It’s the Spring Festival, don’t let back pain bother you

It’s the Spring Festival, don’t let back pain bother you

Chief Physician of Massage and Physiotherapy Department, Oriental Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine: Guo Sheng, Attending Physician: Ji Wei

During the long holidays, Doudizhu and Mahjong tables have become the must-go places for many families and friends to gather. Card games and entertainment, laughter, who would have thought that behind the excitement of winning and losing, there is an uninvited "player" - back pain, who has also quietly participated in the game? Don't let your health become a victim of your entertainment. Today, let us learn how to protect our "waist shield" during entertainment.

Traditional Chinese medicine talks about "the five kinds of labor that cause harm": looking for a long time hurts the blood, and sitting for a long time hurts the flesh. On the one hand, it will directly cause the circulation of qi, blood and body fluids in the human body to stagnate, and the limbs and muscles will lose their nourishment; on the other hand, it will affect the spleen and stomach, making people lose their appetite, and the qi, blood and body fluids will have no source of energy, thus causing the limbs and muscles to lose their nourishment, resulting in muscle emaciation, atrophy, and muscle weakness. Lumbar pain breaks into the game, how can it be described with just one word "pain"? Sitting for a long time makes the lumbar intervertebral disc like the last straw that breaks the camel's back, and it begins to protest - pain. Pain is a distress signal from the lumbar spine, reminding us: it's time to adjust your posture and get up and move around.

Good cards, better health! No matter how good your card skills are, you will lose a game if you have back pain. So how can you give your lumbar spine a "protective shield" while enjoying the game?

(1) Change your posture: adjust the height of the chair, try to keep your feet flat on the ground, and your knees and hips at right angles; keep your back close to the back of the chair and maintain a natural S-shaped spine.

(2) Dealing cards: Dealing cards for others not only takes care of others, but also allows you to get up and move around, stretch, and let your waist take a breath;

(3) Head-up stretch: Lift your head, cross your arms and stretch them backwards to help stretch your back muscles. The most important thing is to remind your family and friends to get up and rest regularly, drink some water, go to the bathroom, and relax your tense waist.

Unlocking the "deadlock" of the card game - the secrets of health acupuncture points. You would never have thought that our human body also has a few "secret cards", that is, the key acupuncture points of the human body. Let me tell you a few acupuncture points to relieve "waist pain":

(1) Mingmen acupoint: Located on the waist, about 1.5 inches below the spinous process of the second lumbar vertebra. Rub this point with the base of your palm, just like charging the lumbar spine, improving blood circulation in the waist.

(2) Shenshu point: Located close to Mingmen point, gently massaging this point can help relieve back pain;

(3) Yanglingquan Point: It is located on the outside of the leg, between the lower edge of the patella and the bone edge of the tibia. It can relieve pressure on the waist.

On the other hand, a thermos cup and a pot of tea are standard for middle-aged people when playing cards, but lumbar spine health care also has its own exclusive tea. You can make some homemade herbal teas containing mistletoe, knotweed, chuanxiong, and wolfberry, which help strengthen muscles and bones, and promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis. This allows you to enjoy a cup of "waist-enhancing" tea while shuffling and drawing cards.

Besides having fun, we should also pay attention to waist health. Here are some tips for waist protection:

(1) Be careful not to be lazy. A chair that is too soft can easily trap you. Replace it with a supportive cushion to give your lumbar spine a solid support.

(2) Move carefully and don’t let your waist be stressed out: When standing up or sitting down, avoid exerting excessive force on your waist. Move slowly and don’t let your lumbar spine bear unnecessary pressure.

As the last card is dealt, whether you win easily or lose regretfully, I hope your lumbar spine will always remain in the position of a winner. Let us not forget our health while having fun, and at the same time protect our "trump card" - a healthy body. When you play again in the next game, you will have no back pain and endless fun!