Predictable and unpredictable factors can exacerbate back problems during summer vacation.
Reports of an increase in back pain cases during the summer months are common. Heat, humidity, sudden increase in sports activity, as well as physical inactivity, change in eating habits, as well as dehydration are factors that can cause back pain.
While some cannot be replaced, others can be replaced and replacing them can reduce the risk of pain in this painful area of the spine.
“Summer is the time when we change our habits. We exercise outdoors, go on trips, enjoy beach games, go to concerts, enjoy socializing with friends, often deviate from our diet plan, often consume more alcohol and smoke more cigarettes.” dr Konstantinos Starantzis Spine Surgeon, Director of Spine and Scoliosis Department at Athens Medical Center and Scientific Director and Head of Spine Department at Osteon Orthopedic and Spine Clinic.
He also adds that unfortunately, despite the mental euphoria they offer, these activities pose a risk to many people with spinal problems, and particularly low back problems.
“Climatic conditions, such as changes in humidity level and changes in atmospheric pressure that expand blood vessels in the body, and stimulation of nerve endings in areas with pathology, play a role in the flare-up of back pain in summer. However, there are practices that minimize the chance of pain without sacrificing pleasure.” notes.
Trips
Getting away for a few days or more to your favorite destinations is one of the first summer plans. However, the distance to be covered often requires long hours of driving or staying in a car or plane.
Long road and air travel puts stress on the spine due to long periods of inactivity, which can relax muscles and put pressure on the spinal discs.
Insecurely carrying luggage also causes pain, especially if you have a herniated disc, spinal stenosis, or other condition.
Fortunately, there are ways to prevent travel pain. Allowing more time for regular postures to activate the muscles can prevent back pain incidents.
A typical recommendation is a 15-minute break every two hours. On long-haul flights, passengers regularly have to stand up and walk around the aisle for a while. It is also recommended to use a pillow to support your back during the journey.
Beach, sports and entertainment
Longer days and warmer weather favor beach lounging, swimming, sports and outdoor fun. But each of these carries risks for the back.
Long hours of lounging on a sunbed, or worse, on a mattress on uneven ground, can put a lot of pressure on the vertebrae and cause back pain. And in this case, recommendations for regular rest and activity shifts, such as swimming or walking on the beach or exercise, apply.
Any sport or game at sea can damage the spine. Preparation is required to avoid this possibility.
Those who don’t exercise year-round should start a muscle-building program long before they try to play soccer, beach volleyball, racquetball, or water slides, or whatever they love.
Warming up before every game or sport is especially important.
Watching concerts and sporting events is one of the most popular options during the summer. However, even when sitting, those with problems with their spine may feel pain, and this is because the seats in these areas do not support it.
The rule of avoiding immobility and using a pillow also applies to them.
Gardening
Gardening is a mental need for some and a necessity for others. Vacations in the country house require his care, which for many is done with intensive effort in a minimum of time. In fact, gardening is a form of exercise and requires good physical condition and strong back muscles. Otherwise, tasks such as digging (eg for weeding) can cause injuries and severe back pain.
Warming up, as well as rest and hydration intervals, minimize the risk.
to sleep
In the summer, the desire for more free time and adventures, to have fun, meet friends or just enjoy the starry sky, often takes hours away from sleep. A lack of spinal rest, a bad mattress (a common problem with positioning), and poor sleeping posture are causes of back pain.
The quality and quantity of sleep limits the chance that pain will occur or worsen.
Nutrition, hydration of alcohol
Junk food has a right these days. Eating hot ice cream, cookies for a trip, cheese pies for breakfast, and pizza with friends in the evening are habits that have a great impact on back pain. The reason is that they increase the likelihood of inflammation and flare-up of pain.
A proper diet of fruits, vegetables and lean proteins can prevent this.
Dehydration is also a danger. Both high temperatures, which cause sweating, and increased consumption of alcohol, which is a diuretic in summer, deprive the body of the amount of water it needs to maintain the health of the spinal discs.
Drinking plenty of water and natural juices (1 glass every two hours) prevents dehydration.
To smoke
Smoking is a bad habit for the whole body, and therefore for the spine. It indirectly contributes to the development of degenerative problems of the back, because the atherosclerosis it causes reduces the flow of blood and nutrients to its intervertebral discs and joints, contributing to the development of chronic pain there.
Therefore, a relaxed mood should not lead to an increase in the number of cigarettes, but rather to the cessation of smoking.
“For the vast majority of people, back pain can be relieved with simple pain relievers and stretching, but for others, acute back pain and chronic back and spine pain do not go away easily and can ruin many fun experiences.
There are non-surgical methods for them, such as intrathecal, perineural and epidural injections, which can reduce the inflammation of irritated spinal nerves and relieve back pain and sciatica. However, there is a limit to the number of injections allowed per year.
Those who need more than can be provided by infusions should consider surgical treatment of the underlying condition, which provides definitive and permanent pain relief.” Dr. Starantzis concludes.