She strongly believes that healthcare needs to change to benefit the patient and has traveled, lived, and volunteered medically in over 40 countries, equipping her to offer culturally competent care to all ethnic backgrounds. She has led multiple medical volunteer trips internationally and embarked on the World Race before medical school and works part-time for an anti-sex trafficking agency. She has also participated in additional training in healthcare related to LGBTQI needs and gladly accepts patients from any walk of life. In the future, she wishes to offer counseling and therapy to her patients. In her free time, Dr. Kelvas practices yoga, mindfulness meditation, and travels. She owns a medical writing company and is currently writing a book on PTSD in healthcare providers.
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Almost daily I hear my patients tell me they are sick and tired of back pain. Immobility causes weight gain, which makes the pain worse. Then comes depression, which zaps all motivation, and the cycle begins. Muscle spasms usually ensue, and eventually popping ibuprofen and tylenol doesn’t cut it.
Studies show that surgery helps around 50% of the time (depending on the cause). Degenerative disc disease, osteoarthritis, and normal wear/tear will inevitably find most, if not all of us. So how do we cope?
- Ask your doctor or chiropractor for x-rays. Sometimes, bone spurs and microfractures from falls can be the culprit – things that must be treated with surgery or braces.
- Stop smoking. Cigarettes accelerate the degeneration of normal cartilage and padding in all joints.
- Clean up your diet. Foods that increase inflammation in the body contribute to autoimmune diseases that attack your joints.
- Strength training. You may be thinking, But my back hurts, how am I supposed to exercise? Your back and abdominal muscles support your entire frame. When one side becomes weak (most often your abs), it puts excessive pressure on the spine. Overtime, any excess belly weight will literally pull the vertebrae forward, called spondylolisthesis. This in turn puts unequal pressure on various muscles, triggering muscle spasms. Again, back to the cycle.
5. Physical therapy and stretching. I cannot stress this last point enough. Yoga videos for back mobility can be found online and modified depending on your abilities. Many yoga videos performed sitting in a chair can provide excellent benefits longterm for spine mobility.
The day you stop moving is the day you’ll stop moving.
Danielle Kelvas, MD
