Back Pain Treatment: Non-Surgical Options For Pain Relief
Back pain is something we deal with at least once in our life times and occasionally, it is not as serious awe might think. While visiting your doctor is definitely the first option you should consider, there are a few ways that you could use to relieve the pain until you have your doctor's appointment.
Getting the right treatment is always key and we have decided to explore some of the best ways that you could use to have this pain relieved. In this article, you will get to know some of the non-surgical methods recommended by medical professionals that could help alleviate the pain and even save you from aggravating the pain, which could lead to serious medical surgery.
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We will also explore the effects of drugs on the body and how they could potentially be worse than having treatment.
Types Of Back Pain
Not all back pain is the exact same and understanding the most common types of pain in your back, might help you with self-diagnosis and save you an expensive trip to the doctor's office. We do; however, recommend that you continue visiting your doctor to help clearly define the real cause of your pain and get the best possible help.
Acute Back Pain
Acute back pain is the most common type of pain you will be experiencing and it only tends to last a short time. Acute pain in the back can last anywhere from three days to 6 months and will eventually heal and disappear over time. The most common type of reflex pains are defined as acute pains and these include strains in your back and or accidentally falling on the back. With the right type of treatment, these types of pains will subside.
Chronic Pain
Chronic pain is something that is a little more detrimental and it tends to last a little longer. Chronic pain is defined by the pain continuing or recurring after the tissue has healed. These types of pain will require added attention and you will need to focus on alleviating it or strengthening the muscles around the area.
Chronic pain might also be seen as recurring pain like sciatica and herniated disks. These will require special attention and you might also need to consider visiting your doctor to help diagnose this pain.
Neuropathic Pain
Neuropathic pain can be described as a sort of chronic pain and while there might not be any direct damage to the tissue, the neurons will still send pain signals to the brain. Neuropathic pain can be caused due to damage to the nervous system or even stronger problems like cancer. These types of pain need to be dealt with immediately and when delayed, they might be harder to manage and might require eventual surgery.
Dangers Of Drugs For Back Pain
Back pain will certainly require some sort of drugs if you are not treating the pain naturally. These drugs will definitely give you some alleviation, but this is not something that you will want to use for too long or for prolonged periods. Here are a few of the main dangers that could occur when overly using drugs for back pain.
- Addiction
Addiction is something that can easily occur. One of the main ingredients used in pain medication is paracetamol and other more advanced types also include codeine. Codeine is used to numb the pain and this is also highly addictive. Codeine and morphine are used in the drug opium, which can be highly addictive if used for prolonged periods.
Addiction is also something that could lead to massive expenses or doctor’s bill and people easily fall victim to the temptation posed by pain medication.
- Liver problems
Liver problems are common among people addicted to pain medication. Since all of the medication needs to pass through the liver, this could potentially lead to the liver working over time. This could also lead to liver failure and lead to other problems that could have been avoided.
- Aggravated pain
Since the opioids will numb the pain experienced by the user, the user will not have to deal with all the restraints caused by the pain. This might lead to behavior that might aggravate the pain and once the user gets off the medication, the pain could be aggravated and surgery might be required. Pain medication has been known for creating somewhat of a placebo effect and it might feel like the pain is improving.
- Costs
Medication is certainly not cheap and you will need to keep this in mind as well. If you cannot afford to sustain the medication, eventually you will need to deal with the pain once again. The costs are certainly high and it might be better to just settle for the surgery or even natural treatment to naturally improve the muscle.
How To Relieve Back Pain Naturally
Using the natural method is definitely the best course of action. There will not be any of these tough side effects and you will also be improving the overall stance of your health. Natural remedies have been used throughout history to help resolve many problems and we have pinpointed and selected the most effective natural remedies to help you get rid of the stubborn pain felt in your back.
#1. Exercise
Exercise is the best way to strengthen the muscles around your lower back and to ensure that you have the ability to alleviate the pain. We have chosen three of our favorite lower back exercises that should help you get rid of pain or at least strengthen the lower back.
- Partial crunches: Sit-ups might be tempting, but they will not help you with lower back pain. While they might still strengthen your core, they will put a lot of stress on the lower back muscles. Partial crunches will allow you to get up without putting pressure on the nervous system and systematically strengthen the core and muscles. Partial crunches are much easier to perform than the standard crunches and they tend to work for anyone.
- Hamstring stretches: Toe touches seem to be a great alternative, but unfortunately, they require you to bend over and place a ton of strain on the lower back area. Hamstring stretches are done with your back solidly on the ground and you will be pulling your toe down. This also gives you much more control over the movement and the lower back does not have to hold up the upper body.
- Press up back extensions: This is the natural alternative to hyper extensions and while it might not be as great of an exercise, you will not be swinging your lower back as much. Press up back extensions is easy to do virtually anywhere.
The great thing about these three exercises is that you do not need any assistance or a specific place to perform them. They can literally be done in the comfort of your own home. These exercises are also perfect for those traveling and will help strengthen the lower back and the muscles surrounding the area.
#2. Yoga
Yoga is one of the best exercise routines for cleansing the entire body and helping you strengthen the muscles in your body. Yoga puts emphasis on core and the lower back and will help strengthen these muscles to ensure you have stronger and more flexible movement patterns. By strengthening the muscles, the pain will eventually subside.
It is also recommended that you consult your therapist or doctor to ensure the back pain you are experiencing can be resolved with yoga and to ensure your back is strong enough for you to perform the exercises.
Yoga has a ton of health benefits and this also includes increased and more consistent blood flow. Should you have any problems in the lower back, the blood will be rich in oxygen and reach the targeted area much faster.
#3. Massage
One of the oldest methods of relieving any sort of back pain is massage. There are multiple different forms of massage, but they all play a huge roll in alleviating pain and back spasms. Deep tissue massages are quite expensive, but they allow the masseuse to get deep into the muscle tissue and get rid of the problems you might face.
Unfortunately, massages are only effective for muscle related pains and they can occasionally damage the nervous system if the masseuse is not qualified and well versed in performing the massage therapy.
#4. Heat and Cold Therapy
Via spine-health.com
Heat and cold therapy are great for alleviating back pain and it is also one of the methods with the least amount of side effects. By applying heat and ice directly after one another, you will increase the overall blood flow to the area. This helps with alleviating acute back pain. Sports athletes have been using this method for a long time and this is also part of the reason the get into ice baths directly after playing.
With heat and cold, the body will constantly be forced to circulate blood into the region, this means that you will be able to improve the amount of oxygen and white blood cells that flow through the area and heal up the pain source.
#5. Use Support Products
TENS Machine:
The TENS machine focuses on providing relief on the nervous system with an electric current that provides some stimulation. The electrodes are easy to attach and they focus on providing stress relief deep in the muscle tissue. The TENS machine is quite expensive and might not be best for smaller pains.
Back Brace:
The back brace is certainly one of the top options you could choose. It is soft and really affordable and offers great support with the lumbar system. The back brace is designed to help you deal with the pain and for acute pain, it could be used until the pain eventually subsides. Unfortunately, the back brace is not the best for chronic pain and your back might even be weakened after prolonged use of the brace. For chronic pain, you might need the TENS machine.
Lo-Bak Trax
The Lo-Bak Trax is perfect for back pain and it can easily help to alleviate pain without any hassles. This contraption places all the control in your hands and you will be the decider on how far the stretching goes. The Lo-Bak Trax also requires some movement and consulting your doctor is definitely a must. However, if used right, the Lo-Bak Trax could strengthen the muscles.
Via Amazon.com
Outback Pain Relief
The OutbackPain Relief is natural combination of ingredients all designed to ensure relief of pain. It quickly penetrates the skin and the muscle tissue and will provide temporary relief. While it might not take away the pain, it will certainly help reduce the pain felt until the muscle heals naturally. The product is reasonably priced to ensure you save a few bucks from the doctor as well.
Via Amazon.com
Real Time Pain Relief Pain Cream
With over 17 different natural ingredients, the Real Time Pain Relief Pain Cream is designed for those with multiple different types of pain. It not only alleviates strains and muscle cramps, but will bring some relief to your headaches and migraines as well. The cream is quite affordable and can be used by virtually anyone in the home. We would highly recommend it for temporary sports injuries.
All thereof these support systems will work and they will definitely improve the overall state of your lower back pain. We do recommend using them under supervision or with the advice of a medical professional.
#6. Acupuncture
Acupuncture is one of our favorite methods or relieving pain and it dates back almost 2500 years in China. The process of inserting needles into the muscle tissues and then getting rid of spasm is one of the best ways to directly access the area under pressure. Acupuncture is still used by sports athletes to day to alleviate pain in the entire body
Final Thoughts
We would like to thank you for reading this article and we do hope that you have found out how you could potentially alleviate your back pain and get the best possible results with natural remedies. We would also like you to let us know in the comment section if we have missed any of your favorite methods and how you generally choose to get rid of back pain.
