with your back, find out from your doctor what stretches you can do to help with pain, keep the load close, and always be like me, focused hard on what you're doing and how you're doing it!

Man, I'm at deadline, good thing for editors, huh?

I'm doing it again, aren't I?