Facts About Backs

foreign push pull twist turn lift and carry actions that we take for granted as we perform these everyday tasks our conscious mind is busy with other more important thoughts we have learned to trust our body and most of the time it does a very good job yet more man-hours are lost due to Spring sprains and back troubles than to the common cold [Music] last year 28 million Americans went to the doctor to complain about their aching backs let's take Harry here for example Harry could be anyone working anywhere one morning something goes wrong with his back diagnosis muscle sprain prescription additional rest hot packs and aspirin take it easy why for the first time in his life that afternoon Harry learned about his back almost all of the body's vital parts are supported by the spine a vertical stack of 26 separate bones that form a flexible column but the back is much more than a stack of Bones with a simple command from your brain the spine can be held rigid during the most violent movements or it can be made almost as flexible as a whip for flexibility the bones are separated by discs like a golf ball a disc has a tough outer shell and a soft Center each disc can be compressed in any direction allowing the spinal Tower to bend quite far forward and sideways for rigidity it depends upon ligaments which run its full length front and back on a series of short muscles which are attached to knobs on the vertebrae and the complex fabric of long back muscles our back is well designed but things do go wrong some people are born with structural flaws occasionally a very serious disease can the back an unnecessary burden is placed on the back by an overweight condition or poor posture back pain can also be caused by problems which have nothing directly to do with the back like a cold or flu an ulcer or a kidney ailment but most of the time our back problems can be traced to a lack of muscle tone this tone not only keeps the muscles ready for use but holds the bones in place without it your framework is more susceptible to damage loss of muscle tone occurs slowly over a period of months or years without your being aware of it the sedentary lives which many of us live do not allow the body its necessary muscular activity many so-called normal backs have slight imperfections these are flaws you are born with as a person gets older and starts losing muscle tone these faults can show up and cause trouble let's look at some of the things that many of us have been doing over the last few months we have spent most of our time sitting down [Music] thank you our posture tends to get worse over the years daily stress and tensions both at work and at home keep us from fully relaxing [Music] spare moments on busy weekends we may try to unwind a bit and occasionally there's a lot to be done and not much time to do it foreign can be pushed Beyond its limits just as metal will tear and break under repeated mechanical stress [Music] so it's impossible to say exactly what happened to Harry it was the sum total of many small abuses which finally caught up with him man's upright stance is a comparatively new evolutionary development and he is still imperfectly balanced his spine lies mostly behind the gravity line thus he tends to lean forward this tendency must be constantly checked by the muscles of the back and neck putting a strain on them poor posture and an overweight condition compound the problem in a normal upright position your muscle tone manages this job pretty well but by bending forward you add the weight of your head and upper body to the burden this is true whether you are standing or sitting at a desk all day with afternoon fatigue you tend to slump forward and the farther you slump the more off balance you become the more your muscles have to work the remedy sit up straight lean back and rest occasionally jobs that require continuous cropped twisted or unusual positions can also give the back trouble muscles that are weak from lack of use can be overtaxed resulting in strain pain and craps awkward positions can also threaten the joints and ligaments don't overreach when trimming trees the remedy straighten the back and rest occasionally back injuries are not caused by unsafe working conditions but by unsafe working habits back injury can result from trying to move something too heavy or too fast or by suddenly forcing your body into a position of great strain which brings us to the subject of improper lifting a very common source of back trouble your body will instinctively do things the easy way and it's often easier to bend over like this to pick something up every joint and muscle should have a little bit of yield freedom to absorb stress and shock when your body straightens up it has to bring with it another load in addition to the weight of your head and upper body a load can be five times heavier for your back if lifted improperly lifting heavy loads is not a natural thing it's a skill no matter how much lifting you've done in the past someday you may drop your guard and end up with trouble there are very definite rules designed to take the danger out of lifting never lift anything you have any doubts about only lift loads that you can handle easily and comfortably your past experience should guide you study the object to be lifted its size shape and wait look for splinters or sharp protrusions gloves may be needed [Music] consider the height it may have to be lifted how far it must be carried on smooth ground or rough upstairs or on a level [Music] make sure it is well lit check the floor for debris [Music] for slippery conditions and for possible obstructions [Music] the route to be traveled [Music] doors and gates open always face the object to be lifted place your feet close to the base of the object make sure your footing is firm and solid squat close to the load keep your back as straight as possible the body is naturally formed to be upright and is strongest in this position get a firm grip on the object and test the load making sure you can lift it now holding the load firmly and close to your body gradually push up with your legs these are your strongest muscles let them do most of the work if the load is too heavy or awkward there are several things you can do get someone to help you in a team effort one man should direct the move [Music] split the load making two or more trips [Music] tip it end for end [Music] drag it roll it [Music] get a hand truck [Music] jog it along on the corners foreign [Music] never carry loads that prevent you from seeing where you're going avoid walking backwards if it's necessary to change your direction when carrying something heavy be careful not to twist your body because your muscles must suddenly deal with your entire weight if you're carrying a heavy object this problem is compounded if you must change directions turn yourself by changes a foot position when placing a load on a bench table or shelf first set it on the edge and then push it forward with your arms and legs in putting a load down use the reverse procedure of lifting and don't forget there's another problem which applies whether you lift or not exercise most people know that regular exercise helps keep muscle tone it also strengthens muscles [Music] but the same exercise that keeps one person fit May aggravate another exercise should be prescribed by a physician and should be within the tolerance of the individual doctors agree that there's one kind of exercise that is bad for everybody irregular exercise like 18 holes of golf after being away from the game for a while or push-up contests twice a year or five sets of tennis every three weeks if you're going to exercise like this you must do it regularly otherwise aches pains or even collapse may result Harry was lucky he ended up with only a sprain could easily have been a lot worse he could have ended up in the hospital but what's more important it needn't have happened in the first place Harry could have been someone working somewhere with a very clear knowledge a certain facts about his back [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music]