Archive for the 'Back Pain' Category

For some guys, it may be difficult to see a downside to women with large breasts. But for 1 million women who are—let us say “generously endowed”—it can be a source of considerable pain. Some women, in fact, suffer with severe pain, deteriorating posture, and are at risk for spinal deformity and other repetitive stress injuries to the shoulders and upper extremities due to their proportionately large breasts.

These problems result from changes in the normal anatomical structure caused by the excess weight on the chest and weak muscular support. Another fact related to this condition is that some women even feel ashamed and actually try to hide them buy altering their posture by allowing their shoulders to roll forward. This abnormal posture will possibly put pressure on an area of the upper body near the shoulder called the “thoracic outlet”. When this occurs, a bundle of nerves and blood vessels can become compressed and cause pain and discomfort down the upper extremities.

Very large breasts not only can cause a reduction in the normal curve of the upper and mid-back region but will potentially also cause severe low back pain. When the upper vertebrae of the spine are altered, the lower vertebrae then assume more stress. The challenge for these women is to maintain an efficient posture through proper strengthening and “CORE” stabilization exercises.

Workouts may make it worse

Active women with large breasts are especially prone to back pain. Constant breast movement from high-impact exercise can cause acute pain due to muscular oxygen deprivation and fatigue. The muscles in the back bear a significant burden trying to support very large breasts during vigorous exercise

Physical therapy, posture exercises, and even pain medication are often a woman’s first line of defense. Many doctors recommend purchasing customized bras or sports bras that can better distribute the substantial weight of large breasts across a larger area, thereby reducing muscle strain and improving overall breast positioning. This is especially important for women with a small frame, since their breasts place stress on a more concentrated area, it may be necessary to incorporate all of the strategies to get relief.

Let me explain

Before any women begins any exercise program that is intended to help with their back pain, they need to have to have a full physical assessment performed making sure that any postural dysfunctions are accounted for and their associated muscle imbalances are corrected. Muscle imbalances can be described as one muscle group being overly strong and tight and the opposing muscle groups weaker and overly stretched out.

Postural Dysfunctions can be described as abnormal position of the pelvis or abnormal position of the upper neck, head and shoulders. As we mentioned earlier, a woman can hold her shoulders in a rounded position, thus adding the weight of the breast and you now have the shoulders internally rotated, depressed and adducted, which will pull the head forward of the shoulder which in turn will cause the neck to be pulled forward and down.

There are many other adapted responses that happen including counter balancing the weight of the body in the upper spine as well as the position of the pelvis. It is the pelvis than usually accommodates the most while also having the greatest influence on the curvature on the spine.

What you can do before the last resort

What I have just described is a process that is repeated every day and no single piece of high tech diagnostic equipment available to the medical community can systematically piece it all together. There are many chain reactions that occur to cause low back pain which is why the physical assessments are so critical.

In this case, the assessments need to take into account the postural dysfunction of the upper neck back and shoulder as well as the position of the pelvis. Which muscles are tight and overly strong and which muscles are weak and not able to support the body adequately. There needs to be a comprehensive plan to accomplish a new resting tension or elimination of the muscle imbalances. Essentially a woman will be asked to do a very unbalanced workout to get back to a more balanced state and to a point that her body can support the extra stress, throughout the rest of her life.

A last resort

Failure to address the postural issues may result in a more drastic solution. There is a steady increasing number of women are choosing is breast-reduction surgery. Make sure to use this option as a last resort, since there are many risks and negative side effects from this operation.

In addition to the external scars, scarring inside the breast may also occur. Until recently, doctors were concerned that this might interfere with the accuracy of a mammogram—and in doing so increase the risk of breast cancer.

But it turns out that for some women, breast examination and mammography may actually be easier to perform after a breast reduction. “From the standpoint of the physical exam, it may be more difficult to pick up a very small lesion [lump] in a woman with very large breasts,” says Charles Finder, M.D., a radiologist in the Food and Drug Administration’s Mammography Quality and Radiation Program.

Other drawbacks to breast-reduction surgery may include a lack of sensitivity in the nipple and a decrease in sexual response. Many doctors also caution that there can be a significant reduction in milk supply after surgery. Some women find they can’t breast feed at all.

On top of that, the average cost of breast-reduction surgery in the U.S. is close to $6,000 and can run much higher depending on where you live. As a result, many insurance companies have written breast-reduction surgery out of their coverage completely.

Fortunately, there are alternatives to surgery that can bring relief to women who suffer from back pain caused by overly large breasts. Muscle balance therapy is a safe and effective way to restore some stability to the pelvis and spine, in order to help the body tolerate the stress of everyday life for the women with larger breasts.

From working with back pain sufferers my entire adult life, I’ve learned that when people are suffering, they will go to great lengths to find relief. Unfortunately, too many people are given very useful but incomplete information about what to do in order to get relief and regain control of their lives.

I also know that people who are suffering can develop feelings of fear, anger, betrayal, and even hopelessness when their treatments don’t deliver as promised. The trust they once had with their health care provider starts to diminish, and they don’t know where to turn. Here is an e-mail I got from a young girl that illustrates my point:

I’ve tried every homeopathic remedy and every remedy with all these anecdotal positive results. I will never again be duped. I’m sorry, but I am jaded with this type of thing. I’m not spending a dime on anything with promises. Mostly they are false.

It is my belief that if our health care providers helped to educate us a little more, we consumers would have a better chance of understanding our condition, and we could make better decisions about what is best for us.

A must-read book

To help you look at your back pain from a different angle, I want to tell you about the best book I have ever read. It’s called “Think Inside the Box,” by David Deutsch. Actually, I recommend that you listen to the audio CDs to get the full impact of how he learned to think in new ways and how he can teach you to do the same. The book is primarily about thinking creatively, but all the lessons can be carried over into your everyday life.

One of the most fascinating topics he presents is called “doing the opposite.” I know the concept is as old as man, but what I’m about to tell you is so simple that you are going to have to try it for yourself.

Stop doing what people tell you

Let me give you two examples of what I’m talking about. There is a good chance that you have read an article about trying yoga or Pilates as a way of keeping your back healthy. Well, yoga may be just fine for someone who doesn’t have a back condition. But here is what you must know.

No matter what condition you are suffering from, your back pain is a physical problem that was created by imbalances in your body. Therefore, it will require a physical solution—that’s what rehabilitation is all about. Unfortunately, it is often the case that what is taught or done in your rehab does not work toward bringing your body back to a more balanced state.

Consider the yoga example: We know that yoga is a well-balanced program—and that’s the problem. You need an “unbalanced” workout to get your body back into balance. With yoga, you will be strengthening all of your muscles. And if you strengthen a muscle—or a group of muscles—that is already too strong, you’ll make your imbalance even greater and your condition will get worse.

The unbalanced workout has to be a very targeted action plan based on your specific imbalances. That’s why you should never start an exercise program such as yoga or Pilates without first knowing where your body is out of balance.

The unbalanced workout is also referred to as “muscle-balancing therapy.” It will only strengthen muscles that need to be strengthened and stretch muscles that need to be stretched. When you employ a therapy that has a very set program, it is easy to follow and results are easy to recognize.

Are you doing the same thing every day?

What you must also understand is that your imbalances are the result of what you do in your everyday life—your workouts, sitting, the activities of your job, and your own personal habits. I’m not going to tell you to stop doing what you need to do. But what if you slightly changed the way you do them, or even tried to do the opposite.

- Instead of sitting at your desk, try kneeling. I kneel at least 30 percent of the time I spend at my desk. I have a small foam pad that puts me just high enough to type.

- When I do sit, I sit on a therapy ball. And guess what? I don’t sit still like my momma told me to. I move my hips in every direction, which means I’m working on my core balance all day long.

- When most people are standing in line at the store or talking to someone, they tend to stand on one leg and kick the other leg out to the side, with their hands on their hips. Instead, I try to stand at attention, with both of my feet exerting equal pressure on the floor and my hands behind me.

One more thing to try

Have you heard the phrase, “You don’t know what it’s like until you walk a mile in my shoes”? Well, if you’re going to try that one, you’re going to have to walk backwards. Yes, every morning I walk backwards for at least 20 minutes, varying the speed and the length of my steps. I’ve gotten so good at it that I don’t even have to look back—even when someone is coming.

I know you are all going to go out and try this, so let me give you some quick tips: Start slow. Hold on to someone for support in the beginning. Walk on the edge of a path so you can use the edge as a guide. Know that the path you’re walking on is smooth, like a high school track.

You’re on your own

My hope is that you will read the book I recommended and learn to think a little differently. My hope is that you can change your daily activities just a bit. My hope is that you get my point that doing the same thing over and over again may not be the answer, and it may be one of the reasons you have struggled for so long.

You may not have to do the complete opposite to find the one thing that will give you relief. But whatever you do, be sure it makes sense for you and your condition.