By Lee Sung-hun
Some of the readers who have experienced back pains may have been told that they had a ‘flat back’ when viewed with an x-ray. Human spine when looked from sideways has a c-shape curve that rounds in at the belly. However, some patients display almost a straight spine without the normal c-shape curvature, and this is called a ‘flat back.’ It is also commonly referred to as weak or unstable spine, and it can cause chronic back pains and in severe cases, a herniated lumbar discs.
People with bad postures are more prone to a flat back. Sitting in a bent-over pose all day long, slouching the back when seated, reading a book while prostrating over the desk, and sitting at the edge of a chair in a laid-back position would be such examples that can cause a flat back.
The lumbar vertebrae support our upper body. With a normal curvature of the lumbar vertebrae, the weight of the upper body is evenly distributed betweenfront and back, allowing balanced load on the spine for a stable support. However, with a flat back, the weight is not distributed, and causes the weight to press abnormally downwards. In such cases, numbers 4 & 5 vertebrae are under heavier pressure than normal. As a result, the back is less able to absorb external shocks, and tension in the surrounding muscles and tendontissues increase to cause pain. The degeneration of backbones may be accelerated, and the pressure can cause the spinal disc herniation.
A flat back can be self-diagnosed with a simple test. Stand against a wall and push the hand in the hollow of your back. If you cannot push in your hand easily, chances are likely that you have a flat back. If you suspect that you have a flat back, acknowledge the fact that your back is weaker that other people’s, and if any pain presents, seek out medical advice immediately. If you do not currently feel pain, it is still advised that you continuously exercise your back muscles to strengthen them. Walking and swimming are good ways to achieve that.
To treat the root cause of a flat back, one may think that restoring the curvature in the spine would be the best, but it is not quite that simple to change the spinal curvature. Therefore, the initial treatment is to minimize and eliminate the pain, and then through exercise and therapy, muscles are strengthened to prevent lumbar kyphosis. Lumbar kyphosis is when the flat back condition worsens to the state where the curvature is in reverse, which can cause chronic back pain and is a lot more difficult to treat.
In oriental medicine, acupuncture and Chuna-chiropractic treatments are effective treatments torelax the muscles in the back, and herbal remedies are simultaneously used to strengthen the muscles and the tendons.
As previously mentioned, people who sit bent-over their desk all day long are prone to flat backs. It means that it can also easily prevented by maintaining a correct posture while sitting. Many of my patients are accustomed to sitting at their desk all day long for work or study. One thing I emphasize is that they should push the hips as far back as they can in the chair, and make sure that the back is supported by the back of the chair. People with bad postures generally have about half of their hips on the chair with the spine slouching backwards or completely forward to negate the support.
Preferably, the chair seat should be large enough so that when the hips are pushed all the way back, there is about 10cm of space between the back of the knees and the edge of the seat.Knees should at approximately the right angle, and the back of the chair high enough to support the entire back of your body, or even better, back and neck. Maintaining such a posture can dramatically decrease the load on your lumbar area.
For those of you who use computers for an extended period of time, it is recommended that you use a full size-desktop instead of a notebook, and the monitor is at the eye level. If a notebook is used, using a separate keyboard to adjust the height of the monitor can help.
Causes for back pains can be anything from bad postures to stress, exhaustion, or even indigestion, but most of the back pains I consult on are results of bad postures. Back pains can be prevented with good posture, and I hope all of the readers a back pain-less week with a good posture.
The writer practices KOM at UN Oriental Medical Clinic in Seoul.