Dr. Allan Horowitz, published newspaper article, Richmond Hill Liberal, Copyright December 27, 1989


Todays column should be the last one of the “light” variety for the next few months. I will then start discussing more serious, pressing topics like my next series on “How to Lose Weight.”

Why have I chosen this topic to begin the new year? In a few days the new year will be here. Come to think of it, so will the new decade. We will be bombarded with the best and worst of the 80s list. We will hear how we are supposed to look and dress in the 90s. A good percentage of those reading this article will be setting themselves goals for the new year. Some call them New Year’s Resolutions. As in; “I resolve to stop smoking, eat more fish, be nicer to my kids, relax more, find a job, find a better job, drive slower, buy a car, exercise more, improve my social life, improve my marital relationships, go to church (synagogue) more, give to charity, fight for world peace, end world hunger, end the nuclear age. Losing weight will probably be at the top of many people’s list, and that is why I will do a short series on a local group that may help.

Today, I will remind you what you are supposed to be doing if you have a chronic lower back problem. You can remember these things, engrave them in your mind and practice them daily. If you have an undiagnosed back disorder, these suggestions might not be for you. If you have had lower back pain for years and your chiropractor and/or doctor told you to do this and this to try to help, you probably didn’t and that is the reason you still have pain.

If you need to, and you are the one who knows if you need to or not, lose weight. Get into some type of reasonable shape through a general exercise program. Do specific stretching and strengthening exercises as your doctor or chiropractor recommended – if they didn’t give you anything to do, ask them.

Always sit up straight and try to be as tall as you can be.

Always sleep on a firm mattress or on a good water bed which is filled properly and has a working heater.

Sleep on your back or side.

Wear soft-soled, supportive shoes whenever possible.

Have your car seat as close to the wheel as possible.

Use a pillow or some sort of support behind your back when sitting for long periods of time.

Always bend from the knees and lift by using your legs instead of your back.

Don’t do any work in a bent over position for more than a few minutes without getting up and stretching to relieve the stiffness.

Get plenty of sleep, but don’t spend too much time in bed once you’re awake.

Don’t recline or sleep on a couch or other non-supportive piece of furniture.

Everyone who has chronic lower back pain must take an active approach in trying to combat their pain. They can’t rely on the doctor or chiropractor to do it all for them. We can help but the patient has to play a large part in the plan to recover.

For all of you who have chronic lower back pain, remember the common sense items I outlined above. I have mentioned these same things in my columns year after year, but they just don’t sink into many people’s brains until their low grade pain turns into acute, severe pain. At that moment, they begin to listen and learn.

Remember, it will soon be the 1990s and you don’t want to go through another decade of back pain. Do you?

Keep watching this space for the upcoming series on “Weight Loss in the 90s.” (It’s the same as weight loss in the 80s, but it has a better ring to it than just “How to Lose Weight.”)