1Today's Health Counsel is presented by Paula Clayburg,
2who is the chief Counsellor at Liverpool's famous pain clinic:
3The Wilton Clinic.
4Paula...
5Do you know what Prince Charles, Seve Ballesteros and Elizabeth Taylor have in common?
6They all suffer from chronic back pain.
7In fact, bad backs are one of the most common health problems today,
8affecting people in all walks of life.
9The most recent available figures show that about a quarter of a million people
10are incapacitated with back pain every day.
11And many sufferers don't know the cause or the solution to their problem.
12The majority of our patients at the clinic tend to be women.
13They are especially vulnerable because of pregnancy
14but also because of osteoporosis,
15which I personally believe to be the major cause of problems for women.
16I have many women patients who say they have completely given up exercise
17because the pain makes them so miserable.
18But of course that starts up a vicious circle.
19Bed rest, giving up exercise and pain killers are traditional responses to back pain
20but, although there are many excellent drugs on the market,
21at our clinic we are beginning to realise the unique benefits of relaxation therapy.
22Other specialists in the field make a strong case for certain types of exercise,
23but in our experience they are easily mishandled
24and can lead to more harm than good.
25Now, let's look at some of the reasons why back pain is developing into such a unique menace.
26In general, the body is pretty good at self-repair.
27A strain or a blow to a limb, though painful at the time, generally resolves itself.
28But the body's response to back injury can be very counter-productive.
29When pain strikes,
30we attempt to keep the back as immobile as possible,
31which makes the muscles tense up.
32Research shows that they often go into spasm,
33which causes further twisting of the spine.
34A vicious circle is underway.
35The second mistake we often make when stricken with extreme back pain
36is to go to bed and stay there.
37Although at the clinic, we recognise that a short rest in bed can be helpful...
38up to two days...
39any longer makes our back muscles become weaker and unable to hold up our spine.
40The pain therefore becomes worse.
41Another problem is being overweight.
42Anyone a stone or more over-weight
43who already has back pain is not doing himself any favours:
44though it won't actually set it off in the first place,
45the weight will increase the strain and make things worse.
46The British diet could be partially to blame for the increase in back pain:
47over the last ten years the average weight of men has risen by 11 lbs
48and of women by 9 lbs.
49So much for the causes and aggravations of pain.
50But what can we do to help?
51There are many ways in which simple day-to-day care can make all the difference.
52The first point to watch of course is weight.
53If you are overweight, a diet will make all the difference.
54Also, studies have shown that just one hour sitting in a slouched position
55can strain ligaments in the back which can take months to heal.
56At the clinic, we have come to the conclusion
57that the major cause of the problem is not with the design of chairs, as some have suggested,
58but in the way we sit in them.
59It can be useful to get special orthopaedic chairs,
60but remember the most important improvement should be in our posture.
61Another enemy of your back is, of course, your beds.
62If your bed doesn't give enough support,
63back muscles and ligaments work all night trying to correct spinal alignment,
64so you wake up with a tired aching back.
65Try out an orthopaedic mattress or a spring slatted bed.
66Research shows that both can be beneficial for certain types of back pain.
67Another hazard for your back are the shock waves which travel up your spine when you walk,
68known as heel strike.
69A real find for our patients has been the shock-absorbing shoe insert.
70A cheap but very effective solution.
71And you might be better off avoiding shoes with heels higher than one and a half inches.
72Though absolutely flat shoes can be a solution for some,
73others find their posture suffers.
74Finally, a word about the state-of-the-art relief - the TENS machine -
75a small battery-powered gadget
76which delivers subliminal electrical pulses to the skin.
77Our experience indicates that your money is better spent on the more old-fashioned remedies.