tuesday, january 21, 2020PaGe 2 tHe WeaKLey COunty Press

Back pain brings more people to the doctor and causes more people to miss work than nearly any other health issue. It’s also the leading cause of disability worldwide. There are, fortunately, a number of things you can do to decrease the risk of experiencing back pain. Here are six preventive measures re­commended by the Mayo Clinic.

1. Practise good posture: practise good pos­ture both when standing and sitting. Don’t slouch when standing and when possible, choose a chair with good lower back sup­port, armrests and a swivel base.

2. Use correct lifting procedures: let your legs do the work when picking up some­thing heavy but avoid heavy lifting when possible.

3. Maintain a healthy weight: being over­weight strains back muscles.

4. Engage in aerobic exercise: aerobic acti­vities that don’t strain the back (such as

walking, jogging and swimming) increase strength, endurance and the functioning of back muscles.

5. Do core exercises: strengthening your core helps condition back muscles.

in the hips in particular is essential as li­

strain and pain in the back muscles.

If you begin to experience back problems, don’t engage in exercise or activities that strain the back. See your doctor to receive a treatment plan.

Acute back pain (lasting no more than six weeks) should get better with home treat­ment. For chronic cases, some people choose to see a chiropractor. Chiropractic treatments aim to correct the alignment of the body’s musculoskeletal structure so as to allow the body to heal itself without surgery or medica­tion. Speak to your doctor about this option.

It’s no secret that pregnancy can be hard on a woman’s back. Indeed, between 50 and 80 per cent of women experience lower back pain during pregnancy. Oftentimes it’s a particular kind of pain called sciatic pain, or sciatica, for which there are treatment options such as physiotherapy.

WHAT IS SCIATICA?Sciatica is pain radiating along the scia­tic nerve, which is the longest nerve in the body, beginning at the lower back, exten­ding down to the buttocks then branching out down the legs and to the feet. Sciatic

pain usually begins in the lower back and spreads downward. It manifests itself in dif­ferent ways: numbness and tingling or else a sharp, shooting pain.

WHY DOES SCIATICA OCCUR DURING PREGNANCY?Sciatica typically is experienced in the third trimester; at this stage, the weight of the growing baby and uterus can put direct pres­sure on the sciatic nerve.

HOW IS SCIATICA DURING PREGNANCY TREATED?A physical therapist can help alleviate sciatic pain without recourse to medica­

tion. The treatment typical­ly involves a combination of some or all of the follo­wing elements:

­cises focused on decreasing

­tion and restoring mobility and strength

• Bracing or taping• Massages

Along with developing an exercise routine to do at home, physical therapists provide tips for dealing with sciatic pain from day to day.

If you wish to pursue this form of treatment, obtain a referral for physiotherapy from your doctor or obstetrician.

Dentures are produced from high­quality materials that are

que contours of your particu­lar mouth. Nonetheless, they’ll eventually need to be replaced. Here are three signs that it’s time for new dentures.

1. YOUR DENTURES ARE OLDAlthough resilient, dentures de­teriorate over time and small cracks and fractures may even­tually appear. This is proble­matic as these crevices provide a home for bacteria to thrive. Oral infections, therefore, may result from using old dentures. On average, dentures last bet­ween seven and 10 years.

2. YOUR DENTURES ARE LOOSEWhen some or all of your natural teeth are gone, the underlying bone structure deterio­rates and changes over time. It’s for this reason that dental professionals recommend having your dentures inspected and relined every two years. When changes in your jaw have become too drastic and looseness persists after reli­ning, replacement becomes necessary.

3. YOU’RE IN PAINDentures do more than replace teeth: they also maintain the jaw’s bone structure.

However, bone loss and the gradual deterio­ration of dentures can impact the temporo­mandibular joints and lead to temporoman­dibular joint disorder (TMJD). The condition is characterized by jaw pain, headaches, tinnitus, earaches and facial nerve pain. A new set of custom­designed dentures can counteract this problem.

If your dentures have become old, loose or damaged, visit your denturist and get a new set made as soon as possible.

Stress causes your heart rate and blood pleasure to rise and your muscles to tighten up. This isn’t a problem when it’s temporary, but when stress and its effects become chronic, your health can suffer. Due to muscles remaining tense at all times, chronic stress can lead to joint aches and pains, headaches, chronic back and neck pain and other issues.

The tricky thing about stress is that the physical and mental effects of it can create more stress. But massage therapy helps to break this cycle by combatting the physical symptoms. Massage techniques, which involve rubbing, stroking, stretching and applying pressure to the muscles, help return mus­cles to a relaxed state, re­ducing stress­related aches and pains. Moreover, mas­sages tend to be a relaxing experience in general. They typically take place in a peaceful environment and thereby afford the patient a sense of calm.

If you’re dealing with chro­nic stress, talk with your doctor about using massage therapy for treatment. For a safe and effective therapeu­tic massage, seek out a cer­

Six tips for fending off back pain

Sciatic pain during pregnancy: what it is and how to treat it

Three signs dentures need to be replaced How massage therapy helps with stress

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confidence restored — On Jan. 16 Ashley VanMeter, winner of Moore Den-tal Office’s Smile Makeover contest, shows off her new smile at the mens UTM basketball game. Thanks to Dr. Chris Moore and his staff VanMeter was able to receive a mini dental implant to replace a front tooth. Once installed the Mini Implants will be as strong as regular teeth and allow normal day-to-day eating and activities. For additional information about Moore Dental Office or Mini Implants call the office at 731.587.4742 or go to the website at MooreSmilesForYou.com and register for an Complimentary Consult on Feb-ruary 5 or 20 to see if you are a candidate for your own Mini Implant. There is additional information on the website about pricing and types of implants available.

The start of a new year can be a rejuvenating time when people take inven-tory of their lives and make positive changes. In a quest for personal growth, many people resolve to reduce or eliminate bad habits.

Habits are one of the ways in which the brain establishes patterns for neu-rons to follow. Habits help people work on autopilot some of the time, which can save time and energy, according to Medium.com, an information site educat-ing the public on a wide ar-ray of timely topics. Good habits, like showing up to work on time, are worth maintaining. But bad habits

can be problematic and po-tentially unhealthy.

Strategies to break bad habits might work for some but not for others. Persever-ance is essential to kicking bad habits, and the follow-ing are some additional tips that can help people as they try to ditch certain behav-iors once and for all.

· Recognize the habit. No person is perfect, and each of us has our strengths and weaknesses. Recognizing a bad habit is the first step toward breaking it.

· Break the pattern by of-fering a new one. As noted, when a habit is established, neurons form a pattern. Es-tablishing a new, better hab-

it, rather than just trying to quit the bad habit cold tur-key, can be an effective way to help the brain adjust to a new pattern, advises neu-roscientist Elliot Berkman. He says the brain finds it

easier to do something new than to simply stop doing something it’s accustomed to. So if you’re a nail-biter, do something else with your hands, like play a musical instrument, to create a new

pattern.· Penalize yourself within

reason. Making a habit pain-ful in one way or another may make it easier to quit. Penalizing yourself by pay-ing a dollar each time you say a curse word, or extend-ing a workout for an extra 30 minutes for each one you miss are some examples of simple punishments.

· Reward yourself for beating habits. Rewards for kicking bad habits can be just as effective as penal-izing bad behavior. Reward yourself with something unusual and meaningful af-ter you kick a bad habit.

· Learn your triggers and avoid them. The self-im-

provement blog Pick the Brain indicates that every bad habit has a cue that can trigger it. Triggers fall into these categories: location, time, emotional state, other people, and an immediately preceding action. By learn-ing your triggers, you can work to avoid them. If eat-ing junk food comes on the tails of a stressful commute, try a different way home. If you smoke when you’re around a particular per-son who eggs you on, take a break from hanging out with this person.

Breaking bad habits is challenging, but it can hap-pen with focus and dedica-tion.

Learn the ways to beat your bad habits

Breaking our bad habits can be difficult, but with focus and dedication they can be overcome.