Category: Employee Wellness

Common Causes of Lower Back Pain

A large portion of the American population experiences mild to severe back pain over their lifetime. The tendency of experiencing lower back pain may increase with age, the majority of sufferers are aged 60 and above. This pain would not only end at the lower back but may spread itself over to the larger part of the spine and down to the buttocks and legs. No wonder, lower back pain is often accompanied with neck and leg pain.

The most typical cause of lower back pain is work-associated. This often goes a long way with the compensation of the worker since the efficiency of works may be impeded. Based on the information stated by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, lower back pain causes more damage on employees as compared with any other physical disorders.

Lower back pain is more often focused on the lumbar section of the spine and appears in two forms: acute and chronic.

The acute form of pain occurs more quickly and is more intense as compared with the chronic pain. It lasts for several hours and is often associated with improper body postures and stances and too much physical exertion.

The chronic pain on the other hand often appears in a series of attacks with varying level of pain and severity. There is no telling what would trigger the attack and it shows no indications of ceasing.

Often, the cause of lower back pain is impairment on the lumbar section of the spine. This portion carries most of the body weight; therefore as the framework of the back, the lumbar needs to be a lot more stable and healthier. It is also where to much activity is enforced.

The back bone is comprised of complex system of ligaments, bones, tissues and muscles. When the majority of these parts are misused, the whole system may fail. Ligaments may strain, the disks may be herniated, and the muscles may be stressed, often these injuries may be the cause of severe lower back pain. Along with these issues, matters like psychological wellness, arthritis, obesity, and bad posture may be pointed as the root cause of back pain.

Though these are the general causes, there may be instances for which the cause of the pain may never be determined. Or there applies no condition for which to relate the problem. With this, the best option one may have is to get an x-ray, but even that doesn’t always guarantee the efficiency of diagnosis.

Tips About Exercises For Lower Back Pain

Searches on the internet for exercises for lower back pain continue to increase almost daily, it seems. It’s not hard to guess why. Lower back pain is one of the most common complaints seen in doctors’ offices today. More work days are being missed every year due to lower back pain. The missed work days affect everyone, not just the employee that is out of work due to lower back pain and the company they work for.

Deadlines are missed resulting in longer wait times for products and services, not to mention the smaller pay checks, which means people have less money to spend. Since many lower back injuries occur at work, a lot of companies are having to file on their Worker’s Compensation Insurance. More claims mean higher rates. Higher rate means less raises. Less raises mean money for employees to spend. Truly, lower back pain affects us all.

More and more people are turning to exercises for lower back pain instead of medication. As the FDA recalls more drugs every day, it’s no wonder people are afraid to take anything for pain. Medications can also lead to addictions. At the very least, while medications can take the pain away for a short while, they often have nasty side effects and don’t really address the root of the problem, which is the injured, lower back. Exercises for lower back pain do.

Now, bear in mind, these sorts of exercises aren’t for everybody. Before beginning any exercise routine, it’s best to talk to your doctor first. If you can, speak to a physical therapist, as well. They will be able to tell you which exercises are the best for the type of lower back pain and injury you have. You definitely don’t want to make your injury worse by doing the wrong sorts of exercises. Making the injury worse completely defeats the purpose of doing the exercises for lower back pain completely.

Once you figure out which exercises are the best for you and your individual circumstances, it’s time to work out an exercise schedule. Make a date for yourself to do your exercise every day or every other day. Be certain you check with your physical therapist the best frequency for you to follow. After the date has been made, stick to it! Your back won’t heal very well on its own. If you’re dedicated to getting better, you need to be dedicated to getting the exercises done regularly.

Also, start out slowly. Don’t rush into the exercises. Don’t feel like you need to complete a billion reps. Listen to your body as you do the exercises. They may be uncomfortable at first but they shouldn’t hurt. If they hurt, stop! Pain is your body’s way of telling you something isn’t right. Look at the instructions for how the exercise is to be done again. Make sure you were doing it right. If you were, talk to your physical therapist again about alternations to your exercises for lower back pain.

Reasons why you should improve your memory

Memory is important. We use it in our daily lives but often we take it for granted. Not many people realize the important function that memory has in our lives. But this should not be the case. Having a great memory is vital to our survival. Thus, it is important that you take steps to better your memory. Here are some of the reasons why you should:

1. It defines who we are
The memories in your lives define who you are. Try erasing all your memories and you will not have a sense of who you are. It is the experiences that we have in the past that will determine who will be in the future. Without a memory of the past, we will find it hard to go forward in the future. We will have to start building relationships again and have a sense of who we are like what we did when we were still growing up.

2. It helps us learn
We use our memory to learn new things and develop new skills. Memory is actually important in school where we need to memorize a lot of information in order to pass our subjects. Memory is the one what we rely on when it comes to examinations and recitations. But memory is not just for memorizing. Knowledge is also acquired with the use of memory. We learn to do things because of our brains work.

3. It helps us with our jobs
Although we will not be answering examinations when we are on the job, we need memory to help keep up with our schedules and the meetings that we have had with people. There are professions who rely a lot on excellent memory. You need it as a secretary when you have to be on top of your boss schedules. You need when you are a journalist especially in remembering statements that your interviewees have made. You even need it as the owner of the company. You need to remember all the products that you are manufacturing, the capital that you used and the income that you get for the second quarter of the year.

4. It helps build relationships
People who easily remember the names of people are seen as much warmer and more intelligent than those who cant remember names even on the same night. This is why personal relations employees are trained to remember names on an instant as this shows respect and appreciation for others. When people remember our names, we feel a sense of importance and we in turn forward those feelings of good will to that person.

Having an excellent memory also helps people remember birthdays. This is especially true with men who usually forget dates of anniversaries and birthdays. People who remember special dates come across as more thoughtful and more caring as opposed to those who forget all the time. Even if remembering birthdays are not really a sign of love or a measure of love, people still see it that way.

Memory is actually a reflection of our mental processes. Having excellent memory usually means that you have great brain power. Thus, when you are making an effort to better your memory, you are also improving the way you think. And with that, you dont really need so many reasons.

Can Aromatherapy Stimulate your Brain Activity?

There are many different ways that people choose to stimulate their brain activity. One of them that seems to be getting a great deal of attention these days is called aromatherapy. This involves lighting candles or heating up oils with various types of scents on them. These scents will trigger a variety of reactions from the brain that are positive in nature. Not everyone is a follower of such methods though because they are skeptical about such capabilities. There are other people though that will tell you that aromatherapy has changed many things in their thinking process for the better.

When it comes to the use of aromatherapy for increased brain activity, you need to do your homework. You need to be aware of what the different scents are able to offer. It is also important to note that you dont need very much to get the job done. A few drops of essential oils are very potent and that will do the job. Dont mix scents either as you dont know how they will affect your brain when they are in a mix versus each one separately.

If you want to energize your brain such as when you are studying for a test or trying to write a paper you need to avoid turning to the caffeine. Instead you should try peppermint, cypress, or lemon. When you feel that your brain is on overload it is important to relax and to reduce stress levels. You wont be able to make good decisions until you can think clearly about a topic. Some great aromatherapy scents for this include geranium, lavender, and rose.

You will have to decide for yourself if aromatherapy is something that stimulates your brain or not. There is certainly nothing negative about the use of aromatherapy so you dont have anything to lose by trying it. Many people have done so to curb their own curiosity on the topic. Discovering if there are any such benefits first hand means that you have taken on a role of discovery. That in itself is also a great way to continue to increase your brain activity.

What may surprise you though is that your brain may already be reacting to aromatherapy around you. Many businesses already know the value of it so they use it to their advantage. They use scents that rejuvenate the brain so that you will feel good while you are in their business. This is important because when you leave there your mind will associate that location with positive experiences. It is very likely that you will return to that retailer again and again because of the positive influence it has on your brain activity.

Some employers have experimented with aromatherapy as well. Some of the studies indicate that production levels are higher than in the past with certain types of scents that rejuvenate the mind and to help reduce stress. Common mistakes also are reduced because the employees are in a better frame of mind.

The world of aromatherapy is very fascinating and one you should explore in further detail. It is one of the most natural ways to evoke positive responses relating to your brain activity. Many people burn candles of a given scent in their home to help give it a warm and inviting feeling for all that enter it. They also feel that it helps keep the harmony within the family because everyone is exhibiting healthy brain activities.

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