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Question: I have recently been informed by my G.P. that there has been a lot of wear and tear on the third and fourth disc in my back. This causes considerable discomfort and pain and I have been informed to give up walking and driving long distances. (April 06, 2001).
Do you have any recommendations for pain-relief, remedies or suitable exercises. My mother, who is of the same build as myself suffers from severe arthritis and is very bent over due to curvature of the spine. Yours, Catríona Kennedy.
Answer: Caitríona, please read my website www.back-shop.com in detail. What I am saying is that sitting with bad posture puts huge stress on the lumbar discs, and is the main cause of most of the world's back pain. If you haven't had an accident it's almost certainly the cause of your pain. After more than 25 years' experience I am also saying that if you sit at all times with your spine in its natural S position in the majority of cases the pain will be relieved.
You don't say what your age is. But bear in mind that most people of middle age would have spines that show wear and tear, bulging discs would probably be the most common sign. Most car seats appear almost to be fiendishly designed to cause back pain. Every time you drive your car you are doing damage to your spine. The action of using the clutch and braking compounds the huge stress caused by the badly designed car seat. Read about my car seat mould
In general, walking is of huge benefit to keeping back pain at bay. You tend to walk with good posture. If you didn't you could fall flat on your face. Therefore, when walking the spine tends to attain its natural S shape, the stress is at a minimum, and any part of the spine touching a nerve tends to move out of contact resulting in the reduction of pain. Hope this is of some help, Colm Campbell.