Proven Remedies for Treating Chronic Back Pain

Are you suffering from back pain? Rest assured - you are not alone - about 80% of people across the United States will deal with this at some point in their lives. Luckily, most acute back pain is relieved within a few weeks with some relatively minor self-care steps. Here are some ways to alleviate your back pain without having to resort to drastic measures such as surgery.

Stay Active

Even if your body is achy and telling you it does not want to move, keeping it in motion is often what it needs to do. This should not be too strenuous, however - walking is one of the best activities. It helps by getting you out of a sitting position and maneuvering you into a neutral, upright stance.

Try Physical Therapy

This works well for many people dealing with this predicament. A professional can help you with a diverse treatment regimen, including ultrasound, heat or ice, muscle-release methods and more. As the pain decreases, the therapist can teach you movements that will enhance your flexibility, improve your posture and bring strength to your abdominal and back muscles.

Ask Your Doctor for an Injection

If you have tried several options and the pain is not abating, a doctor can give you an injection that works to decrease pain and lower the amount of inflammation surrounding the nerve. Many patients experience a significant reduction in pain via injection treatment.

Stretch Your Hamstrings and Piriformis Muscles

Muscles in your hips and upper legs can get tight from a variety of activities and are especially tight in people who sit for long periods of time. If this happens, your sacroiliac joints and lower back may be stressed, resulting in pain. Gentle stretching of these muscles, therefore, can help reduce the discomfort.

Position Yourself Carefully for Sleep

If you have back pain issues regularly, it is important to sleep in the proper position. Talk to your doctor, but generally if you are a:

•    Back sleeper - Place a pillow under your lower back and beneath your knees.

•    Side sleeper - Pull your knees up marginally toward your chest.

•    Stomach sleeper - This is typically not recommended for those with back pain, but if you must, rest a pillow under your hips.

Common Sources of Chronic Back Pain

Back pain is an issue that most people experience at some point during their lifetime. In many of these circumstances, the pain is focused in the lower back and it is non-specific: no primary cause is determined. Of these cases, about two to ten percent develop into chronic pain problems, affecting daily living for three or more months. If you have been dealing with this for a lengthy duration, and it is starting to interfere with daily life, contact a medical professional to see what your options for treatment could be. Some of the most often seen roots of this issue are:

A Bulging or Ruptured Disc

Discs - the spongy pieces of cartilage sitting between the spinal vertebrae for cushioning - can press on a nerve due to a bulge or rupture. Sometimes this happens and you may not even have pain. In these situations, discovery often occurs via spine x-rays taken due to another issue.

Muscle or Ligament Strain

When you twist, lift a heavy object, or do a sudden movement that leads to muscles or ligaments stretching and developing microscopic tears, this can create a strain that leads to pain. If your physical condition is poor, constant pressure on your back from normal stress can also lead to painful muscle spasms.

Skeletal Irregularities

Some spines have irregular curvatures and this can be a contributing factor for back pain. Scoliosis is one of these conditions which can result in back pain, but this typically only happens in severe cases.

Facet Joint Osteoarthritis

Also referred to as osteoarthritis of the spine or degenerative arthritis, this is a state that develops bit by bit over time. It happens when cartilage between spinal facet joints deteriorates. Initially your symptoms may appear intermittently, but they can gradually turn into a regular, unceasing low back pain. Sciatica may result from this ailment as well.  

Can a Healthy Lifestyle Reduce the Effects of Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain can have serious or severe effects that include disruptions in daily routines, a decreased ability to accomplish necessary work-related or personal tasks, and a decreased ability to function independently. Fortunately, many people can lower their exposure to these damaging impacts by making certain lifestyle alterations and adopting healthier daily habits.

Managing Your Weight

In many cases, chronic pain symptoms are worsened by the continual strain of excess body weight. You can avoid this strain by losing weight or keeping your weight within an acceptable range for your age, height and gender. Typically, gradual weight loss proves more sustainable over time than rapid weight loss.

Increasing Your Activity Level

While it may seem counter-intuitive, increased activity may help keep your pain levels at bay. This is true, in part, because a higher activity level makes it easier to lose weight. In addition, a more active lifestyle can potentially help you reduce pain by strengthening your joints and muscles. As a rule, gentle exercises such as walking and light stretching work best for people affected by chronic pain.

Quitting Smoking

Smoking can contribute significantly to ongoing or recurring physical discomfort, especially in individuals with arthritis. This is true because the use of cigarettes and other forms of tobacco can eventually lead to increased strain on the connective tissue that helps keep the body’s joints in good working order.

Eating Healthier Foods

When you eat a generally healthy diet, you typically increase your chances of keeping your body weight within acceptable norms. Since excessive weight frequently has an impact on your pain levels, a balanced diet may help you reduce your exposure to chronic problems with physical discomfort.

Reasons for Experiencing Chronic Lower Back Pain

Chronic back pain is one of the most widespread ailments in America. Symptoms of this ongoing or recurring pain often appear in the lower back, known more formally as the lumbar spine region. A main reason for the number of people affected by chronic lower back pain is the sheer number of conditions that can produce significant symptoms. Prominent examples of these conditions include:

·         Ruptured or herniated spinal discs – These cushioning discs, which sit between the individual bones in the spinal column, can trigger serious pain when they break open or deform as a result of exposure to excessive pressure.

·         Disc Degeneration – Over time, the cushioning spinal discs can degenerate and lose their ability to adequately protect the spine. In turn, loss of proper disc spacing can lead to recurring or constant lower back pain.

·         Traumatic injuries – These types of injuries are typically the result of motor vehicle accidents, accidental falls and participation in contact or non-contact sports. They can lead to ruptured discs and a range of other chronic lower back injuries.

·         Nerve Compression or Inflammation (Radiculopathy)  – Nerves leaving the spinal column on their way to the rest of the body are sometimes placed under abnormal forces that lead to excessive pressure and/or the swelling associated with inflammation.  Specific causes of this problem include herniated discs and pinching of the lengthy sciatic nerve, which runs from the buttocks down the back of each leg.

·         Spinal Stenosis – This condition stems from abnormal narrowing of the space available for the spinal cord inside the spinal column and/or narrowing of the space available for the nerves exiting the spinal column and traveling to the body.

It can be quite difficult to determine which specific problem contributes to chronic lumbar pain in any given individual. For this reason, proper diagnosis of underlying causes commonly includes input from a doctor who specializes in pain treatment.

Alternative Methods of Dealing with Back Pain

If you are one of the billions of people around the world who is dealing with back pain, visiting a pain management center may be the way to go. They may be able to diagnose your condition or tell you what might be causing your chronic pain. They will also likely give you ideas for things you can do to alleviate the pain you feel so that you can continue on with your daily life as much as possible. Here are some of the things that a medical professional might suggest.

Biofeedback

Biofeedback is an extremely interesting method of pain management that can actually work for many other things as well such as incontinence, migraines, and anxiety. Biofeedback involves becoming aware of what is going on in your body so that you are better able to control involuntary processes in your body such as heart rate, skin temperature, and blood pressure. 

Meditation and Relaxation

Relaxation techniques such as deep breathing are a huge part of effective biofeedback, and relaxation and meditation on their own can significantly reduce your chronic pain symptoms. Your pain management therapist can help you identify ways to reduce stress and relax and may be able to suggest means of meditation such as yoga and deep breathing that you can use to alleviate your pain as well.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Ultimately, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) involves controlling one’s feelings about something—in this case, chronic pain—to alter negative thoughts and behaviors. When a person experiencing chronic pain can change their negative thoughts and behaviors about pain, they will be less aware of the pain even if the pain does not lessen or go away at all. 

If you are experiencing chronic pain, you have many different options. While biofeedback and CBT might not be for you, there may be other things that you can do such as increase your meditation and reduce stress.