The 10 Worst Jobs for Back, Neck & Sciatic Pain

Worst Back Pain JobsBack-breaking labour doesn’t always look like hard work.

If you see someone bent over lifting or carrying a heavy load, you may assume their job causes back pain. Yet that’s not necessarily true. You don’t have to do hard manual labor to end up with serious back pain after work – even sitting still can do you in!

The jobs with the most back pain include indoor and outdoor work, hard labor and “light” office jobs. You could be working at a job right now that’s going to kill your back … but you may not be aware of what you’re doing to your spine each and every day.

Stop living in the dark. Take a second look at your job to see if it is one of the 10 jobs that cause the most back pain … or if it has all the red flags of one of the future Top 10 back-breaking occupations. And don’t miss discovering the SOLUTION at the end … the Lose the Back Pain system!

 

The Worst 5 Back Pain Jobs: Careers Popular with Men

Back pain is reported more often by male workers than female workers, with nearly one in 10 male workers reporting back pain for at least a solid week per year. What kind of work is to blame? Heavy manual labor definitely, but also skilled professional jobs and office work. Here are the top 5 jobs with the most back pain in careers that tend to have more male workers…

Carpenters: With the most pain and the highest reported incidence in a 2002 study of back pain prevalence, carpenters suffer the most of any male-dominated profession. Their backs are assaulted by repetitive motion, reaching, bending, and twisting throughout the day. This pain is further aggravated with continual heavy lifting at work, leading to a back pain rate of nearly 20% of all workers.

Auto Mechanics: Auto mechanics are an emerging group of back pain sufferers who were previously lumped in with construction workers as a class. However, continuous work while lying on their backs under cars or standing with their arms raised overhead to work on lifted vehicles places a unique strain on the major muscles of their backs. Heavy tools, vibrating tools, and the need to twist, reach, and bend while holding heavy parts also contribute to back pain in this profession.

Farmers and Farm Workers: Farm machinery may have helped ease the back-breaking work of traditional farming, but it hasn’t eliminated it. Many farming tasks require heavy lifting, repetitive motion, bending over, and the endurance to stay in one spot working a piece of ground or manipulating irrigation equipment.

Machine operators: Machine operators do a wide variety of tasks, but their primary interactions are with heavy equipment, vibrating equipment, and equipment that requires repetitive motion to produce. Pulling levers endlessly, standing for long hours at a machine, or pushing and pulling machine arms all add up to aches and pains.

Desk jockeys: It turns out sitting behind a desk isn’t an easy path out of back pain. Instead, office workers often spend eight hours glued to chairs with no back support while they hunch over a computer at their job. The net result is muscle tightness and pain throughout their backs and hips.

Other top jobs for back pain for men include truck driving, professional trades like welding, plumbing, or doing electrical work, and general manual labor work.

The Worst 5 Back Pain Jobs: Careers Popular with Women

Women may experience statistically less back pain than men on the job, but that doesn’t mean their work lives are free from back pain. Instead, a wide variety of popular occupations for women can cause back problems. Below are the top 5 jobs that cause back pain in careers that tend to have more female workers…

Nursing: Nurses, orderlies, and attendants strain their lower backs as they bend over patients, transfer patients between beds, and assist with procedures. Modern paperwork requirements add a new element of upper back strain as nurses hunch over paperwork and computer keyboards. No wonder nurses have more back injuries than any other occupation!

Maids / Housekeepers: Maids and Housekeepers frequently spend hours bent over their work, picking things up, scrubbing things down, and carrying cleaning materials from room to room. Repetitive motion, reaching, bending, and twisting all add up to serious spinal strain potential.

Restaurant workers: Cooks, waitresses, hostesses, dishwashers, and bus staff all experience back pain. Standing on your feet all day, dealing with heavy loads of dishes, and repetitive cleaning and chopping motions all put increased strain on upper and lower back muscles.

Hairdressers: Hairdressers are an emerging group being studied by back pain specialists. Salon workers often stand all day with their arms up, endlessly snipping and clipping their client’s locks of hair. Alternatively, they may remain bent over a client doing waxing work, rolling curls, or pinning down errant strands on formal hairstyles for long periods. Without a natural range of motion, repetitive reaching motions and raised arms can lead to major muscle angst.

Childcare providers: Constantly picking up children, picking up toys, and perching on child-sized tables and chairs puts a severe strain on the backs of childcare providers. Add in that children are often carried as an uneven load on one hip and you have muscle imbalances that can persist for years.

Other top back pain causing jobs for women include teaching, assembly line work, textile jobs, cashier work, and general manual labor.

Red Flags for Back Pain at Work

Even if your job isn’t on the Top 10 list of jobs for back pain, you could still be killing your spine each day you spend at work. You are more likely to experience back pain if your job description includes any of these:

-  Lifting and moving heavy objects

-  Full body vibration from heavy tools or standing on shop floors where heavy manufacturing takes place

-  Repetitive motion, especially if it is repetitive reaching, bending, or twisting

-  Sitting or standing in one position for long periods of time

-  Hunching over a workstation or computer keyboard

Any one of these red flags can be a sign back pain could be in your future. Any combination of these are especially troublesome, leading to chronic aches and pains unless you’re proactive about protecting your body from pain.

Stop Work-Related Back Pain

No matter what you do, there’s no reason to tolerate back pain. A tough job shouldn’t force you into a life of painkillers and surgery. Fight back by directly addressing the root causes of your back pain.

Remember, it’s not just your hard workday yesterday. Back pain is caused by muscle imbalances that develop over time. While you may feel your back pain came on suddenly, the reality is your work habits and work requirements over the past years have been shaping your body since Day 1. Now, you have to take action to put your body back into a comfortable, pain-free alignment.

Whether you have job-related back pain right now, or simply want to prevent future back pain, you will want to identify the muscle imbalances that have formed in your body over time and work on correcting not only your posture, but balancing muscle strength across your body to prevent pain.

That’s exactly what the Lose the Back Pain System helps you do. In just minutes, you can pinpoint the exact muscle imbalances that are causing your back pain… or are already putting you at risk for chronic back pain in the future. And unlike those generic charts of stretches and exercises your doctor or chiropractor may hand you, our Lose the Back Pain System customizes your treatment to your unique needs.

Isn’t it time to put away the pain pills, save money on doctor visits, and stop fretting over back surgery? Discover how our Lose the Back Pain System can help you get back on the road to a pain-free life today. Even if you have one of the worst jobs for back pain.

End Job-Related Back Pain Today!

Lose the Back Pain System   Discover the Lose the Back Pain System  >>

 

References

American Pain Foundation. Back Pain & The Workplace. Retrieved 2012 Mar 19.

Guo, H. Working Hours Spent on Repeated Activities and Prevalence of Back Pain. Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2002 Oct; 59(10):680-688

Guo, H, et al. Back Pain Among Workers in the United States: National Estimates and Workers at High Risk. American Journal of Industrial Medicine. 1995 Nov; 28(5):591-602.



- What do you think?  Posted by Sanj - 02/04/2012 at 12:17

Categories: Back Pain Relief   Tags: , , ,

Fibromyalgia Pain Management, What You Need To Know?

Defining Fibromyalgia:

Though classified as a disorder of the musculoskeletal system, the condition is now seen as a central nervous system problem. Symptoms include increased sensitivity to pain, achy and stiff joints, fatigue, and specific tender points on the back, chest, arms, and legs. Migraines, sleep disorders, and irritable bowel syndrome are also common complaints. Up to 3 percent of the population may suffer from fibromyalgia, but with no clear cause, the condition is difficult to diagnose.

Western Medicine Approach:

A formal diagnosis for fibromyalgia didn’t exist until 1990, but now there are three FDA-approved meds to combat the pain. Still, says Nancy Klimas, MD, director of the Allergy and Immunology Clinic at the University of Miami, “there is much more to treatment than a pill.” Strategies are needed to improve sleep, stretch and restore symmetry to muscles that have been shortened by spasm, and raise overall conditioning through exercise.

Energy-Based Approach:

Practitioners believe the root of fibromyalgia is a disturbance in nerves that blocks energy. The disturbance, says Devi S. Nambudripad, MD, PhD, and a licensed acupuncturist, is caused by sensitivities to substances ranging from pollen to vaccines to chemical agents in fabrics. Anxiety and depression may also play a part. Practitioners use acupuncture to release energy and allergy testing to identify problem substances.


Nutrition-Based Approach:

Fibromyalgia is a systemwide breakdown, says Jacob Teitelbaum, MD, medical director of the nationwide Fibromyalgia & Fatigue Centers. After suffering from the disease in the 1970s, he developed his own protocol; in studies, patients improved by as much as 91 percent. He recommends supplements to help sufferers sleep, balance hormones, boost immunity, and improve nutrition. He also prescribes regular exercise.

Psychological Approach:

“The pain of fibromyalgia is not caused by depression,” says Leonard Jason, PhD, professor of psychology at DePaul University, “but depression can deepen a patient’s experience of pain.” Mental health professionals may play a complementary role in treatment, but it’s a vital one. Cognitive behavioral therapy can relieve depression and help patients identify sources of stress that magnify their symptoms.

Fibromyalgia pain relief solutionsPeople with fibromyalgia face a unique challenge because they must combat not only the condition’s disabling symptoms, but they face the stress of having an illness that is hard to diagnose, slow to respond to treatment and frequently not taken seriously by others because they look normal. This combination of factors often leaves those with fibromyalgia feeling helpless and hopeless.

Feelings of anxiety and depression are common among people with fibromyalgia, with an average of 18 percent of fibromyalgia patients suffering major depression at any point in time (1).

The pain of fibromyalgia is not simply a physical entity; pain always has an emotional component, which varies from person to person.

To focus only on the cause and treatment of physical pain, ignores the profound impact of pain on your emotions. Everyone has their own perspective of pain. The same amount of pain that causes manageable discomfort in one person can be emotionally devastating to another.

The changes in your life that accompany fibromyalgia make pain even more difficult to handle. Most individuals find family support, the stability of a regular job, and the refreshment of physical activity help bolster them in overcoming life’s emotional hurdles. But chronic pain and sleep deprivation can erode a person’s normally dependable sources of stability, alienating friends and family. The resulting imbalance can make the original symptoms of pain, sleep loss, or social withdrawal even more distressful.

Some fibromyalgia sufferers find that seeing a psychiatrist or psychologist helps them to better manage the physical and emotional aspects of living with fibromyalgia. Seeking psychiatric assistance to cope with fibromyalgia, is not an admission that “it is all in your head.” Instead, you are accepting that having such an illness is difficult to manage. For instance, patients with rheumatoid arthritis often benefit from psychological counseling even though their condition has obvious physical changes.

As a fibromyalgia sufferer, you may seek simple, short-term counseling sessions or intensive therapy. Whatever the case, your treatment will ultimately depend on your individual needs.

Recommendations:

Because Western medicine was slow to accept fibromyalgia, it is behind in its work; this is an area where patients will want to take a serious look at alternative approaches. Energy-based medicine could offer some important advances in treatment over the next decade, but since it has yet to be tested by independent research, it’s premature to base your therapy solely on this approach. I’m more impressed by Teitelbaum’s supplement regimen as he has tested his theories. I would add counseling, as it should always be a part of fibromyalgia treatment. If after a couple of months you don’t see improvement, talk to your doctor about drug therapy. You may also want to read this >> 

References

(1) ”The relationship between fibromyalgia and major depressive disorder,” by J.I. Hudson and H.G. Pope, Rheumatic Disease Clinics of North America, Controversies in Fibromyalgia and Related Conditions, Vol. 22, No. 2, May 1996, pages 285-303.

Related Resources:

"Fibromyalgia Pain Relief – A Holistic Approach"

"Treating Chronic Fatigue Syndrome With Acupuncture"

"Everything You Need to Know About Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain"

- What do you think?  Posted by Sanj - 31/03/2012 at 15:42

Categories: Pain Relief Resources   Tags: , , , , , , ,

6 Anti-Inflammatory Herbs that Kill Pain Fast

Anti-inflammatory herbs are a gift within a gift, because not only are these herbs a versatile and delicious way to liven up your meals, but they’re one of nature’s most potent weapons to stop and prevent pain.

When you’ve finished learning the 6 most powerful anti-inflammatory herbs, also do not miss The Top 12 Safest And Most Effective Pain Relievers, in which a dozen of the world’s most powerful natural pain-fighting ingredients of all sorts are revealed.

And if you have ANY additional insights about other anti-inflammatory herbs — or suggestions on how to use these herbs below in cooking, drinks, etc. — please share it with everyone by leaving a COMMENT toward the bottom of this page.

Now without further ado, here are 6 anti-inflammatory herbs that annihilate pain…

1) Chamomile

anti-inflammatory herbs

In the classic children’s tale Peter Rabbit, Peter’s mother gave him chamomile tea when he was feeling ill. Turns out she knew what she was doing and it is worth your while to drink chamomile tea, too! Scientific studies demonstrate chamomile is an excellent anti-inflammatory … well-known to help with stomach aches but helpful with pain elsewhere too. It is also a very calming herb, so if you experience stress it can help you relax.

 

2) Fenugreek

Fenugreek (which in Latin means “green hay”) is another excellent anti-inflammatory. Studies have even shown it can reduce high triglyceride blood levels! Some say its taste is similar to maple syrup. The greens and sprouts are a tasty addition to a salad and the seeds provide excellent seasoning to a variety of meats, stews, and sauces. It is a common addition to Indian cooking (and you can typically find it in Indian and ethnic markets.)

3) Ginger

Ginger is a welcome and extremely versatile ingredient in many foods, from meats and veggies to drinks and desserts. And ginger’s anti-inflammatory properties have been known and appreciated for centuries. Here again scientific research confirms this herb’s anti-inflammatory power … it’s an excellent herb for migraines and other forms of pain. By the way, ginger tea can be a big help if you experience heartburn … and it has even been shown to be very helpful with those experiencing morning sickness!

4) Rosemary

herb inflammationFlowering Rosemary

Rosemary is an excellent herb for pain because it naturally eases nerve and muscle tension. It’s very good for chronic headaches. Research shows it may even help prevent cancer and age-related skin damage! It contains salicin which is a natural form of glycoside – which aspirin is made from. Rosemary can be found in virtually any store (and it is easy to grow in a garden or pot at home), and is an excellent herb for flavoring meats, salad dressings, stews, soups, sauces and even tea.

 

5) Sage

Sage isn’t just for Thanksgiving Day dressing. Sage helps improve achy muscles and inflammation and is great to keep your mind clear. Sage is actually in the mint family and is exceptional for flavoring food.

White sage is a strong anti-inflammatory and is most often consumed as tea, while common sage can be consumed as tea or used to season food.

6) Turmeric

The anti-inflammatory herb turmeric is well known as the main spice in curry, and it is the reason for the yellow color of table mustard. It is also a natural antiseptic and antibacterial agent, meaning it is great for disinfecting cuts and burns. It is another very versatile herb for many foods (try it on eggs!)

Now, please pass the benefits of this article on by clicking Share  and post any comments you have about these or other beneficial anti-inflammatory herbs below!

And next, don’t miss …

The Top 12 Safest And Most Effective
Natural Pain Relieving Ingredients of All…

- What do you think?  Posted by Sanj - 08/03/2012 at 12:09

Categories: Pain Relief Resources   Tags: , , , , ,

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