Christmas and back pain: here’s why

In these festive days we face a problem that we do not usually dwell on, because we do not usually associate back pain with the long, opulent Christmas dinner parties. But in fact we may end up with a nagging back pain precisely because we have eaten too much and sat for too many hours in positions that are not perfectly comfortable. But let’s take a closer look at how these festivities affect the health of our backs (specifically, in addition to undefined back pain, we are talking about witch bumps and lower back pain).

Let’s see how back pain is generated

Let’s start by better defining the main topic: back pain. We are talking about a pathology linked to various factors that can affect not only the physical sphere, but also have repercussions (and genesis) in the psychological and social spheres. Back pain is a very widespread pathology. Suffice it to say that around 15 million people in Italy suffer from it and a high percentage of these (around 2 million people) suffer chronically. Obviously an incorrect posture is the main cause, but there are also other situations to take into account.

After all, back pain is very rarely related to bone problems. More often the pain is related to difficulties in the functioning of a related back component, so we are talking more specifically about muscular or ligament-related problems or again problems related to the invertebral discs. As with other symptoms, back pain is an alarm bell, telling us that something is wrong with the spinal column. This is why it should never be overlooked.

Big binges are bad for our backs

Christmas (and New Year’s) Eve lunches and dinners force us to sit for many hours in non-optimal positions. And already this does not help our backs. But overeating also creates problems. Big binges (we know, some people can’t control themselves, right?) create an imbalance within our bodies, something completely unexpected for our bodies. What specifically are we talking about? Well, first of all, we may experience an inflammatory state of the intestine. Of course we are talking about temporary occurrences, in most cases, but it affects the organs and the adjacent musculature in a negative way. One of the first consequences of an inflamed intestine is that inflammation can also be transmitted to the ileum psoas (the most powerful hip flexor muscle). The muscle contracts and irritates – by contact – the lumbar vertebrae. The consequence is annoying compression and subsequent pain.

Obviously in this case we are talking about problems mainly related to occasions when we overeat. But it is right to remember that many back pains arise precisely from digestive diseases (constipation, colitis, gastritis…).

How to avoid the problem?

Obviously there is no way that can ‘save’ you from family dinners, but we can certainly work a little on prevention, starting with a correct daily diet. During long dinners, what we can suggest is to try to work on posture, perhaps avoiding sitting too many hours at the table. A little movement can certainly help. Of course back pain can occur even after all our precautions, so in this case the advice is always to consult a specialist who can perhaps help you with specific suggestions (stretching of the ileo psoas muscle, for example) that can rebalance your body.

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