Back pain is a very common problem for patients in the United States. In fact, lower back pain causes more global disability than any other medical issue. What’s more, over 80% of American adults will experience a back problem during their lifetime.
Back pain can be caused by a number of medical conditions and injuries, including:
- Muscle or ligament strain
- Bulging or ruptured disks
- Sclerosis
- Arthritis
- Osteoporosis
- Poor posture when sitting
- Spinal deformity
- Fractured vertebra
Now, back pain can interfere with your everyday life, both personally and professionally. Thus, it isn’t something that you can ignore or wait for it to resolve on its own.
This article explores both natural and medical popular remedies for back pain you might consider to cope with your back injury.
Top Natural Remedies For Back Pain
Natural remedies have been gaining momentum over the last couple of years. As research is moving forwards, scientists are discovering more and more benefits of natural treatments for various medical conditions, including back pain. However, keep in mind that natural remedies typically offer relief for mild to moderate discomfort. What’s more, the opinion of a medical expert regarding your problem is necessary even if you use the following natural remedies to deal with back pain.
1. Exercising
A long time ago, bed rest was typically suggested for treating acute back pain. However, as scientists have gained more insights into this medical condition, exercising is actually recommended as the first-line treatment for both acute and chronic back pain.
Simple exercises like walking and gentle stretches, and avoiding sitting for long periods is actually recommended when you are experiencing back pain.
However, remember to move in moderation. Practice simple exercises, such as yoga and tai chi, which involve slow and graceful movements and incorporate meditation and deep breathing.
2. Massage
Massage therapy is another popular remedy for treating back pain. Many people struggling with back pain have reported that massage therapy relaxes them and eases their chronic pain.
Gently massaging a sore or tense muscle helps loosen it up and relieve pain. In fact, one study found that massage combined with traditional treatment can reduce pain, improve back function, minimize days in bed, and lessen the use of anti-inflammatory medications.
However, keep in mind that massage therapy, without being combined with traditional treatment, only provides short-term relief.
3. Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a popular remedy for chronic lower back pain. The American College of Physicians rates the evidence for this natural pain remedy as having moderate quality. However, traditional Chinese medicine, it is believed that pain is caused by blocked energy along the meridians of the body, which is why acupuncture practitioners use needles to unblock the energy.
4. Spinal Manipulation
Chiropractors use spinal manipulation to restore joint mobility. What is spinal manipulation? It represents controlled force applied manually on joints which have become restricted by muscle injury, strain, inflammation, and pain.
Spinal manipulation is believed to help relieve pain, ease muscle tightness, and speed up the process of healing.
5. Herbal Medicines
Over the past several years, scientists have been studying the effects of various herbs to see their effects on different medical conditions, including back pain.
One herb, Capsicum frutescens, or cayenne, has been observed to help reduce pain more than placebo. Devil’s claw, lavender essential oil, white willow bark, and comfrey have also shown evidence of helping reduce pain more than compared to placebo.
Medical Remedies For Back Pain
Unlike natural remedies, medical remedies for back pain need to be done with the help of a medical expert. Your doctor needs to examine your back and identify the cause of the pain. Common tests run by medical experts to diagnose back problems include X-ray, CT scans, blood tests, bone scans, and nerve studies. Doctors often recommend the following medical remedies for back pain depending on the patient’s medical history and the underlying cause of the pain:
6. Medications
Pain killers, muscle relaxants, narcotics, NSAIDs, and topical pain relievers are the medications used in treatment for back pain. These drugs relieve pain and reduce inflammation.
7. Physical Therapy
Physical therapists assist you in practicing exercises that increase flexibility, strengthen back and abdominal muscles, and improve posture. For example, if you are an office worker and struggle with back pain caused by poor posture when sitting, your doctor will most likely recommend physical therapy, among other treatments.
8. Spinal Fusion
Spinal fusion surgery is often the solution for back problems caused by more serious medical conditions, such as herniated discs, spinal stenosis, spinal deformity, or fractured vertebra.
This type of surgery involves fusing two or more vertebra together using bone grafts to correct the injury or the malformation of the spine that is the cause of your pain. Complete Well Being has a more detailed article on spinal fusion surgery.
Spinal fusion surgery is a popular medical remedy for back injuries and pain. In fact, over 350,000 such procedures are performed every year in the US.
9. Radiofrequency Neurotomy
Radiofrequency neurotomy is another popular medical procedure to treat chronic back pain. It is a nonsurgical procedure that uses radio waves to help you get rid of the pain. The medical doctor uses a fine needle, inserting its tip through your skin in the area where you feel pain. Through the needle, radio waves are passed in your body and damage the nearby nerves, which impacts the delivery of pain signals your brain receives.
10. Implanted Nerve Stimulators
Nerve stimulators are devices that get implanted in your spinal cord. These implanted devices send low levels of electricity directly to your spinal cord, relieving pain. Doctors often recommend this remedy after nonsurgical pain treatment options have failed to fix the cause of the back pain.
