What to Do for Chronic Back Pain
Chronic back pain may last for weeks, months, or longer. The discomfort occurs on and off alongside frustration and distress. If looked at closely, chronic back pain is caused by several conditions that can be well managed. In this case, please get to know the root cause of your back pains while keeping in mind that it can be effectively handled.
Chronic back pain is a common health condition that can be effectively managed. If you’re a victim, don’t let the symptoms linger without medical attention. Prevention is always better than cure. Take action to control mild back pain that would otherwise transform into a chronic one.
There are many measures to take for your chronic back pain. Follow these guidelines to mitigate your symptoms. Here is what to do for chronic back pain:
Correct Back Posture
How you position your head while standing and sitting affects the wellness of the backbone. Poor posture can cause prolonged back pains and impact your entire muscle health in the long run.
Doctors have suggested various exercises that could help enhance muscle health and posture while minimizing back pain, including swimming, nature walks/ runs, aerobic conditioning, core stability exercises, cycling, or yoga.
Chiropractor for Chronic Back Pain
Remember to visit a chiropractor clinic for further treatment. A professional nurse will recommend more helpful medications, cures, or physical therapy that you could otherwise not have imagined.
Healthcare experts can also detect and manage any underlying conditions that could trigger chronic back pain. Back surgery treatment or cortisone injections may be considered to achieve long-term effects in this stage.
Diet for Back Pain
Some diets have high inflammatory effects, especially those with high fats, refined sugar concentration, and processed foods. If you’ve suffered from chronic back pain for a while, you can consider consulting your doctor to check if your diet could be the main contributor and what changes you can make.
A healthy eating habit will help maintain a healthy weight and minimize the risk of chronic back pain by lessening the pressure on your spine.
Sleeping with Back Pain
Maintaining a healthy sleep can help tackle chronic back pain risks. Study shows that getting insufficient sleep could cause prolonged body fatigue, which grows into chronic back pain in the long run. With that, ensure at least 7 to 9 hours of adequate sleep to curb the chances of developing chronic back pains.
Essentially, your sleeping posture or style highly affects your general muscle health. If you have been undergoing chronic back pain lately, consider changing your sleeping position. How you position your neck, legs, hands, and back generally adds to your spine health and longevity. Additionally, ensure you have a medium-firm mattress and pillow to keep that back pain away.
Physical Exercises for Back Pain
Undergoing chronic back pain can affect your entire lifestyle and schedule. However, with some exercises like yoga, cycling, swimming, aerobics, or walks, be sure of little or no back pain soon. Body exercises relax the muscles, releasing the endorphin hormone, which naturally removes the pain.
You can start with little and light-duty activities like nature walks and cycling before proceeding to the major ones like aerobics, swimming, or yoga.
Massage for Back Pain
Massage can be a solution to chronic back pain in conjunction with other remedies. Even so, not all massages are fit for chronic back pain; some beneficial ones include trigger point massage, sports massage, deep and soft tissue massages, and hot stone massage.
It’s not advisable to receive or do a massage if you have deep vein thrombosis, an active cancer tumour, non-healed fractures, a burn, and severe inflammation or skin infection.
Stress Management
Stress at all levels can contribute to chronic back pain as days proceed. You can reduce stress through a once-in-a-while meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, or deep breathing. Smartphone technology has made stress management easier with meditation and relaxation applications packed with understandable user guidelines.
Ice and Heat Treatment
Applying ice or heat regularly to the affected back may help to reduce the pain or inflammation (if any). Do this 3-4 times a day for at least 15 minutes; ensure to enclose the ice pack within a towel to protect your skin from adverse temperatures.
After a while, you can shift to a heat remedy, which involves applying a warm bag or heating pad to help increase blood flow and relax muscles in the painful area. Regular warm baths have also proven helpful to chronic back pain; a note: Never sleep on a heating pad to avoid tissue damage and burns.
Pain Relief Cream Application
There are a variety of pain-relief creams in the pharmacies that can offer a short-term solution to chronic back pain. Most of these creams have menthol that has cooling and warming effects on your body, causing pain relief in the affected area.
Even so, applying too many mentholated pain-relief creams can cause more pain than the opposite. Cannabidiol (CBD) creams have also proven beneficial to chronic back pain with their pain-relieving effects.
