The Dangers of Sneezing
So, I sneezed mid-walk last Saturday and put my back out. Yup, an innocent little sneeze has left me in serious agony. According to my chiropractor, I have sprained a joint at the base of my spine and possibly another smaller sprain slightly above the first one. This is, she says, a freak occurance (no, really?) but a violent sneeze will do it to you alright. Best of all, she says that I was extremely lucky, as people have done much greater damage to discs and such in this manner. She sees a sneezing related back injury at least once a week and it has left her so paranoid that she practically dives into a ball if she feels a sneeze herself.
I'd never heard of such things but a sneeze is one thing that puts enormous strain on your body, especially your spine. I did some research today and will now recommend the following if you are going to sneeze: bend your knees slightly and either lean back against a wall or some support or put a hand to your back for support. It's like we're lifting a box. A better piece of advice might be to sit down if you can but the most important thing is not to let your back slam forward with the force of the sneeze as it's this type of sudden movement that messes you up.
I don't recommend suppressing your sneeze in an effort to avoid injury as apparently this can also cause some nasty things to happen including damage to the ear-drum. I'm less inclined to buy in to the theory that suppressing a sneeze might cause brain damage - presumably your brain rocks around in your skull. This one seems to be an urban legend.
As we're coming in to the time of year for snifflies, please be safe when you sneeze people. :)
I'd never heard of such things but a sneeze is one thing that puts enormous strain on your body, especially your spine. I did some research today and will now recommend the following if you are going to sneeze: bend your knees slightly and either lean back against a wall or some support or put a hand to your back for support. It's like we're lifting a box. A better piece of advice might be to sit down if you can but the most important thing is not to let your back slam forward with the force of the sneeze as it's this type of sudden movement that messes you up.
I don't recommend suppressing your sneeze in an effort to avoid injury as apparently this can also cause some nasty things to happen including damage to the ear-drum. I'm less inclined to buy in to the theory that suppressing a sneeze might cause brain damage - presumably your brain rocks around in your skull. This one seems to be an urban legend.
As we're coming in to the time of year for snifflies, please be safe when you sneeze people. :)