Back injury at risk factors

The modern lifestyle puts just about everyone at risk for back and leg pain and injury. 

To keep fit, we have to exercise, and if we exercise to excess or without adequate warm-up and cool down, ooops, there’s back pain and injury.   For fun, or fame, or money, or glory we take extreme exercise and sign up for rough contact sports.  I have seen many of my peers hobbled for life by activities they took up in middle school or earlier to gain popularity in school or because they were deemed manly or for whatever reason they might have had.  I am not going to slam any particular sport, though I believe many probably should be banned for the sake of national health and well-being.  Just think about it.  What are you asking your body to do?  If your sport is likely to promote fitness and long term body health, then it is good; if it is likely to result in broken bones, concussions, and long-term irreversible leg, knee, hip and back problems, then you should pass.  Life is long, let’s keep our health, flexibility, and mobility as long as we can, not sacrifice it in our youth.

If you read my book you will find out that I have not always chosen my sports well and done the right thing.  I thought I was doing a good thing by running 20 miles from Hattiesburg to Purvis in Mississippi a few weeks after I took up the sport of jogging.  My body has really never been the same since.

Another aspect of the modern lifestyle that leads directly to back pain and injury is inactivity.  The human body was designed to keep moving, with varied postures and ways of sitting.  Sitting at a desk long hours, driving a car or truck long distances are not normal, healthy activities.  Everyone knows you have to stop, stand up, move around, stretch every-so-often.   If you have minor back pain from sitting too long, and you do not change your lifestyle, you are seriously at risk for the type of injury that fell me.  

Poor posture is ultimately a main cause of back injury from sitting too long.  If we had perfectly designed chairs and we sat in them correctly, we could probably last longer without hurting ourselves.  Just as we have to keep moving, it is a great idea to cultivate positive and healthy posture. 

What about obesity?  Watching the little league World Series this year I was amazed how many of the little 11-12 year old athletes were overweight. Look around everywhere you go—our whole country is chubby if not downright obese.  It stands to reason that carrying around extra weight makes a person less mobile and more vulnerable to back problems.  Think of the stresses on the spine, disks, and muscles as the extra pounds are carried about day after day.  Weight loss and control has become for me a passion, and I feel like I have finally figured out the way to lose it and keep it off.   See my page on this important topic.  I expect to write a book soon called How Ben Franklin Got Skinny.

A final aspect of modern life that effects back pain and injury is longevity.  The lifespan is no longer 40 or 50 years.  If I live to be over 100 I want and expect to be flexible and mobile every day of my life.  I believe this is possible and I will do whatever it takes to achieve this goal.

I have left out myriad other risk factors for back pain I am sure.  The ones I have mentioned, however, apply to just about everyone.