WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT NECK AND BACK PAIN.

Today we’re talking with Dr. Ken Hansraj on neck and back pain. Specifically spinal cord health. On the Chic Confidential, we cover so many amazing topics – everything from beauty, skincare, health & wellness, food, fashion and so much more. But today I want to get a little serious about this topic. Because really, it’s no joke. We are talking about your health.

Since Covid forced most of us to work from home, knowing how to protect your neck and back from permanent damage is SO important. In fact, it should be top priority.

Working from home happened in the second week of March for me. That’s when my office closed down and we were all instructed to work from home. A week later, Andrew’s office was instructed the same thing. Living in a condo we were so limited with space. We needed a plan.

Check out my post on Working From Home With Your Significant Other, here.

We decided that I will work from the bedroom, and Andrew will take the living room. He’s in meetings much more than I am, so it only made sense. Plus, who wouldn’t want to work from their cozy bed, right? WRONG.

For 7 months I worked from bed. I took meetings from my bed, had coffee in my bed, and worked in my bed for 7-8 hours every single day for 7 months!

GUYS, do you know what this did to my back?!?!

I didn’t realized it until the left side of my spinal cord was swollen and completely unaligned. My back and neck were in so much pain and it felt as though the bone had been damaged. I hadn’t felt this much pain ever! I had Andrew massaging my back every night, I wore my posture corrector for hours, but nothing worked. The pain was getting worse.

Working from my bed totally destroyed my back.

I hadn’t been to see my massage therapist in sometime because of Covid, but since the pain was getting worse, I went to see her. She told me it was a muscle issue, which means it wasn’t permanent and overtime the pain would subside.

I’m sharing this because spinal cord health is so important. It’s something you don’t want to neglect.

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Dr. Kenneth K. Hansraj is a spinal and orthopedic surgeon specializing in cervical, thoracic and lumbar procedures. He is the author of the internationally bestselling book, Keys to an Amazing Life: Secrets of the Cervical Spine.

Here are 4 ways to help your neck and back pain while working from home:

POSTURE:

Mind your posture the entire time. Proper digestion only occurs when we are sitting up straight. Good posture is defined as ears aligned with the shoulders and the “angel wings,” or the shoulder blades, retracted. In proper alignment, spinal stress is diminished.

Furthermore, “If you’re slouched over your plate, food cannot travel to the stomach in time for your body to tell your brain it’s getting full; it can take twice as long; thus, causing you to eat twice as much leaving you full and tired.

Check Your Posture: Sitting for prolonged periods can strain your back, and your positioning can make it even worse. To provide yourself with the most relief, make sure your back is aligned against the back of the seat. Keep your shoulders straight and avoid rounding forward. Both feet should be firmly resting on the floor.

SLEEP:

Since the body is hormonally and metabolically boosted early in the morning, it can do more and think better.

The elementary pattern is that serum concentrations of melatonin begin to increase once the sun sets and serum concentrations decrease to lower serum levels during the day. Melatonin has important effects on sleep- wake cycles, reproduction, and functions presenting circadian rhythm.

The SCN prepares the body for upcoming day with an anticipatory rise in heart rate, glucose, and cortisol. Cortisol, a steroid hormone, or glucocorticoid, produced by the adrenal gland, reaches its lowest level between midnight and 4 am, or 3 to 5 hours after the onset of sleep. Levels peak in the early morning around 8 am, the same time melatonin levels decrease.

PIGEON STRETCH:

Pigeon is one of the most frequently prescribed stretches for neck and back pain because you can directly stretch the sciatic nerve. In so doing, one can stretch the sciatic nerve through the piriformis muscle and relieve sciatica.

Get into position with your right knee bent, and your left leg extended straight behind you. Place the right heel in toward your left hip.  Make sure your left hip is facing down toward the mat. Stay here with your hands out in front of you, allowing your torso to rest over your right knee. Purposefully and intentionally stretch the right sciatic nerve. Repeat on the other side.

THE POWER OF THOUGHTS:

Dr. Ken Hansraj goes more into depth with this in his book, Keys to an Amazing Life: Secrets of the Cervical Spine.

With a positive thought the brain is calm and the body moves into a rest and digest mode. There are fewer “pressors” (chemicals e.g. epinephrine, that raise the blood pressure) and the heart feels good, the body relaxes and takes breaths deep into the lungs. The intestines work on digestion more efficiently, libido is increased, muscles loosen and are more mobile. The arteries don’t experience an excessive amount of pressor, creating a normotensive state (having normal blood pressure), and there are less inflammatory factors in your blood stream. All this increases body resting and functioning and there is decreased tenderness and discomfort due to spinal problems.

With negative thoughts the brain is in turmoil. The body moves into fight or flight mode, and there are more pressors. The heart develops an irregular rate and rhythm, stress increases and shallow breaths are taken into the lungs. Digestion slows in the intestines and ulcers may develop from stress. Muscles tighten and become more tender. The immune system weakens, increasing risk of infection and there is a greater chance of tenderness and discomfort due to spinal problems.

Dr. Ken Hansraj believes that we can radically transform our worlds, one thought at a time.

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Those are 4 ways to improve neck and back pain according to Dr. Ken Hansraj.

If you’re wondering how my back is doing now, it’s actually feeling a lot better. I got myself a super cute little desk from Amazon, and a proper chair to sit on. I still wear my posture corrector daily. My back is on its way to recovery!

Other ways to prevent neck and back pain:

• View your computer screen with a straight neck.
• Your keyboard and mouse should be at a comfortable height in front of you.
• Don’t use a squishy wrist rest.
• Sit back in your chair; your back should be straight against it.
• Your feet should be flat on the floor when sitting.

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Xx, kim

+ If you enjoyed this post, check out my post on How To Sleep Better.

++ Oh also, make sure to check out The Way To A Perfect Posture.

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About Dr. Ken Hansraj:

On the forefront of spinal surgery American surgeon Dr. Kenneth K. Hansraj is a spinal and orthopedic surgeon specializing in cervical, thoracic and lumbar procedures for example laminectomies and spinal fusions. Dr. Hansraj believes in tailoring the operation to the patient using the latest spine technologies. Dr. Ken is a spinal surgeon at Nuvance Health based at The Vassar Brothers Medical Center in the Hudson Valley, NY

Dr. Ken is the author of the internationally bestselling book, Keys to an Amazing Life: Secrets of the Cervical Spine, (January, 2013), which he was inspired to write based on this concept. Dr. Hansraj is also the author of Bloodless Spine Surgery: Pictures and Explanations. His goal with each of his books is to bring years of accumulated expert medical knowledge to the public at-large in an easy-to digest format and to help countless individuals with ongoing spinal and health issues.