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The Holistic Mystic: |
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Go Hang Yourself
by Lonny Brown, HHc.
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Eighty percent of the population suffers from lower back aches, but few are aware of the single best treatment, traction. Standard prescriptions for acute spinal pain include muscle relaxants, pain medications, bed rest, physical therapy, and - as a last resort - surgery. None of these are very reliable, as evidenced by the consistently high national medical and lost-labor costs associated with back pain.
The development of Chiropractic over the past 50 years was a direct response to the prevalence of spinal injuries; so common as to be half-jokingly blamed on our pre-human ancestors' experiments with bipedalism. An early poster child for "alternative medicine," Chiropractic is now the preferred treatment for lower back pain, and its first technique is gentle, manual traction. This invariably brings immediate relief from muscle spasms and pinched nerves. Yet - the value of professional intervention notwithstanding - few back pain sufferers realize that they may very well get the same improvements at home, plus prevent future crippling bouts of back pain, with simple, safe self-suspension maneuvers.
I know something about acute back pain. A congenital defect, compounded by childhood accidents and a high-school football injury, left me prone to periodic breakdowns into midlife. Once, the pain was so excruciating that I begged an orthopedic surgeon to cut me open. He said wait, and that's when I became seriously committed to spinal care, hands-on bodywork, therapeutic yoga, and daily traction. I even built a home-made stretching device from old ski books spring-mounted to a wall. Nowadays I am completely pain-free and fully functional, thanks to a back-care routine that includes hanging upside down from an overhead bar several times a day. It's quite refreshing, and great for the internal organs too. In yoga, inversions are known for their rejuvenating powers. Vertical suspension improves on the traditional headstand by eliminating all compression.
It makes perfect mechanical sense that everyday gravitational pressures on the vertebrae, discs and nerves of the spine can be alleviated with traction or suspension. Inversion tables and back swings are good solutions. Most people who try them like the experience, and you don't have to hang all the way upside-down to experience relief.
In fact you don't need any special apparatus at all to practice self-traction. Try this:
Stand facing a sturdy table or counter that is waist high. With hands palm down on the surface, slowly transfer your weight to your arms and over the table. Straightening the elbows, push yourself up almost off the floor, allowing your legs and lower body to dangle heavily. Even without severe pain, most people feel the relief this passive lower-body stretch brings.
Alternatively, you could drape your body forward and hang passively over a couch arm or large physio-ball. Or just lie down on your back and have two people slowly pull your legs and arms in opposite directions. As with all applications of home therapy, be very gradual when "opening" the spine. Slowly release your muscle tension to the counter-stretch only so long as it feels good to do so. Listen to your body and it will tell you what it wants and what's safe for you.
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Lonny Brown,
HHC.
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Lonny J. Brown, HHC is the author of "Self-Actuated Healing" (Naturegraph, Publ.), and "Enlightenment In Our Time," (BookLocker.com/
LonnyBrown).
His writings on holistic health have appeared on AOL's Alternative Medicine Forum and in Alternative Health Practitioner, Yoga Journal, and many other progressive publications.
Lonny Brown teaches holistic health, mind/body healing, and stress reduction courses at hospitals, schools and businesses throughout the US. His Web site also features essays, tapes, books, and links to a variety of integrative health sources.
holistic.com/lonny
lonny@holistic.com
lonnybrown@aol.com
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