Back pain is one of the most common health issues people face. According to Harvard Health Publishing, Continue reading below ↓
Back pain is one of the most common health issues people face. According to Harvard Health Publishing, it affects four in five people in the U.S. at some point in their lives, with women and men being equally vulnerable. The byproduct of this is that the annual cost of lost wages and medical expenses due to back pain is $253 billion in the United States alone.
Chronic back pain can act as a major impediment to our everyday lives. Apart from making daily physical activity painful and difficult, when left untreated, back pain can greatly reduce our global function. Chronic lower back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide today.
Fortunately, there are many ways to relieve pain naturally and at home, preventing the condition from worsening before the need to get physicians, surgeons, and medications involved. According to research 90-95% of lower back pain cases do not need invasive medical management and can improve with a conservative approach.
In the list below, we’re going to cover 10 amazing ways to relieve back pain fast in the comfort of your own home.
What Causes Chronic Back Pain?
Back pain is complicated and often many factors go into what causes a lower back injury. Spinal discs change with age and can thin out over time. This degeneration and dehydration of collagen fibers around the spine is known as degenerative disc disease.
Additionally, sustained postures, muscle strains, and environmental factors such as working a sedentary or overly active job can all cause lower back pain. Back pain can present in vastly different ways depending on the person and the condition.
Nerve pain, joint pain, and muscle pain all present with unique characteristics and all can be debilitating in severe cases. Fortunately, even in the case of nerve injury, most back injuries can heal with conservative measures.
There are of course more severe cases of back pain that require more invasive intervention, but these are the outliers.
If your pain persists for a long period or if you have symptoms of neurological deficits including numbness/tingling, loss of bowel or bladder control, paresthesias, or loss of muscular control; it is best to seek medical help from your provider.
Additionally, if your back pain is associated with systemic symptoms such as fever, weight loss, or feeling sick, it is best to check with a medical provider.
Most of the time, back pain is caused by the capacity of our structures not being up to the demand that we place on them. This can lead to sprains and strains.
A list of possible causes of chronic back pain include:
- Osteoarthritis
- Disc injury
- Muscle strain
- Ligamentous sprain
- Osteoporosis
- Scoliosis
- Spondylolisthesis
- Ankylosing spondylitis
- Endometriosis
- Spinal stenosis
- Fibromyalgia
- Kidney stones
- Pregnancy
- Tumors
10 Remedies for Dealing with Chronic Back Pain
Here are some of the best conservative remedies for back pain treatment:
1. Physical Therapy
Physical therapy is a trusted method of remedying most issues related to lower back pain. 90-95% of cases will positively respond to physical therapy, and physical therapists are excellent at identifying those who fall outside of that group and can make the appropriate referral.
An adequate exercise program will help you keep your back and core muscles strong and flexible, reducing the pressure put on your spine throughout everyday activities.
An appropriate exercise program for back pain relief would address your specific impairments and is usually a blend of mobility and strength training interventions. Some yoga poses are particularly effective in dealing with chronic lower back pain.
Additionally, manual techniques such as soft tissue massage, joint mobilizations, and manipulations or modality-based treatment such as dry needling and electrical stimulation (or e-stim) can be utilized by your PT.
2. Hot and Cold Therapy
Both hot and cold packs have their specific use in pain relief.
Cold therapy is beneficial for reducing inflammation or numbing pain. That’s why ice packs or other cold objects are best applied after a strain or other injuries causing sharp pain.
On the other hand, heat therapy with a heating pad, hot water bottle, or another warm object helps improve blood flow in the affected area. This provides pain relief and improves the body’s healing capabilities, making them more useful for chronic pain treatment.
A general rule of thumb is; that if you are trying to reduce pain, ice works well, if you are trying to promote ease of motion or movement heat works well. Many people utilize both.
3. Diet Changes
According to a 2020 study, there’s a correlation between chronic pain and a low intake of dairy, fruit, and whole grains, along with a high intake of added sugars.
As such, adopting a balanced, healthy diet that incorporates healthy amounts of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and dairy might help improve symptoms of back pain. These foods are usually associated with general anti-inflammatory effects.
Avoiding inflammatory foods (such as gluten, refined sugar, trans and saturated fats, and red meat) should also be helpful.
4. Improve Your Posture
A poor posture can increase the strain and demand on your muscles and joints, making back pain worse in the long run. Improving your sleeping, sitting, and walking postures are all helpful changes if your goal is to decrease pain.
Keeping your back straight but relaxed, with your shoulders relaxed, feet flat on the ground, and eyes looking straight ahead is the ideal posture for your back’s health.
5. Better Sleep
Poor sleep has been found to increase the risk of developing chronic pain. At least 7 hours of sleep per day is essential, as well as a comfortable sleeping position that keeps your muscles relaxed and aligned.
You may also benefit from placing a lumbar pillow under your lower back or legs while you sleep. Apart from aligning your spine into a better position.
Many hormonal changes during sleep help promote healing and the bottom line is, you must sleep to recover. Practicing good sleep hygiene to formulate your best night of sleep is a necessary antidote for chronic back pain.
6. Make Changes to Your Workspace
The average employed person spends at least 8 hours daily at their workplace, so it’s reasonable to expect that their workspace’s ergonomic arrangement may have a significant influence on worsening their back pain.
If you work with a PC, ensure you sit so that the screen is at your eye level, your back straight, and you don’t slouch. Your chair should also be set at the correct height so your knees are in line with your waist. It may also be worth investing in an ergonomic chair.
If your job involves lifting heavy objects, always use the correct lifting posture—squat and lift the weight using the strength of your legs instead of your back.
7. Switch to Ergonomic Footwear
Uncomfortable or poorly fitting footwear has also been connected to the potential development of back pain in individuals. Walking in high heels is also a culprit.
Switching to comfortable shoes with a low heel can help reduce your back pain in the long run. Fitted ergonomic shoes with some cushioning on the bottom are a particularly good option for people facing back pain problems.
8. Stress Management
Studies have shown that there are links between stress and the development of lower back pain. Stress and anxiety trigger the release of chemicals, such as cortisol and adrenaline, meant to protect you from danger. These chemicals can cause your muscles to tighten as if anticipating a physical danger, which creates tension in your back.
Practicing various stress relief methods can therefore help if trying to get rid of the pain. Some effective stress relief methods include breathing exercises, mindfulness meditation, aromatherapy, or progressive muscle relaxation.
9. Lifestyle Changes
A healthier lifestyle leads to a stronger immune system, which in turn makes it less likely for conditions such as back pain to develop as easily. Adopting a generally health-oriented lifestyle outlook can thus act as a positive influence.
To move closer to this goal, it’s worth practicing a regular exercise regime, quitting smoking, reducing your alcohol intake, and either losing or gaining weight to get closer to the ideal body weight for your height.
10. Use a Back Brace
A specialized back brace is one of the most effective ways of reducing stress on the spine. It stabilizes your lower back, placing your spine in a more ergonomic position and compressing the region in a way that improves blood flow, accelerating recovery.
Depending on the intensity of the injury, the ideal brace for your needs may either be flexible, semi-rigid, or rigid.
Final Thoughts
When considering any injury or chronic pain, often it is due to the structure not being resilient enough to the stress we place it under.
Picture your stressors like water in a cup: as you add more stressors, the water level rises, and when it overflows, you experience pain. The goal is to prevent the water from overflowing, by reducing the number of stressors in your cup and/or increasing the size of your cup.
The remedies to relieve back pain at home we mentioned here do just that for 90-95% of lower back pain cases, and the combination of these remedies can be effective at reducing stressors enough to eliminate pain.
Considering how annoying and disruptive back pain can get, you certainly want to relieve yourself of the issue as quickly as possible. As such, it’s best to use all the possible techniques at your disposal.
Thermo Recovery Wear’s catalog of specialized recovery wear includes back braces like the ones mentioned above, as well as an assortment of other recovery products that utilize black diamond fabric technology to help your body recover safely, quickly, and naturally.
Check out our catalog of products right now, and start your journey towards full recovery!
