Dr. Surya Prakash Rao Voleti

The human spine is endowed with tremendous strength and flexibility, but it is also prone to severe injuries. Due to the presence of a vast network of nerves in the spinal cord, particularly in the lower region, injuries can become gravely complicated with a large scope for permanent damage. Heavy lifting, sudden movements and twisting can lead to spinal injuries and must be avoided while working out in the gym.

There are simple precautions that you can take to protect your spine from accidents and injuries while doing heavy lifts in the gym. Not only will these precautions ensure that your spine is protected from any harm, but they also yield a range of health benefits in the long run.

Following are a few precautions that can be taken from spinal protection:

1. Check the object before lifting: It is important that you check the weight of the object before performing the lift. Test it out by pushing it with your hands or your feet very lightly to see how heavy it is and determine whether or not you should be lifting it.
2. Perform a warm up exercise: This is one of the most essential factors for preventing exercise-related injuries. Pace around and stretch all your muscles before you start lifting. This will keep your muscles from suddenly stiffening or locking while you do the lift.
3. Ensure that the weight is well balanced: Unbalanced weights greatly increase the risk of injury. You should always make sure that the weight you are lifting is evenly balanced on all sides and that the packing is proper so that it does not move around when you lift or have pieces falling off it.
4. Maintain proper posture: One of the most important aspects of lifting in the right manner is to maintain proper body posture. You must always avoid arching your back or reaching out while you lift as that will surely lead to injury.
5. Move slowly: Sudden jerks and movements are sure to lead to injury when lifting weights in the gym. Slow and smooth movements are recommended as they keep you from straining your muscles. There is no need to rush through your workout. Always avoid twisting while performing a lift.
6. Create enough space: There has to be enough room all around you while you are lifting. This will ensure your safety while you are working out.

It is not that very easy to get complete recovery after spinal surgery and for that you have to rely on different caring tips. Your surgeon can help you in this regard and can provide you a checklist containing different essential caring tips. You should follow those tips sincerely so that unwanted side-effects can be easily avoided. 

Few caring tips after a spine surgery:

1. Consumption of adequate amount of proteins: If the protein content is increased in your diet, then quickest recovery can be definitely expected. Muscle collagen can be strengthened and healed with the regular intake of the necessary amounts of protein. In fact, infectious conditions can be effectively dealt with by protein intake. 
2. Getting adequate rest: proper rest is needed and you should have enough sleep for getting complete recovery. If your body needs some more sleep than the standard one, then you should go for the same. Your mood, memory and body will get refreshed and rejuvenated by taking proper sleep at night. In fact, you can also get rid of pains and other side-effects after surgery by taking rest. 
3. Taking nutritional supplements: There are a few essential nutrients that are needed after the surgical procedure, and they are vitamin D, vitamin C, Omega-3 fatty-acids, magnesium and others. These nutritional elements are now available in the form of supplements and are readily available in the stores. Though these supplements are completely organic, but still you should start taking the same when doctors permit you. These supplements help in collagen healing and thus speedy recovery can be gained by taking them in a consistent manner. Muscle heath can be effectively protected by consuming these supplements. 
4. Acute hydration: Hydration is highly needed especially after spinal surgery so that toxin accumulation can be prevented. If you want to get proper hydration, then nothing can be a better option than drinking lots of water. In fact, spinal surgeons also recommend the same for avoiding surgical complications. Tea, coffee and sodas need to be completely replaced with water. Your system can be thoroughly cleaned by draining out toxins. 
5. Eliminating refined sugars from diet: Refined flour and sugary products are to be completely curtailed from regular diet; otherwise you might face severe complications. Your blood-sugar level needs to be regulated. If your immunity system gets suppressed, then you will be in great trouble and hence sugar should not be included in your diet at all.

Lower back pain is a very common issue and can take place due to numerous reasons. However, one of its main causes is a ligament strain or back muscle strain. Microscopic tear or excessive stretching of ligaments can take place due to lifting very heavy objects, doing enormously strenuous task or due to a sudden twisted movement. These conditions are most likely to be experienced by individuals ranging between the ages of 30 and 60. Other causes of lower back pain include back injury, arthritis of back bone joints, infections in the lower back area, and in very rare cases, tumours.

In case of acute back pain, these are a few important things that should be definitely kept in mind.

1. It is absolutely essential to take rest for a couple of days and avoid any sort of stressful activity. Although back pain is self-limiting, if you take proper care, it can be cured in a few days. However, if proper rest is not taken, the situation may become worse.
2. Using the black belt, also known as lumbo sacral corset, is a good idea. This can actually be of enormous help to individuals who have been suffering from lower back pain for a shorter period of time.
3. As already mentioned, one of the main causes of these kinds of mishaps are sudden jerky movements, twisted movements, heavy weight lifting etc. So, it is necessary to avoid such circumstances, or else, a more acute back pain situation may arise due to slipping of one of the discs from the spinal cord.
4. As much as you like long drives and bike rides, these are a strict no. Any prolonged sitting or standing activity needs to be avoided. It is important that the tear caused in the muscles due to what-so-ever reason heals properly and prolonged stay in a tensed muscle position would definitely not help the cause.
5. Although these back pains can be handled at home by following the discussed steps, using simple analgesics or muscle relaxants prescribed by the doctor can be a way to speed up the process of recovering the strained ligament.

Apart from these important steps, regular exercise to strengthen the core body muscles is a great way to avoid such ligament strains in the future. However, if you feel that even after following the precautionary measures, you problem doesn’t subside, visit an experienced doctor for his advice. In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!
 

The spine plays a very crucial role, both from a person’s movement and sensation point of view. It carries the nervous supply for a lot of internal organs and the lower body. By virtue of its structure, it also helps in movement through the disks. Due to various reasons, spinal injury is common, causing pain along the back, lower extremities, neck etc.

Medicines and exercise are the first line of treatment for most spinal injuries. The issue, however, is that these only provide relief from the pain and the medicines, but do not actually ‘rectify’ the underlying problem. Whether it is a herniated disk or a pinched nerve, the medicines and exercise can relieve the symptoms, but the disk continues to be herniated and the nerve continues to be pinched. Definite treatment is in the form of surgery, and with recent advancements in the field of spinal surgery, there are minimally invasive surgical options, which provide complete cure with minimal recovery time. Some of the benefits of this are listed below-

1. Smaller incision compared to traditional surgical procedures, where only the injured area is accessed

2. The surrounding tissues are untouched, unless they are injured and require repair

3. Lesser bleeding compared to earlier techniques

4. Lesser painful procedure

5. Reduced hospitalization period

6. Quicker recovery and return to normal activities

The question, however, is whether this is indicated in everybody. A detailed discussion with your surgeon keeping the below points in mind will help identify the answer for this. The main driver should be the answer to the question – will the surgery be able to effectively relieve you of the pain and symptoms? Additionally, the following factors help in getting better results out of a minimally invasive spinal surgery.

1. Presence of symptoms relating to nerve compression, including pain from the spine down the leg.

2. Recent onset of symptoms, with pain starting days to months before seeing the doctor. This indicates the condition is relatively new and so damage is minimal, indicating favorable outcome. Chronic pain conditions take slightly longer time compared to recent injuries.

3. People with active lifestyle who engage in regular physical exercise are likely to have better benefits from the minimally invasive procedure.

4. Smoking reduces blood flow to the spine, leading to disk degeneration and weakening of bones. Healing is highly slowed down and recovery is overall delayed.

5. Excessive weight puts strain on the back, and so healing can be delayed or badly affected with more complications. It is not a contraindication, but be prepared for a longer recovery period.

Talk to your doctor keeping these points in mind, and you can bid farewell to your back pain forever.