When To See A Doctor For Back Pain
Most of the time, minor back pain responds well to home remedies. But sometimes, back pain is a sign of another medical condition. Seek medical care if the back pain:
- Comes on suddenly without an obvious cause.
- Is severe or unbearable.
- Lasts more than a day or two and doesnt respond to over-the-counter painkillers.
- Comes with other symptoms like fatigue or weight loss.
What kind of doctor should you see for back pain? Start with your primary care physician, who can rule out conditions that may be causing the pain, Dr. Bolash says. A pain management or spine specialist is an option for people who have severe or ongoing pain. A specialist can often work toward identifying the source of your pain and provide targeted treatment options.
Another option is to ask your doctor about seeing a spine-certified physical therapist. These therapists specialize in back pain and guide you through exercises to help relieve your specific issue.
Back pain is your bodys way of telling you somethings wrong. If the pain doesnt get better with home remedies, dont ignore it contact your doctor.
# Tens/ Nerve Stimulation
TENS or in simple terms ânerve stimulationâ is also and very effective way to instantly control lower back pain. The nerve stimulation is applied through a portable TENS machine which is very easy to use. It is a portable battery-operated device that you can keep in your pocket and use anywhere anytime.
In its application, It gives you a massage kind of effect or a soothing tingling type of sensation, it works on the principle of Pain Gate Theory to relieve the pain instantly.
Stretch #3 Lumbar Rotation
This is the first stretch in the series that is progressive assuming the previous movements were tolerable.
Laying on your back with your knees bent and feet flat, put your knees and feet together as if you had a mermaid tail. Next, take a deep breath in a and as you exhale slowly drop your knees to the side, inhale bringing the legs back up to the starting position and exhale again as you drop them to the other side.
You do not need to have your knees touch the floor, work within your own pain-free range of motion.
Working this movement side to side creates a rotational motion in the lumbar spine and can help reduce tension if you are trying to fix lower back pain at home. This is a great exercise because it is an unassisted stretch that targets the low back which can be a difficult area to alleviate pain on your own.
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Exercise To Get Muscles Moving
It can be challenging to get up and move when back pain strikes. However, a short walk, yoga, water exercise, or another low-impact activity can often help alleviate back pain.
Exercise may loosen tense muscles and release endorphins, which are the brains natural painkillers.
A person can also consider starting a daily exercise program, including strength training and stretching, to help keep muscles flexible and strong.
Regular exercise may prevent future episodes of back pain that are due to tight muscles.
Exercise And Movement Can Prevent And Help Relieve Back Pain
In my experience, people who tend to move more often throughout the day tend to experience less frequent episodes of back pain and often less intense back pain, says Stephens. However, this rule may not apply to people who have more physically demanding jobs that require a lot of lifting, he notes.
Generally, most types of physical activity are somewhat protective in terms of the likelihood of developing back pain and also the prognosis. If someone is habitually physically active, that seems to have some preventive benefit, and if back pain occurs, it helps someone get through it faster, says Stephens.
What kinds of exercise are good for back pain? According to Stephens, all types are good. For a large percentage of people, that could be something as simple as walking daily, he says.
A study published in October 2017 in the Annals of Rehabilitation Medicine looked at the walking habits of 5,982 people age 50 and older, 26 percent of whom reported experiencing lower back pain. Investigators found that the people who walked the most were the least likely to experience back pain.
Whether a person will benefit from specific strengthening exercises for their back depends on the person and the back pain, says Stephens. Check with a physical therapist or your doctor before you begin any new exercise routine, he advises.
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Identify The Cause Of Your Lower Back Pain
Chronic hip flexor pain can usually be traced back to an underlying condition or injury. It can be due to a strain, stress fracture, tear, bursitis, tendonitis, or referred pain from an underlying medical condition. To identify the cause of your lower back pain it is important to pay attention to any warning signs that may have preceded the pain, as well as determine when and how it occurs.
Strains are common causes of lower back pain and hip flexor pain. A strain occurs when a muscle is stressed beyond its capacity. Strains can range from mild tenderness in the area to partial or complete tears in the muscle fibers resulting in significant discomfort and difficulty with mobility. There are several risk factors that can contribute to straining the muscles of the hip and lower back, including repetitive motions and lifting objects improperly.
Stress fractures occur when repeated forces placed on a bone exceed its capacity for repair and this damage accumulates slowly over time until it causes pain. Those at increased risk for stress fractures include middle-aged individuals that dont exercise regularly and athletes who participate in certain high-impact sports like soccer or track-and-field events where they are running on hard surfaces such as concrete or pavement which adds additional forces on their muscles and bones compared with softer surfaces like grass or sand.
% Of People Will Experience Back Pain At Some Time But There Are Ways To Find Relief
As people enter middle age, they are more likely to experience bouts of low back pain. In fact, according to the Harvard Special Health Report Men’s Health: Fifty and Forward, back pain affects about four in five Americans at some point in their lives and equally strikes men and women.
Age is often the culprit. Over time, the bones and joints in your lower back begin to change. Your discs tend to wear out and sometimes become fragmented. These structural alterations sometimes cause pain.
Another cause of low back pain, although it occurs less often, is a herniated disc. Sometimes, a disc pushes outside the space between the bones and compresses a nerve at the point where it branches off the spinal cord. When the sciatic nerve that leads into the buttocks and leg is affected, the pain is called sciatica.
Yet, most cases of low back pain stem from strain or sprain due to simple overuse, unaccustomed activity, excessive lifting, or an accident. In most cases the best move is to wait and see if the pain resolves on its own. If the pain does not improve after three to four days, then it’s time to see a doctor.
However, depending on the source of your back pain and its severity, you might try a few home remedies for low back pain to help ease the pain until your back returns to normal. Here are several options to consider:
Complementary therapies. Several types of complementary therapy may be helpful for relief from low back pain. These include:
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Treating Back Pain At Home
Aside from such severe injuries or arthritis, most lumbar pain is short term and may respond well to home care, especially if its a recent occurrence and you suspect you know how you may have caused it. If the level of pain is mild, here are five things you can try at homebut if pain lingers or gets worse, discontinue your efforts and consult your doctor:
Strengthen The Hip Flexor Muscles With Targeted Exercises
Pain in the lower back and hips is often caused by tightness or weakness in the hip flexor muscles, which lie above the thigh bones, running between the hip and knee, and are integral to everyday motions such as walking and climbing stairs. Strengthening these muscles can help relieve stiffness and pain. The following exercises may help strengthen your hip flexors and provide long-term relief for your lower back and hips:
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Sleep With Good Position
Sleeping enough 8 hours at night and limiting rest during the daytime is not enough if you want to avoid and reduce back pain. The sleep position is important if you want to avoid back pain. The bad position during sleep without support can lead to back pain and worsen the condition. There are some notes how to treat back pain you should remember including:
- If you sleep on your back, you should keep a pillow under your knees
- If you sleep on your side, you should keep a pillow between your knees. This position can make sure that your spine is kept in a neutral position
- You should not sleep on your stomach because it can put the pressure and stress on your back while making your neck and your head twist
After sleeping, if you feel the pain in your back, it means that you slept in wrong position last night.
What Should I Know About Back Pain
Back pain is a very common problem and will affect many of us at some point during our lives.
The good news is that in most cases it isnt a serious problem, and it might just be caused by a simple strain to a muscle or ligament.
As far as possible, its best to continue with your normal everyday activities as soon as you can and to keep moving.
Being active and exercising wont make your back pain worse, even if you have a bit of pain and discomfort at first. Staying active will help you get better. Taking painkillers can help you do this.
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Why Is The Neck So Susceptible To Injury
The typical adult head weighs 10-12 pounds, but when you bend it forward at a 45-degree angle, the amount of force it exerts on your neck increases to nearly 50 pounds.
Humans are upright creatures were not designed to look down for long periods of time. So when we do, it puts extra pressure on the cervical spine area, which consists of seven bones separated by discs and connected by facet joints. The vertebrae also protect the spinal cord and its many nerves.
Facet joints two on each vertebra are instrumental in helping us bend and move our necks freely. But when we strain or injure the facet joints, which act as passageways for nerves, the surrounding muscles in our necks naturally tighten up to try to protect them.
The result can be inflammation, pain, and knots in your neck aka tech neck.
Of course, tech neck isnt the only kind of neck injury or pain we see. Bone spurs, degenerative arthritis, and events such as falls, sports injuries, or car accidents can also lead to neck trauma. So can disc herniation and stenosis, or a narrowing of the spinal canal.
Most patients, however, struggle with axial neck pain, which is concentrated in the neck and is usually caused by muscle tightness and joint inflammation.
Alternative Back Pain Treatments To Try Before Choosing Surgery
If you deal with back pain, you know it can make you feel miserable. Whether its persistent low back pain or spasms, an aching neck, or sciatic nervepain shooting down your legs, chronic back pain can sideline you from work and your favorite activities.
Unfortunately, back pain is quite common. Eight in 10 people deal with some type of back pain during their lives. Low back pain in particular is responsible for 2.6 million visits to the emergency room each year and is the leading cause of disability worldwide.
Despite a wealth of research in recent years about how to treat back pain, too many patients still receive unnecessary and often excessive treatment. Instead of being urged to continue to work and stay active, which has been shown to be effective, patients often are told to take time off to rest, referred for scans and surgery, and prescribed painkillers, including opioids.
Fortunately, there are many alternative treatments for back pain, many of which are easy to do at home and affordable, with no doctors prescription necessary.
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Exercise To Loosen Muscles
Although it may seem counterintuitive to exercise when lower back pain is causing you grief, the right kind of movement can help eliminate the discomfort. Its always important to consult your physician before you engage in exercise when you have pain, but this conversation is well worth having if youre suffering.
First, you should keep in mind that not all exercise is beneficial in combating back pain. Try to avoid toe-touch exercises and sit-ups, which may add to the stress on your spine instead of relieving it. Leg lifts are another exercise to stay away from when you are hurting. If your core is not strong, leg lifts could be too demanding on your body if youre already experiencing pain.
Several types of exercises can be useful when you need to relieve back pain. Partial crunches can aid in strengthening your core without applying too much pressure to the area. Slow and controlled wall-sit exercises may also be useful. Other repetitions to consider include bringing each knee to the chest in succession, pelvic tilts, and swimming.
Temporary Pain Relief: Ice Heat Or Both
Heat and ice both have a place in temporarily relieving back pain, says Stephens. Theyre both going to help calm down that pain signal and help relax the nervous system a little bit, he says.
Normally, with most injuries, we would counsel ice early on during the acute phase of the injury, he says.
As a general recommendation, ice the painful area with a frozen wet towel or an ice pack keeping a towel or other cloth between your skin and the cold pack to protect your skin at least three times a day. Dont apply ice for longer than 15 to 20 minutes at a time.
After a couple weeks, we would transition to using a heating agent, says Stephens. There is some research that suggests that moist heat during acute low back pain can be a useful adjunct to exercise and other interventions, he says.
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Medical And Family History
Your doctor will ask questions about your medical and family history to help determine if an injury or underlying medical condition is the source for the back pain. Some questions your doctor may ask:
- Can you describe your pain?
- Where is the exact location of your back pain?
- When did the pain start and how long have you had the pain?
- What were you doing when you first noticed the pain?
- How severe or bad is the pain?
- What makes the pain worse or better?
Your doctor may ask you to rate your pain on a scale from 1 to 10 to gauge the severity of the pain and talk to you about your ability to perform activities of daily living.
Fall Asleep Faster And Sleep Longer
When you have a restful nights sleep, your back will feel less sore during the day.7 A night of restorative sleep can have healing benefits and make you feel refreshed, rejuvenated, and less stressed.
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Try these natural sleep aids, one at a time, to see which one works best for you:
- Vitamins C and B6. The natural steroids in your body control your metabolism and promote good sleep.8,9 Supplements of vitamins C10 and B611 are known to help the body produce and regulate natural steroid hormones.
- Melatonin. Your natural sleep hormone, melatonin can be taken as a supplement to improve your sleep cycle.
- L-theanine. An amino acid found in tea leaves, L-theanine may help some people feel relaxed and get better sleep.
- Valerian. Supplements made from the root of the valerian plant may help you sleep faster and stay asleep longer.
Another option is cherry juice or cherry extractscherries contain certain enzymes that help promote better sleep.4
See Natural Remedies and Herbal Supplements as Sleep Aids
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