According to Statistics Canada, back problems are one of the most common chronic conditions in Canada—low back pain especially.
Back pain can range in severity from mild to severe and can be a dull ache or a shooting or stabbing pain. When bad enough, it can impact your ability to perform even simple daily tasks.
It’s often accompanied by other symptoms, which can include:
- Pain that radiates down your leg
- Numbness in tingling in a leg or foot
- Pain that worsens when you bend, walk, or lift
- Depression when back pain is chronic or limits mobility
Causes of Back Pain
Aging is one of the most common causes of back pain. Over time, everyday wear and tear causes the discs between your vertebrae to become thinner and more brittle. This leads to common back conditions, including:
- Osteoarthritis, which results from the breakdown of the disc and cartridge in the joints
- Spinal stenosis, which is a narrowing of the spinal cord
- Spondylolisthesis, in which one vertebra slips forward onto another
- Bulging or ruptured disks
Physical inactivity and osteoporosis are also common causes of back pain in seniors.
Activities to Avoid That a Caregiver Can Help With
Acute back pain can last from days to weeks and can sometimes become chronic, lasting months or even years. Depending on your age and overall health, you may be required to avoid certain activities for some time while your back heals.
Depending on how severe your pain, you may need to avoid activities such as:
- Lifting
- Sitting for long periods
- Raising your arms or reaching
- Bending over
- Walking
- Driving
As you can see, back pain and recovery can be quite limiting and make it difficult—if not impossible—to perform a number of daily tasks. This can make life challenging for you and your loved ones.
Our in-home caregivers are able to help with these tasks and do the things you’re not able to while you’re recovering from back pain. They can be there to help day or night, and offer home health care services, depending on your needs.
Some of the things they can help you with include:
- Personal care, such as dressing and bathing
- Grocery shopping and errands
- Transportation to and from medical appointments
- Medication administration
- Meal preparation
- Housekeeping
If your doctor has recommended walking to help loosen stiff muscles and joints, our caregivers can also provide companionship and accompany you on walks and outings so that you can remain mobile.
If back pain is interfering with your ability to carry out certain activities and you’d like to know more about our in-home care services, give us a call.
David Porter, CPCA
Director
Living Assistance Services – Senior Home Care
Article Resources
Degenerative Back Conditions. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/16912-degenerative-back-conditions?_ga=2.128921988.947820902.1543350927-1001412253.1542995090
Osteoarthritis. https://arthritis.ca/about-arthritis/arthritis-types-(a-z)/types/osteoarthritis