Tips on choosing the right back back

Considering that 60-80% of us will experience back pain in our lifetime, choosing the correct back pack for us or our children should be a priority. The high number of children and adolescents already complaining of back pain is astounding. Studies recently in South Australia of 2500 children found half of them repeatedly complained of pain episodes. Victorian studies concluded that 1 in 3 school children suffered back or upper neck pain, caused by heavy schoolbags.

Providing a good back pack to everyone is crucial, and educating on its proper use vital.

Here’s the physio’s guide to choosing a good back pack.

• Make sure it is appropriately sized for you. It should neither extend past your shoulders when sitting down with it, nor be wider than your chest.
• Be comparatively lightweight. Fully packed it shouldn’t weigh more than 10% of the your body weight.
• Be sturdy and reasonably water-resistant (or have a rain cover). The material should be firm to prevent sagging. The base should be abrasive-resistant and/or reinforced.
• Have a moulded frame and/or an adjustable hip or waist strap, so most of the weight rests on your hips and pelvis, not on your shoulders and spine. The waist/hip belt is particularly important to secure the load when walking, running or cycling.
• Have adjustable, broad, padded shoulder straps that help distribute the weight evenly across your shoulders and and don’t dig into you.
• Have a padded or quilted back for comfortable wear.
• Have compression straps at the sides to draw the load together and bring it close to your back. They’ll also help stabilise the contents of a partially filled pack.
• Have a sternum (chest) strap to help stabilise the load and prevent the straps slipping off the shoulders. It should sit about 10 cm down from the Adam’s apple.
• Have several pockets to help with even weight distribution and organisation inside. A drink bottle holder on the side keeps potential spillages outside the pack.

So, now that you have the right back pack, here’s how to use it properly.

• Backpacks are designed to carry a load safely — symmetrical, stable and close to the spine — but not if they’re worn casually slung over just one shoulder.
• Put it on safely. Try to lift it up by the loop with both hands and bent knees, facing the straps and pushing up with the legs. Place one strap over the shoulder, then the other, or put it on the edge of a desk and loop both arms through together.
• A backpack should be worn so the waist strap (or hip belt) sits firmly where intended.
• Shoulder straps should be adjusted so that you don’t have to lean forward and the base of the pack rests on their hips, not on the bum.
• Pack your back pack properly. Items shouldn’t be able to move around; the heaviest ones should be packed closest to your back to reduce stress on the spine, lighter items away from the spine.
• Pack only what you need to keep the weight down.

The Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA) endorse a back pack for children. Called the PhysioPak, it meets the standards of the APA. With multi-adjustment straps at the shoulders, waist and chest, and a moulded back that rests well and at the correct angle to the spine. See http://www.spartanss.com.au for further details.

For more information please contact us

Is relaxin as good as it sounds? 

A woman’s body completely transforms during pregnancy, growing and stretching all over in a very short time. Supporting the growing weight requires all sorts of internal reorganising, particularly in the lower back and pelvis. The pelvis eventually becomes elastic enough to allow a baby to pass right through the middle of it – all of this, and more, thanks to the hormone relaxin. 

Where does it come from?

Relaxin is produced by the sex organs in both men and women, just like many other hormones. Each gender uses it to do different things, but it gets its name from its role in reshaping a pregnant woman’s body. Relaxin production surges within a few days of conception, and the uterus, placenta and breasts start making it too. Its levels are the highest in both the first trimester and at delivery – we’ll soon see why! 

What does it do?

The increased relaxin directs the body to reconfigure its blood flow – the mother’s organs will be working for two, and there is a lot of plumbing involved! By encouraging a widening or a relaxing of specific blood vessels, the body can pump more blood to where it needs to go (your baby via the placenta, the uterus). From there, the relaxin begins to suffuse into the ligaments of the lower back and pelvis, making them far stretchier than before:

The pelvis widens, ready to support the large and sudden increase in abdominal mass. The relaxin continues doing this work, surging once again at delivery – this is, of course, when the ligaments need to be at their absolute stretchiest, giving the baby just enough wiggle and room to escape.

The most affected ligaments are highlighted in red, with the arrows indicating the direction of movement.

So, what’s the downside?

Ligaments are usually tight and strong in non-pregnant people, serving to distribute force and weight evenly up and down the body. When they become relaxed and flexible, your muscles have to tighten, working harder to compensate. For pregnant women, this can mean a lot of strain in the pelvis, buttocks and lower back that only gets worse as the baby gets bigger and the ligaments even softer. 

What kind of effects does this have?

If the pain is concentrated at the front, it could be what is called pubic symphisis pain (PSP). The ligament responsible is located where your two pubic bones join together – right in the middle, above your genitalia. When it widens, or when one side rises or falls relative to the other, it can become extremely painful and tender to the touch. It is most commonly felt when

• rolling in bed,
• getting in and out of the car,
• climbing stairs
• or when just walking.

If you experience such pain, usually offering compression or stability about the joint may assist reducing pain and improving every day function. Wearing a pelvic stability belt can help reduce stretching in the affected area, while pelvic compression shorts will help the body hold the two halves of your pelvis together. Developing core stability before and during pregnancy will better prepare your supporting musculature – we know that deep abdominal and pelvic floor muscles can offer support and structure about the joint. This preventative strengthening can mean less chance of pain and a reduction of any pain already in this area of the pelvis. This is a big aim of our pregnancy specific classes offered at The Fix Program.

If the pain is on either side of the tailbone, right where your dimples are, it is called sacroiliac joint pain (SIJ). The pelvic bone or ilium (as it usually effects only one side) can move out of good alignment with the tailbone, leaving you with pain in the lower back or down through your buttocks or upper thigh. These joints are usually responsible for smoothly transferring weight from one leg to the other, so the pain is most commonly experienced during activities that involve standing on one leg while lifting the other, including

• walking,
• standing up from sitting,
• rolling and standing up from bed,
• or even getting dressed.

Fortunately, the treatment for any of these symptoms is the same as for pubic symphisis pain. This will include wearing pelvic compression garments, pregnancy-specific core stability exercises and stretches, and hands-on physiotherapy treatment.

Do the effects last?

The good news is that your ligaments will likely return to normal once the relaxin returns to its normal levels and you are no longer weight-bearing for two. Of those that experience either type of pain during their pregnancy, four out of five women have their discomfort spontaneously resolve within three months after the birth. For the unlucky Ms. Five, there is a lot understood about the pain and many ways that the Fix physiotherapists can help you out!

Relaxin is an amazing part of the incredible transformation of pregnancy, playing an essential role in preparing a woman’s body for the task of sustaining and delivering a new life. These changes might be challenging or painful for your body, which is why the Fix team will be ready to help you before, during and after the arrival of your new baby.

Lost focus? 

Do you ever feel that your exercise really isn’t grabbing you? Are you bored with it? Not looking forward to the next session? Making excuses to avoid exercising altogether? We are all individuals and therefore the gym/running/getting sweaty is not for us all.

So we all know the well documented benefits of exercise. From heart and vascular health, to muscle strength, reduced pains, improved sleep patterns, and a happier mind. So why do the majority of us not find these reasons for exercise inherently motivating?

Perhaps some of these reasons sound like you? If you are struggling with a regular exercise routine and you acknowledge one of these reasons, make a change.

• Motivation is waning.

If you just don’t feel like exercising and the enjoyment is not there, you will never want to exercise. Convenience sometimes is not enough. Make the effort to find what’s right for you, and not everyone else.

• Clock watching

If you can’t get yourself finishing your workout quick enough, then the enjoyment is not there. Not only that, you are risking injury and perhaps not the best out of your workout, especially if you are using weights.

• Tired all of the time

Regular exercise should give you more energy, not less. Perhaps you are pushing yourself too hard, or it is just not the right exercise for your physical and mental wellbeing.

• I’m bored

Just because your friends are loving the gym, or their yoga DVD or Pilates class, doesn’t mean you will. Getting that endorphin rush after exercise is different for us all. Perhaps it’s dance classes, BMX riding, bush walking or skate boarding with friends. This all counts as exercise and the benefits will be the same.

• Exercise is always the same

Perhaps you have been doing the same workout for as long as you can remember. Like anything, routines can become stale. Interest and motivation are sure to decrease and time is wasted as the benefits of your exercise are also decreased.

So if you are dreaming of bacon when you are exercising, perhaps your focus has been lost.

Pop on your thinking caps, find a new exercise and keep your body on your toes.