Frankfort Regional Medical Center

Be Good to Your Back Maintaining good back health can be as simple as making a few lifestyle changes. Treat your back well—it will help you feel much better overall. "Pay attention to your spine," says Mark Myers, MD, orthopedic- spine surgeon with Frankfort Regional Medical Center. "If you hurt yourself, make sure you get it taken care of, but even better, work on keeping it healthy in the first place." Maintain strong bones by ensuring you get enough calcium and vitamin D, and exercise often to keep the muscles around your spine strong. Posture is key. Stand up straight, both when you're just standing around talking to friends as well as when you're lifting anything heavy. If you sleep on your back, put a pillow or two under your knees to reduce pressure. Lying on your side can also help. Quit smoking! The nicotine in cigarettes reduces blood flow to the discs that cushion the vertebrae in your back. Whether you have a chronic condition such as arthritis or degenerative spine problems, Frankfort Regional Medical Center's first-class spine care team is here to help you. Taking care of everything between the skull and the pelvis, Frankfort Regional provides both preventive care as well as a wide variety of spinal procedures. "We can handle essentially any kind of back pain our patients experience," says Mark Myers, MD, orthopedic-spine surgeon with Frankfort Regional. "Often, people will come in with muscle strains or disc degeneration; however, we have seen fractures in women with osteoporosis who have broken their backs doing something as simple as lifting a box of tissues." Once Dr. Myers determines the cause of a patient's pain, he prefers to try methods of treatment such as physical therapy to improve strength and flexibility, chiropractic care, anti-inflammatory medications or muscle relaxers. For patients with chronic pain, he often tries bracing or even cortisone injections. Surgery, for Dr. Myers, is usually the last option. PREVENTION, PREVENTION, PREVENTION "Staying in shape goes a long way toward preventing back pain," says Dr. Myers. "Keeping your weight under control and having a regular, low-impact exercise regimen does more good than anything else in the long run." Dr. Myers also suggests using proper lifting mechanics: keeping the back straight and bending the knees when lifting anything. Something he sees often is older adults who are stubborn about cutting out activities that put too much stress on their backs. "I often see patients in their 70s who have hurt their backs doing something like shingling a roof or cutting down a tree, and those actions can easily lead to injuries," Dr. Myers says. "Fortunately, no matter what the cause, our spine care team at Frankfort Regional has gone out of its way to ensure we can provide a full spectrum of spine care." Â To schedule an appointment with Dr. Myers, call Consult-A-Nurse at 502-226-1655 or 877-376-2631. the Boot Mark Myers, MD, Orthopedic-Spine Surgeon Pain in your back doesn't have to be a pain in your neck. Giv Bac Pai 6 FrankfortRegional.com

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