Dealing with lower back pain can be horrible. You may not be able to the things that you love to do, and it can even affect your work. There are several ways that you can deal with lower back pain to ensure that you do not have to suffer.
How to Treat Lower Back Pain
The ways to alleviate back pain include:
- Movement. When you experience back pain, the first thing you will want to do is to just do bed rest. However, doing bed rest can hurt the healing process and make your muscles stiffer and more painful. You will need to make sure that you keep moving all throughout the day. You can rest for short periods, but you never want to lay down for long with back pain.
- Stretching and exercising. If you perform exercises along with some stretching, that can help you to alleviate your back pain. Things like doing yoga, walking, or even swimming can help you to loosen the muscles of your back, easing the pain that you are in.
- Heat and ice. If you are in pain, consider using heat or ice therapy. Heat can help loosen your muscles which will, in turn, make your back feel a lot better. Ice can help to reduce nerve activity and help reduce inflammation. You will need to make sure that you take special care when applying either heat or ice to your back. Wrap them in a towel so that you do not harm your skin.
- Pain medication. There are several over-the-counter pain medications that you can take for your back pain. NSAIDs like ibuprofen are very popular and can help to reduce inflammation. There are also several creams that are geared towards helping backaches. If your back pain is severe, your doctor may decide to put you on pharmaceutical pain medication. The trouble with pain medication options is that it does not treat the root cause of the back pain and they can come with some risks and side effects.
Calling A Chiropractor
When you suffer from lower back pain, a great way to treat that pain is to visit with your chiropractor. Your chiropractor can offer various treatments that can help to treat your lower back pain. Some of the treatments you could receive include:
- Massage. Your chiropractor may massage the area where you are in pain. This can help to reduce inflammation and improve circulation.
- Dietary management. Many chiropractors will take a look at your diet and recommend some diet changes and some suggestions on supplements you can take to help ease your symptoms. • Exercise. You will be provided instructions on various exercises that can help you to strengthen your back.
- Diathermy. This is a therapy that is an electromagnetic therapy that helps to provide heat to tissues in the body. This can help to decrease muscle spasms and help to increase circulation.
- Ultrasound therapy. Ultrasound therapy uses sound waves that cause heat to get to the joints and soft tissues. This can help to increase blood flow to promote the healing process and help to alleviate pain and stiffness.
- TENS machine. A tens machine will take electrodes that are placed over your lower back. They will be turned on, and the electrical nerve stimulation will help to block the pain signals of the nerves and help to promote the release of endorphins which are the body’s natural pain relievers.
- Hydrotherapy. Hydrotherapy can be used to reduce back pain. Cold water is used to help numb the nerves, while heat hydrotherapy can help to promote blood flow which will help to heal the back faster.
- Patient education. Your chiropractor will take some time to sit down with you and speak about some modifications that you can do in your life to help alleviate back pain. Things like self-care, posture, and more can help to alleviate back pain.
- Cold laser therapy. Cold laser therapy is the use of a using a laser to help improve circulation, decrease swelling, reduce inflammation, and treat any pain
- Infrared radiation. This process includes the use of a thermal camera. This camera will take a look at how much blood flow is in the back. Using this technology, chiropractors can spot problem issues and underlying conditions of the back that may be causing pain.
If you are suffering from lower back pain, please call Integrative Chiropractic today at 205-637-1363. We offer many treatment options, and we will figure out what is causing your back pain so that we can eliminate it.
