Coping with pain in your lower back? This is a common condition in thousands of people worldwide, suffering from discomfort to chronic pain in the lower back. Do not welcome it into your life without a fight. Whether the agony originates from an injury, illness, or old age, lower back pain can be moderated with the right knowledge and care. If back pain is severe or continues for more than a week, the health care provider will advise the most effective approach.
Here are some effective tricks to get rid of lower back pain:
Diagnosing the Problem
To get rid of pain, the first step is to diagnose the problem, what is causing the pain. The pain in the lower back can be due to stress, which is generally short term. Lower back pain is usually not spinal pain or pain in the spinal muscles.
Lower back pain can be caused by any number of factors:
- Aging
- Arthritis
- Herniated disk
- Compression fractures
- Illness, such as scoliosis
If you suffer from persistent lower back pain, see your doctor. A doctor will be able to prescribe pain killers that ease discomfort while helping you devise a physical rehabilitation routine.
The common tricks to relive pain are:
The lower back muscles are used directly while bending forward and back, and also indirectly, while exercising and moving around. Although your lower back muscles are strong, they require rest. Sometimes, busy lifestyle, stress is the reason of pain of the limbs. Proper rest will significantly diminish the discomfort.
- Sleep on your side
Sleeping on one side is effective in reducing pain in lower back. Do not lie flat but to your side with a small pillow tucked between your legs. The small pillow will give your lower back extra support. It will keep weight off the bag, keep the legs in a straight posture abetting the suffering.
- Consider switching to a medium-firm mattress
A medium-firm mattress puts the least stress on the lower back. Try sleeping on such surfaces to ease out the pain.
- Correct any bad posture, if necessary
A bad posture, may be causing or contributing to your lower back pain. The lower back is particularly vulnerable to pain caused by bad posture. The lower back supports a good deal of your weight. Good posture is having the spine curved slightly inward at the lower back, slightly outward at the upper back, and slightly inward again at the neck (so the neck is upright but tilted slightly forward).Do not let your shoulders slouch, pull them back a bit so they are centered. Do not expand your chest out and pull your shoulder excessively back.
Throughout the day, periodically perform posture checks. Check to see if:
- Your chest is upright and elevated.
- Your head is elevated and centered over your torso.
- Your shoulders are at a comfortable position, creating minimal strain by being lowered.
- Keep your feet flat on the floor
At your workplace or your favorite chair, try to keep your feet flat on the floor. This often depend on how high your chair is, so don’t be afraid to tinker with it to achieve good results.
- Change your posture regularly
Sitting in one position for long periods of time is not healthy. So switch it up. Sit upright for most of the time. Sit reclined for some of the time. Sit declined for a little bit.
- Find time to stand
Take a 5 minute break, every hour if you can and walk around. Inspect the sky. Break up the monotony of being seated for hours on end. Give relief to your lower back from a constant posture.
Treating the Symptoms
Treat muscle spasm. Muscle spasms happen when smooth muscle in your body contracts as a result of the autonomic nervous system. They are often painful and are a symptom of muscle strain or tear.
Gently stretch the lower back, moving back and forth. If stretching causes excessive amounts of pain, stop and see a doctor. Stretching should help resolve the muscle contraction.
Take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, for pain relief. NSAIDs are pain killers, like ibuprofen and aspirin, which ease inflammation and stop pain by blocking certain enzymes on a chemical level.
Treat the pain with ice. Ice helps constrict the blood vessels underneath the skin, dulling pain and easing swelling. If you want to use ice on your lower back, there are a number of ways medical practitioners’ advice to apply it.
Use an ice-towel or homemade ice pack. Wet a towel with cool water, wring out most of the moisture, and place into a plastic bag. Put the bag into the freezer for 15 to 30 minutes, remove towel from bag, and place over lower back.
Treat the pain with heat. Heat can also be an effective source of comfort and pain relief for lower back pain. For effective temperature therapy, try alternating between heat and cold treatments.
Use moist heat on the lower back for 15 to 20 minutes at a time. Moist heat (baths, steams, heat packs) tends to work better than dry heat.
Try not to fall asleep with an electrical heating pad on. Set your heating pad to low or medium, never to high, and set an alarm if you think you may fall asleep while the heating pad is still on.
Relieving the Pain
Try stretching for lower back pain
Lower back pain can be a brutal cycle. Your back hurts, so you would not like to make it worse by stretching or exercising. Not stretching or exercising the lower back will weaken the muscles, leaving them more susceptible to pain and less supportive of the weight they are designed to hold. Try some exercises for lower back pain relief. Stop if any of these exercises causes pain.
Butterfly
Sit down on a mat with your knees bent and bring your feet together. The sides of your thighs should try to reach the ground. With your hand clutching your feet, slowly lower your torso down over your feet, keeping your thighs and backside on the ground. Stay in this position for 15 seconds and move slowly back up.
Happy baby
Begin by lying flat on your back on a mat. Bring both legs back, bend your knees so that your thighs are parallel to the floor and your legs are perpendicular, and grab onto the outside of your feet with your hands. Use your upper body strength to press both knees down closer to the floor. Stay in this position for 15 seconds and slowly release.
Pigeon
Sit with your left leg crossed in front of you and the right leg extended fully behind you. Make sure your right hip is pointed down to the ground. Keeping your hands on your hips, arch your back gently for a stretch. Then, move your hands out in front of you and move your torso down over your crossed knee. Stay in this position for 15 seconds before moving slowly back up.
Avoid the following stretches while back pain is present:
- Straight leg sit-ups
- Bent-leg sit-ups, crunches, or curl-ups
- Leg lifts
- Biceps curl or military press
- Standing toe-touches
Walk around
Walking is the best exercise for the entire body and not just the lower back. Doctors insist by the activity, as it promotes healthy circulation and naturally strengthens the lower back muscles. Walk around for a good hour on the treadmill, or outdoors, where there are natural inclines and declines. Don’t push yourself, and stop whenever there’s significant pain.
Do the water bottle curve
While sitting at a desk, push your back firmly against the back of the chair. Take a cold water bottle and lodge it between your lower back and the chair. This will make you sit properly, and the cold will ease inflammation and pain.
Massage
There are numerous kinds of massage, some of which are good for the back (Swedish massage) and others that may not be good for a back injury (Shiatsu massage). Talk to your doctor or masseuse about options.
Spinal manipulation
Many people who benefit from spinal manipulation see results pretty much right away. Many chiropractors or physical therapists who practice spinal manipulation will work with your doctor to devise the best course of treatment.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is the ancient Chinese medicine using needles and pressure points to access the chi. If that sounds uncertain, just consider that several tests have demonstrated that people suffering from lower back pain experienced decreased pain and increased mobility after acupuncture.
Relieve as much physical and emotional stress as possible
Try to remove as many stressors from your life as possible. In addition to simply feeling better, stress reduction might help your ability to recover from lower back pain. Studies show that people who are depressed may have a harder time recovering from back pain, which in turn makes them more depressed.
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