How can millennials and others relieve themselves from back pain?

• Aniya Faulcon
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  Aniya Faulcon is The Spark Host/Producer for WITF. She has a passion for shining a light on unique people, experiences, and perspectives within the community.
  
  Previously she worked as the People and Social Trends Reporter/Video Anchor for LancasterOnline | LNPNews. During her time there, she created video packages, provided Facebook Live coverage at community events, and wrote data-driven stories with census data and feature stories on local leaders, non-profit organizations, events, and people with unique talents and experiences within Lancaster County.
  
  Aniya also worked at WMAR ABC 2 News as a Sales Assistant and at the AFRO American Newspapers as an Executive Assistant and Media correspondent. Aniya interned at WEAA Gospel Grace 88.9 and worked at her alma mater’s radio station, WWPJ at Point Park University, where she gained skills and a passion for radio.
  
  Aniya grew up in Baltimore, Maryland and attended the Baltimore School for the arts for high school with a concentration in acting. She continued to hone her skills and passion for storytelling and later graduated from Point Park University in 2018 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting and Broadcast Reporting. Aniya is eager to continue her journey with storytelling in her role with WITF, as she aims to shed a light on real people and real stories within Pennsylvania in a variety of mediums.

 Courtesy of Ben Cannon

Dr. Adaora Okoli sees a patient at the hospital. New Orleans, LA

Airdate: August 9, 2022

Most would assume that back pain is an issue that older people deal with but back pain in young people has become very common due to poor posture, heavy back packs, exercising improperly, technology habits, and more.

According to the good body, 30% of children and young people experience back pain, beginning in childhood.

Dr. Joseph Andrie, primary care sports medicine physician at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, said he typically sees back pain in millennials that have gone from being very active adolescence to occupying desk jobs.

He also said, although millennials are dealing with back pain at a young age, it should not be ignored.

“The back is very important in everything we do,” Andrie said. “It holds us up. It supports us. It allows us to move in a stable way through our environment. It does a lot in the background. The only time it will let you know that it’s there is when it hurts you.”

Here are some ways to be relieved from back pain:

• Increase physical activity
• Try physical therapy
• Use acetaminophen or ibuprofen in moderation
• Use lidocaine patches
• Choose a mattress and pillow that supports your back properly
• Try chiropractic treatment, yoga, Tai Chi, massages, or forest bathing
• Tackling self esteem issues can improve ones posture, which can ultimately relieve back pain

“Oftentimes I think the biggest challenge is just saying, all right, I’m going to focus on my back. I need to do this for me,” Andrie said. “And I think in millennials especially, you know, we’re young. And so if it’s a problem now, chances are it’s going to be a problem, you know, ten years down the road, 20 years down the road.”

To be relieved from back pain, first, schedule an appointment with your primary care doctor or trusted clinician.