Who's Got Your Back?
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1 2 3 4 Nutrition Operations AdministrationOperations, Communications & EmployeeProfessional Health, Marketing Safety & Wellness 3450 » to your credit Making the grade in your profession By Beth Roessner Who’s Got Your Back? » Human backs are incredible structures designed to support our everyday tasks. Here’s how to keep yours healthy. Composed of muscles, ligaments, tendons, disks and bones, the human back is a complex structure that is essential in supporting the body and enabling everyday movements. But because it is composed of so many intricate parts, the back is susceptible to aches and pains of varying intensity. Thankfully, most back pain is short-term, but the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke estimates that nearly 80% of adults suffer from low back pain at some point in their lifetimes. In fact, after headaches, back pain Earn 1 CEUC is the second most common neurological ailment in the United States. in the designated Because back pain is so prevalent, back back health can be something easily neglect- Key area maintenance is paramount. That means eating a ed. After all, the work environment—frequent and Key vitamin-rich diet, practicing proper lifting tech- standing, continual lifting, bending over work Topic Code niques, performing strengthening and stretching surfaces, carrying heavy and awkward items—is noted above exercises and chatting with your doctor about not particularly conducive to keeping someone overall health. For foodservice workers, however, injury-free. Plus, these daily tasks take a toll by www.schoolnutrition.org | SN | 157 the vertebrae in place and attach mus- PUT YOUR BACK INTO IT: LIFTING 101 cles to the spinal column. There are three major spinal ligaments (the liga- mentum flavum, anterior longitudinal ligament and posterior longitudinal lig- ament), which are strong, fibrous bands that help prevent excessive movement of the vertebral bones. The two main muscle groups that affect the spine are the flexors and ex- tensors. Flexor muscles are in the front of the body and include the abdominal muscles. Thanks to these muscles, we are able to flex, bend forward and control the arch of our lower back. The extensor muscles, which are attached to the back of the spine, allow us to stand and lift objects. The spinal cord itself is incredibly intricate and vital for human life. With- The advice is 100% true: Lift with your knees and not your back. Whether you’re out a spinal cord, you wouldn’t be able lifting a box of heavy, frozen beef patties or jugs of cleaner, exercising proper lifting to move any part of your body, and techniques can ensure you keep your back pain- and injury-free. your organs would cease functioning. » Place your feet about shoulder-width apart to create a wide base of support. It’s hard to believe that an 18-in.-long » Squat down bending at the hips and knees only. If you need extra support, put cord that is no wider than your thumb one knee on the floor and the other knee in front of you, bent at a right angle. is that important. Consider it the » Grasp the item firmly with both hands. “information super-highway” that relays » Practice good posture by staring straight ahead. Keep your back straight, chest messages between the brain and body. out and shoulders down. The brain sends motor messages to the » Lift yourself upward slowly by straightening your hips and knees—not your back. limbs and the rest of the body, which Do not twist your back as you lift—keep it straight. enables movement, while the limbs » Hold the load close to your body, at about the level of your belly button. and body send sensory messages to the » Take small steps. brain. (Touch a hot stove burner? That » Lead with your hips as you change direction and ensure your shoulders are in line message from the hand is transported with your hips as you move. to the brain via your spinal cord.) Any » Set down the load carefully, squatting down with knees and hips only. damage to the spinal cord could result in a loss of sensory or motor function. With that basic anatomy lesson, you can better understand and appreciate weakening the muscles and ligaments Traveling down the middle are the how crucial it is to keeping your back in the back. For optimal quality of life, vertebrae, the 33 interlocking bones and spinal column healthy in a tough everyone—not just those who work in that make up the spinal column. Only foodservice work environment. kitchens, on the serving line or in ware- the top 24 are moveable, while the houses—should focus on maintaining nine vertebrae of the sacrum (the base BACK AND FORTH back health. that connects with the hips to form For foodservice workers, a back injury the pelvis) and the coccyx (the tail- could be one bad lift away. But occu- BACK TO SQUARE ONE bone) are fused. Each vertebra has a pational risk factors are not the only Let’s do a quick anatomy lesson: small hole in the middle to create a dangers. Other factors in developing Located on the posterior part of a per- channel that surrounds and protects low-back pain include age, fitness son’s trunk, the back is composed the spinal cord. In between each level, pregnancy, weight gain, genetics of bones, muscles and other tissues vertebra is space for tiny nerves to and even mental health. The back can located from the neck down to the emerge from the spinal cord, and suffer from numerous different injuries pelvis. While the spinal column is the pads of spongy cartilage (known as and issues, but the most common are centerpiece, as it supports the upper intervertebral discs) help maintain those that result from a torn or strained body’s weight and protects the spinal this space and allow for flexibility in ligament or muscle. These strains can cord, the rest of the back is equally the lower back region. happen suddenly or develop over time. important. Ligaments and tendons help hold What’s the difference between a 158 | SN | June • July 2019 SAVE A strain and a sprain? Strains occur when STAMP! a muscle is stretched too far and tears. 3 A sprain happens when over-stretching Administration » the test and tearing affects ligaments. These in- Employee Health, You can take this juries could result from lifting a heavy Safety & Wellness test online and 3450 pay by credit card. object, sudden stressful movements, poor posture, sports participation Go to: www.schoolnutrition.org/OnlinePDAs and exercise. These often don’t cause “Who’s Got Your Back?” long-lasting pain, but the immediate, Completion of this test, with a passing score, acute pain can be quite severe and will count as 1 Continuing Education Unit (CEU) in debilitating. Even those with stationary jobs, who sit at a computer for most Key Area 3, Administration, Code 3450. of the day, could still experience pain (Please Print) problems—especially if you have poor Name: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ posture or sit in a chair with inade- SNA Member Number: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ quate back support. Address: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Chronic low-back pain—that which occurs in a sustained fashion for more City / State / Zip: _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ than three months and exceeds the Email: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ body’s natural healing process—could be the result of a lumbar herniated disc, degenerative disc disease, a joint 1. Nearly _____ of adults suffer from low-back 6. Those who sit at a computer most of the pain at some point in their lifetimes. day are at negligible risk for developing back dysfunction, spinal stenosis (the nar- n 100% pain. rowing of the spinal canal), spondy n 80% n True n False lolisthesis (when one vertebra slips n 75% over an adjacent one), sciatica (com- 7. _____ can cause chronic lower back pain. n 50% pression of the sciatic nerve) or other n Sciatica issues. Less-common causes of lower- 2. There are _____ individual vertebra that n Joint dysfunction back pain include infection, kidney compose the spinal column. n Tumors stones, tumors or even an autoimmune n 24 n All of the above disease. n 30 8. When viewed under a microscope, a n 33 When pain occurs in the lower back, healthy bone resembles _____ . n 36 it’s associated with the lumbar region n an asteroid of the spine. While upper-back pain is 3. Ligaments are fibrous bands that help hold n a pizza not as common, because the spinal the vertebrae in place. n a honeycomb movement in that portion of the back n True n False n none of the above is incredibly limited, pain can occur anywhere from the bottom of the neck 4. The two main muscle groups that affect 9. Aches and trembling are signals that your the spine are called _____ and _____ . bones are weakening. to the bottom of the rib cage. n extendors and flextors n True n False n extension and flexion NO BONES ABOUT IT 10. Contracting your _____ can help to n extensors and flexors Osteoporosis is a bone disease that improve your posture. n latissimus dorsi and erector spinae affects more than 200 million individ- n buttocks uals worldwide. It’s a condition that 5. Strains occur when the ligaments are n deltoids occurs when the body loses too much over-stretched or torn. n biceps bone, makes too little bone or a com- n True n False n all of the above bination of both. Bones become weak, and a simple fall—or even a mighty sneeze—could cause a break. Osteopo- TEST COMPLETION & SUBMISSION DETAILS rosis predisposes affected individuals To earn 1 Continuing Education Credit (CEU) toward SNA’s Certificate/Credentialing programs for this professional development article (PDA) test, you must achieve a passing score and the issue date to chronic low-back pain, and women (June/July 2019) must not be older than five (5) years from your Certificate/Credentialing period.