The Benefits of Wearing a Back Brace

There are some pretty grim statistics regarding back pain:

• It is the #1 cause of disability worldwide
• 80% of Americans will experience back pain at some point in life

If you are one of those 80%, you know first-hand how back pain can not only interfere with your day-to-day activities, it can affect your sleep, keep you home from work, and definitely prevent you from staying active. We are proud to announce that we are now a Medicare accredited clinic for braces. This includes but is not limited to back, knee, neck and elbow braces.

We often use braces as a part of conservative therapeutic management for a variety of conditions. For back braces, this includes an acute sprain or strain, bulging or herniated disk, instability, arthritis, spinal stenosis or degenerative disc disease.

The benefits of wearing a back brace include:

• Immobilization: If you have had a back injury or surgery, sometimes we need to immobilize your back to ensure proper healing. The brace prevents any unnecessary movement, preventing additional back pain and further injuries.
  
• Pain relief: This is the main reason why people seek out a back brace. Back braces offer compression support in the affected area.
  
• Improve posture: Back braces apply pressure the torso to hold the spine in an upright posture and shift weight from the spinal column to the abdomen
  
• Support: Provides support to take pressure off weakened or injured spinal structures, including the muscles, joints, discs, and nerves.

If you think you or someone you know would benefit from a brace, call our office today to set up a time to be evaluated by Karin, our Nurse Practitioner, or Dr. Welling.