Nikki Pagonis knew she hurt her back when she leaned over a counter at work and twisted it a little.
“I felt immediate discomfort,’’ the 39-year-old dental hygienist said. “Three days later, I was bedridden with terrible back spasms.’’

She’s slowly recovering with a combination of chiropractic treatments, medication, and icing down her lower back to reduce swelling in the disc.

She believes the most recent bout of back pain is related to a back injury she suffered two years ago when she lifted a heavy bag of mulch.

Back pain, not to be confused with a sore back from doing too much yard work, is a common complaint. According to the Mayo Clinic it’s becoming an epidemic affecting between 15 and 20 of every 100 American adults.
A lack of exercise, too much sitting and poor diets and even genetics are to blame, said Dr. Ken Williams, with Baybridge Chiropractic Clinic in Gulf Breeze.

“A lot of the problem is genetics and environmental,’’ he said. “Poor food weakens our body and causes the discs to dehydrate and breakdown.’’

“Because of technology we are more stationary and sit more,’’ he said. “Sitting develops more stress on the spinal column.’’

Just as many men as women suffer from back problems. “Women are more apt to be treated and respond better than men, because they are more apt to get treated and do what they need to get over it,’’ he said. 

Anytime you have chronic back problems you should have a medical professional evaluate your problem. Massage, acupuncture or spinal manipulation by a chiropractor helps some people. In other cases, a combination of medication and physical therapy helps, and sometimes surgery is necessary. 

But to prevent that aching back, Williams offers these tips:

-  If your back problem is due to muscular imbalance, do core-strengthening exercises or exercises that strengthen your back and abdominal muscles.

-  If you have arthritis or an injury, such as a herniated disc, some exercises will only aggravate the problem. So make sure you discuss with your doctor what’s best for you.

- If you sit at a desk all day, take periodic breaks to do the McKenzie exercise. To do the exercise, stay seated, reach down and put your hands on floor and stretch your lower back. Then stand up and bend backwards.  This will decrease the inner-discal pressure in the spine.

- Walking is excellent for any type of back problem.

- Work out with weights or light weights at least 15 to 20 minutes a day.

- If weight training is not your thing, consider this: You have 626 muscles in your body. If you move every joint in every way a joint will go, every day, you will strengthen your muscles. Yoga and Tai chi are great for this type of movement exercise, or you just get more active in whatever movement exercise you enjoy. 

- Reduce or eliminate sugar and alcohol from your diet. Too much acid-forming foods cause dehydration of the discs.
- If you sit a lot and have a lot of problems going from sitting to standing, putting ice on your back for about 20 minutes helps 85 to 90 percent of the times.