Perhaps one of the most common ailments found in patients is back pain, with data indicating that eight out of ten people experience this medical problem at one point or another throughout their lives. Chances are if you’re reading this article, you or someone you know may be experiencing back problems, and you’re seeking ways to alleviate the pain. In this article, we’ll discuss the top ten ways to achieve true back pain relief.
14 Keys to Achieving Lasting Back Pain Relief
1. Stay Moving
Staying moving when you have a condition that makes it painful to move may seem counterintuitive, but it is an essential part of making sure your back stays strong-enough to resist future pain. If you remain in a seated or lying position for long periods, your back may feel like it’s good for your back, but really all your doing is weakening it. Stay moving so that you build the muscles located around your spine.
2. Sleeping With a Pillow Between Your Legs
If you’re a side sleeper, then sleeping with a pillow between your legs is a great way to alleviate back pain, and it requires next to no effort. All you do is slide a pillow between your legs before you go to sleep so that your knees lay on top of one another, and viola, the pillow acts as a guide that helps align your hips and keeps your back in a comfortable position as you sleep.
3. Physical Therapy
Seeking out physical therapy is a great way to obtain a lot of useful information from knowledgeable professionals on what might be causing your back pain and how to deal with it properly. Physical therapists often give specific back strengthening exercises per your ailments, and they teach you how to go about them the right way. They’ll send you home with exercise instructions so you can practice them at home by yourself when you start to feel any pain.
4. Abdominal Exercises
One of the absolute best ways to ensure your back remains pain-free is by strengthening your core with abdominal exercises. Your abdomen is crucial in obtaining proper posture as it makes up for a major portion of your balance and takes a lot of strain away from your back. There are easy exercises such as flutter kicks, planks, and lunges that are all meant to build core strength without putting too much stress on your back.
5. Applying Heat
When you start to feel the muscles in your back constrict or spasm, it might be a good idea to put a source of heat on the affected area. The heat helps soothe the tightened muscles and causes them to relax. When using heat as treatment, be sure not to administer too much heat, as it could irritate the skin. There are products designed specifically for heating sore muscles, such as heating straps, heating pads, and even heating ointments.
6. Knowing When to Stop and Rest
Knowing when to stop yourself during an activity that puts extensive pressure on your back is one of the simplest ways to prevent back pain. Knowing when to stop participating in an activity may be harder to do for some than others, but it’s necessary for ensuring that you don’t suffer any further pain. Understanding your body and its limits is a useful skill that will allow you to go about your life without worrying about the possible consequences of overworking your back.
7. Yoga
Yoga is the jack of all trades for relieving back pain; it allows you to stretch your joints and build core muscles that’ll help improve your balance and overall flexibility. Yoga is a great way to find exercises that will help stretch out your back and leg muscles, making it a perfect activity for those recovering from an injury. On top of pain relief, yoga and pilates are great activities that will help strengthen your body and prevent further injuries.
8. Being Conscious of Your Posture
Taking a moment to observe your posture and its flaws is an effective way of understanding why your back might be hurting. If your daily life requires you to be seated in front of a screen for hours at a time, be sure to take a moment to unclench your jaw, sit up straight, and breathe. Remaining in a hunched-over position with a clenched jaw is a great way to cause stiffness and neck pain so take a moment to breathe and relax.
9. Massages
One of the more luxurious options for relieving back pain comes from back massages to the aggravated area. There are many different ways that you can seek out this option, from massage parlors to chiropractors to at-home massaging devices. Massages are great options for loosening up stiff muscles and working out any knots or irregularities contributing to your back pain.
10. Electronic Nerve Stimulation
Electronic stimulation is a great tool that utilizes small electronic currents to stimulate the nerves in your body. This process helps reduce the pain that you feel in your muscles and nerve endings, and it also will help loosen your muscles. When considering this option, you may also want to think about pairing it with a heating pad; to fully soothe your aches and pains.
11. Acupuncture
There is some debate about whether or not acupuncture is a fully effective pain treatment, but if done correctly by a licensed professional, there’s little reason to doubt its benefits. Acupuncture is the process of sticking thin needles into exact points of the body that help with overall motor function and connecting pain receptors. Due to the lack of knowledge surrounding acupuncture’s overall effectiveness, this may be a better option for those who’ve exhausted all other options.
12. Have Good Shoes
Having a good pair of shoes with nice in-soles is a very effective method for achieving long-lasting back pain relief. If you’re standing around a lot or you’re just always on your feet, then you’re putting a lot of pressure on your back, and having a good pair of shoes can help relieve some of that pressure. There are machines often found at pharmacies or department stores where you can discover what in-soles you should have for the best possible support.
13. Medicated Ointments or Creams
There are plenty of ointment products that you can find at your local pharmacy or department store, which can be beneficial in soothing joint and muscle pain. These ointments are ones that use active ingredients to cool, heat, or numb the affected area.
14. Watch Your Weight
Weight is something that can have an impact on your overall back health by putting extra stress on your spine. If you believe that your weight is adding to your back pain, it may be wise to look into diet options or increase your overall exercise.
Back pain is something that can negatively impact your day-to-day life and create unnecessary burdens when carrying out even the simplest of tasks. Because of this, it’s necessary to treat back pain seriously and discover healthy ways to alleviate and prevent that pain from occurring. Visit us at B3 Medical to discover the best possible treatments and information to help you live an active and pain-free life.
