Back pain treatments without medicines, surgery

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I have heard of many people with severe back pain, and the diagnosis has been that the padding between the vertebrae is worn thin. Are there any steps one can take to prevent this wearing down?

I am 76 and have been diagnosed with spinal stenosis. I can sit and walk, but standing around is a problem. Does this usually get worse? Are there things I can do to stop its progress? — E.M.

ANSWER: The padding between vertebrae (backbones) is the intervertebral disks, tough wedges of cartilage that act as shock absorbers, cushioning the vertebrae from all the stress and strains that backs endure. There’s not much to do about preventing the age-related shrinkage that these disks suffer, but you can minimize disk damage in a number of ways. Don’t bend your back to lift objects; bend your knees.

An old treatment for back pain is seeing a resurgence of interest. It’s the Alexander technique. Mr. Alexander observed that, as people go through life, they develop bad posture. He reasoned that correcting these postural defects would relieve back stress and back pain. It sounds reasonable to me. I can’t produce all the points here, but I can refer you to an Internet site for information. It is www.alexandertech.org. I know many do not have a computer, but everyone knows someone who has one. Or local libraries usually have computers, and the staff can get you to the proper Web site.

Hot packs or cold packs relax back muscles and lessen back pain. Which is better? That’s something you have to find out through trial. Massage is another way to get kinks out of sore back muscles. Sleeping on either the right or left side with a pillow between the knees is a good way to rest the back.

Exercises like walking, yoga and swimming keep back muscles strong and limber, and they go a long way in alleviating back pain. Spinal stenosis, a common back problem, doesn’t inevitably get worse.

The booklet on back pain gives you the common causes of it and their standard treatments. Readers can order a copy by writing: Dr. Donohue — No. 303, Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Enclose a check or money order (no cash) for $4.75 U.S./$6 Can. with the recipient’s printed name and address. Please allow four weeks for delivery.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: A recent column of yours has me confused. Will you please explain what happens when you take more than 500 mg of calcium at one time? You state that more than 500 mg overwhelms the body’s absorption capability. Does that mean you get no benefit from the calcium, or do you get no benefit from the amount over 500 mg?

My calcium tablet has 600 mg. I have milk with my breakfast cereal, and my wife has calcium-fortified orange juice. Are we getting too much calcium? — C.J.

ANSWER: The body absorbs only 500 mg of calcium at one time. If a calcium tablet has more than 500 mg, the amount over the 500 mg limit is excreted.

Don’t work yourself into a dither about this. Body functions don’t have the precision you might think. When your body reaches around the 500 mg total of calcium at one time, absorption slows until the load on the intestine falls. Then another 500 mg can be handled. The extra isn’t going to hurt you.

You can go on having milk and fortified orange juice. Like I say, the body is not so finely tuned as I made it out to be. Yours might be absorbing every last fraction of the calcium. If it isn’t, no harm is done.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Would you address the colon-cleanse issue? The good, the bad and any side effects. It seems to be a hot topic among many people, specifically retirees. — C.S.

ANSWER: My opinion is that the colon knows how to cleanse itself. That’s my opinion. You can listen to others, but I stand firm on this issue. I don’t believe there are any good effects from cleansing. I’m not sure there are any seriously bad effects.

Much of this fixation on colon cleansing harkens to an era when little was known about the digestive tract and how it functions.

Dr. Donohue regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newsletters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Readers may also order health newsletters from www.rbmamall.com.