Back Pain Gets Worse During Dog Days of Summer

Many patients with arthritis could tell you, the pain can be better or worse depending on the weather. Scientists have studied these effects, and there is nothing conclusive to say a warmer, or colder, temperature could actually make back pain worse, but patients have reported the temperature, humidity or pressure levels make a difference.

Managing back pain during the summer

If your back pain is worse in the summer, there are a couple ways to manage the pain.

• Managing Back Pain This Summer
• Stay inside with the air-conditioning on. If you have be outside, take frequent breaks and stay hydrated.
• Use ice-packs on the painful area, to keep the pressure and inflammation down.

Even people without chronic back pain issues, can find themselves with some sore spots during the hot months. Common seasonal activities can make back pain worse in the summer months. It’s a time for traveling and the summer fun can make the days longer and make you more tired as you try to keep up. The lack of sleep and the toll it takes on your body, added to the increased temperature can make back pain worse in the summer.

Summer activities can strain your back

What is one of the first things we think of when we talk about summer? Vacation! The kids are off school, and many families use the time to make their trips to amusement parks, beaches, or other destinations, without thinking about some of the consequences. Let’s talk about them now.

Travel time can irritate back pain

Whether you drive or fly to your vacation spot, sitting in that seat can cause a strain on your back. Anyone sitting coach on a cheap flight for hours could tell you that. For most people traveling for long hours, you may adjust your position through the trip, but bad posture can only make back pain worse during your summer vacations. Your luggage is another risk. If you overpack a suitcase, or get a little too confident in yourself lifting a big suitcase out of the trunk of your car, or through security checks at the airport, you could find yourself with a herniated disc.

WATCH: AVALA Spine patient, Colleen Toye, talks about her struggles with back pain after she suffered a herniated disc lifting a heavy suitcase while on vacation.

A changing sleep pattern can worsen back pain in the summer

You may not have the energy to think about your posture if you are exhausted. During the summer, your sleep pattern can change. School is out, and activities are in full-swing which could mean later nights, and possibly earlier mornings. If you head to the beach for a week, and find the hotel has a hard or old mattress on the bed, that will irritate your back pain even more.

Enjoying a destination can spell disaster for your back

Where are you traveling this summer? A lot of people will say Walt Disney World, or another amusement park or water park. But the loop of a water slide or a sudden stop on a roller coaster could cause a herniated disc, or a cervical pinched nerve, also known as cervical radiculopathy. The hours of walking and standing in line, can also add to your back pain.

Treatment options

If the summer fun is leaving you a little banged up, an over the counter pain medication and some back and neck stretches could help. Chiropractic and Physical therapy services may be able to help ease your pain without having to go through a surgery. If everything else fails AVALA Spine provides minimally invasive surgical procedures designed to treat your neck and back pain with only a one-inch incision. Relief can be immediate with less recovery time than other kinds of procedures. If you think surgery could be the best option for you, contact us to make an appointment.

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