If you experience back pain regularly, you know how hard it can be for your day-to-day activities. You might also have a hard time working depending on your job and if you need to use the muscles in your back or not.
Note: While you should always consult a doctor like your primary care physician, seeing a chiropractor is also very important. They can help to realign your spine and muscles to take away some of the pain you may be feeling.
Chiropractors can also give you tips on what to do at home to ease your back pain and make it more manageable. If you’re in the Denver area, scheduling a chiropractor appointment is as easy as visiting governorsparkchiropractic.com.
This guide will cover some of the best things you can do at home to ensure you are not being taken over by constant back pain.
1. Try Pain Medication
Your chiropractor will determine if taking pain medication is a good plan for you or not. Sometimes counter pain medications are the only thing you need. Make sure you are either taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or acetaminophen.
Other types of back pain might need prescription pain relievers. These should only be taken if prescribed by a doctor as you want to ensure that you are not overdosing on active ingredients and that you are not taking something you don’t need.
It’s also possible for you to take muscle relaxants if your chiropractor has prescribed them to you and deemed them to be helpful in your situation.
Note: before taking any medication or pills must concern with a doctor, don’t take it own your own, be responsible.
2. Physical Therapy
In physical therapy sessions, you will be taught how to sit, stand, and move in certain ways that are beneficial to your spine. By moving in these special ways you can ensure that you do not strain your back or throw it out of alignment.
Keep in mind that your core muscles are the ones that stabilize your back, so you also want to make sure that you are exercising your core and keeping it strong to support your back.
When you can increase your overall body strength, the chances of having back pain and back injuries are very low.
3. Apply Ice and Heat
You can apply ice to the painful areas of your back to help reduce the inflammation and pain that comes with having an injury. Only apply ice for 20 minutes at a time, but you can do it several times a day. Make sure to wrap the ice in an ice pack or thin towel so that the ice does not come into direct contact with your skin.
After applying ice for a few days, you should then switch to heat. The heat will relax the muscles and cause more blood to flow to the injured area. If you do not have heat packs or a heating pad, you can try taking a warm bath or applying a warm washcloth to the area.
Just make sure to never sleep with a heating pad as you could accidentally cause skin burns, or contusion.
4. Back Surgery
This is usually seen as a last resort option and is only done in serious cases since back surgery can be intense and have a long recovery time. Back surgery is often needed if you have a bulging disc that is putting a lot of pressure on your nerve.
Some of the disc material will need to be removed which is called a discectomy.
A laminectomy is done where there is pressure on the nerves or if you have pressure on the spinal cord.
Sometimes a spinal fusion might be needed if your spine needs to be stabilized or if you have a serious injury to the spine.
5. Therapy
Sometimes back pain can interfere with your daily life including your social life. In these cases, you might want to consider seeing a therapist and talking about the way you feel. You might not even know it, but your back pain could be affecting your emotional and mental health.
When you go to therapy, you also have a chance to talk about your fears when it comes to your back pain. For example, maybe you miss playing a certain sport but you are afraid to try again because of your chronic back pain.
You can talk to your therapist about how you feel and they can give you tips on how to get past your fears and start doing what you want again.
6. Massages
While your chiropractor can do a great job of alleviating your pain by pressing on certain points of the back, they might also recommend that you get massages as part of your therapy plan.
Massages are usually recommended to be done once quickly to help those that have chronic pain. By getting massages once a week for ten weeks, you can help to get your muscles back on track after an injury.
Make sure the massage therapist is licensed and they have the right skills to ensure they are massaging your back muscles safely.
7. Get Moving
Bed rest and being sedentary are no longer tips for those that have back pain. Laying or sitting down for too long can actually make the back pain worse. If your pain is severe though, the doctor might recommend you rest for a day or two but then you should try to get back moving again if you can.
Always try gentle exercises like swimming, yoga, or walking. Try to stay away from intense physical activities like sports or running as this could make the injury and pain worse.
According to RubMd, best way among all of the above is try Ice and Heat as it is one of the most organic and traditional methods that really works.
Final Thoughts
Back injuries and chronic back pain are very difficult to manage because you might feel like you are not yourself anymore since you can’t move and exercise like you used to. The good news is that there are many things you can do at home to make your back pain more comfortable.
You should also work in conjunction with a chiropractor to ensure your pain is alleviated and they can also recommend medicine and surgery when needed.
