Women with Back Pain… The Silent Majority? Part 1
As humans, we tend to find that our spines endure heavier loads than most of our four legged friends. This extra burden means that we experience degeneration in our discs earlier in life in comparison to other animals. Moreover, most of us also have a leg that’s slightly shorter than the other meaning our pelvis is constantly under pressure. But it’s women who tend to suffer the most, and we see many more women with back pain at our Lacey chiropractic office than men.
Why is this?
Primarily, women have a wider pelvis for child bearing reasons. This means they have what’s known as a greater Q angle than men. Simply put, the greater this Q angle, the less table the pelvis is. A good analogy is to imagine a card table with the legs folded in and it becomes unsteady. This puts pressure on the back to counter the instability.
A second factor with women with back pain is of course their anatomy. And this is particularly prevalent in women with larger breast sizes as this puts pressure on the mid back as well as the neck and lower back. A high quality support bra can really help with this, or to the extreme, breast reduction surgery can also be an option.
Another factor is the woman’s physiology, a woman experiences many varying levels of hormones and the like throughout her life, which has a significant impact on her physical structure. For example, during adolescence, growth spurts are commom and idiopathic scoliosis or spine curvature are prone to occur. Treatment can be in the form of wait and watch to see what happens, or manual therapies may be applied to correct posture, such as heel lifts for a short leg, head exercises for forward head carriage and even back bracing in more extreme circumstances.
Dr David Warwick, your Lacey chiropractor is well versed in women with back pain and has helped many to relieve their pain. You can contact him on 360 951 4504 for more information or to schedule an appointment.
David M. Warwick, D.C.
Warwick Chiropractic, PLLC
8650 Martin Way E Ste 207
Lacey WA 98516
360-951-4504
drdavidwarwick@comcast.net
DrDavidWarwickBlog.com
DavidWarwickDC.com
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