Ways To Treat Chronic Back Pain Without Surgery
Back pain is considered chronic if it lasts three months or longer. It cancome and go, often bringing temporary relief, followed by frustration.Dealing with chronic back pain can be especially trying if you dont knowthe cause.
Back pain rehabilitationspecialistAndrew Nava, M.D., offers insights into common chronic back pain causes and nonsurgicaltreatment optionsand advises not to give up hope.
Supplements And Herbal Therapies
Looking for a natural way to manage your back pain? You might consider supplements or herbal therapies. Here’s what Grossman advices for her patients:
When considering supplements and herbal therapies, always talk to your doctor first about potential risks and side effects, interactions with other medications, and which therapies may benefit you.
This As Good As Painkillers For Low Back Pain
Plus, this medication isn’t addictive, expert says
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Oct. 20, 2015 — Naproxen — a drug available over-the-counter and by prescription — appears to provide as much relief for low back pain as a narcotic painkiller or a muscle relaxant, a new study suggests.
The study compared the use of prescription-strength naproxen alone to the use of naproxen with the narcotic painkiller oxycodone with acetaminophen , or the muscle relaxant cyclobenzaprine . Patients who took a combination of drugs fared no better than when they took naproxen alone, the researchers said.
“Acute low back pain is a frustrating condition,” said lead researcher Dr. Benjamin Friedman, an associate professor of emergency medicine at Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City.
Many patients have already taken over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs , such as naproxen or ibuprofen , before they arrive in the emergency room, he said. Some people may have taken insufficient doses at incorrect intervals and could be advised to optimize their NSAID regimen, he said.
“But for those patients who have already optimized their NSAID regimen, there are no additional medical therapies available,” Friedman said.
“We don’t have good medical treatment for acute low back pain,” he added.
The report was published Oct. 20 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
“Most back pain gets better on its own without anything,” Danesh said.
Read Also: Will Aleve Help With Back Pain
Warning Disclaimer Use For Publication
WARNING: Please DO NOT STOP MEDICATIONS without first consulting a physician since doing so could be hazardous to your health.
DISCLAIMER: All material available on eHealthMe.com is for informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment provided by a qualified healthcare provider. All information is observation-only. Our phase IV clinical studies alone cannot establish cause-effect relationship. Different individuals may respond to medication in different ways. Every effort has been made to ensure that all information is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. The use of the eHealthMe site and its content is at your own risk.
If you use this eHealthMe study on publication, please acknowledge it with a citation: study title, URL, accessed date.
Six Stretches To Help Alleviate Low Back Pain And Tightness
Letâs admit it, having low back pain is no fun, especially when you wake up in the morning with it knowing that you have a full day at work ahead of you. That is why we believe that every morning you should spend a few minutes stretching out the most important and most engaged muscles in the low back.
Sitting at your desk all day can lead to lower back pain, neck pain, shoulder tightness, and other ergonomic issues. Performing daily stretches can help you loosen your muscles and improve your flexibility, making your body more resilient and better able to handle a full day at your desk.
- Knee to Chest
Use this stretch to align pelvis and stretch lower back and rear end muscles. Lie flat on your back with toes pointed to the sky. Slowly bend your right knee and pull your leg up to you chest. Wrap your arms around your thigh, knee or shin, and gently pull the knee towards your chest. Hold for 20 seconds and slowly extend the leg to starting position. Repeat three times each leg.
- Lying Knee Twist
- Use this movement to stretch the paraspinal muscles and strengthen the abdominal muscles. Lie on your back with your legs extended straight out. Bend the right knee up and cross it over the left side of your body. Hold in a position that allows you to feel a gentle stretch through the back and buttocks muscles for 20 seconds. Tighten your core muscles and rotate back to center. Repeat three times on each side.
You May Like: Ibuprofen For Back Pain Dosage
What Causes Lower Back Pain
Many injuries, conditions and diseases can cause lower back pain. They include:
- Strains and sprains: Back strains and sprains are the most common cause of back pain. You can injure muscles, tendons or ligaments by lifting something too heavy or not lifting safely. Some people strain their back by sneezing, coughing, twisting or bending over.
- Fractures: The bones in the spine can break during an accident, like a car crash or a fall. Certain conditions increase the risk of fractures.
- Disk problems: Disks cushion the vertebrae . Disks can bulge from their position in the spine and press on a nerve. They can also tear . With age, disks can get flatter and offer less protection .
- Structural problems: A condition called spinal stenosis happens when the spinal column is too narrow for the spinal cord. Something pinching the spinal cord can cause severe sciatic nerve pain and lower back pain. Scoliosis can lead to pain, stiffness and difficulty moving.
- Arthritis: Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis to cause lower back pain. Ankylosing spondylitis causes lower back pain, inflammation and stiffness in the spine.
- Disease:Spine tumors, infections and several types of cancer can cause back pain. Other conditions can cause back pain, too. These include kidney stones and abdominal aortic aneurysm.
- Spondylolisthesis: This condition causes the vertebrae in the spine to slip out of place. Spondylolisthesis leads to low back pain and often leg pain as well.
Find Relief Through Ice And Heat
Break out that bag of frozen peas for the first 48 hours after the pain sets in, and put it to use for 20 minutes a session, several sessions per day. After those two days are behind you, switch to 20-minute intervals with a heating pad.
Localized cooling shuts down capillaries and reduces blood flow to the area, which helps ease the swelling, says Lisa DeStefano, DO, an associate professor at Michigan State Universitys College of Osteopathic Medicine in East Lansing. Cold also thwarts your nerves ability to conduct pain signals. Heat, on the other hand, loosens tight muscles and increases circulation, bringing extra oxygen to the rescue.
Also Check: Tylenol Or Aleve For Back Pain
How To Relieve Lower Back Pain When Sitting In The Car
Many people have lower back pain when sitting in the car on a long trip, especially if they’re trying to make good time and not take frequent rest stops. As noted above, it’s ideal to get up and move every 60 minutes, but in reality, you’re probably not going to want to stop that often on a long car trip. Try to shoot for stopping every 2-3 hours at most though.
Have trouble getting out of the car after driving a long time? Check out our post on “Getting In and Out of the Car Without Back, Hip, or Knee Pain”
Understand Your Back Pain
Whether back pain comes as a surprise or begins to occur on a regular basis, it can feel as though your life is being put on hold. The more you learn about back pain, the better you can manage it on your terms.
THE GOOD NEWS IS, SOME BACK PAIN IS EASILY TREATABLE LET YOUR DOCTOR EVALUATE YOURS.
THE BASICS OF BACK PAIN
If you suffer from back pain, you’re far from alone – about 8 in 10 people will experience back pain at some point. In fact, in the United States, back pain is the number one cause of disability in men over age 45, and it’s the second most common reason people visit the doctor.
You can experience pain in the upper or lower back, the left or right side it can even radiate from one spot to another area of the back or body. Back pain is either acute or chronic . Acute back pain is more common and can be caused by some type of accident, like a fall or sports injury.
You May Like: How Does A Diuretic Help Back Pain
Donkey Kicks Advil Vs Aleve For Lower Back Pain
This is another glutes exercise move that doubles as a lower-back helper.How to do it: Come down on your hands as well as knees, with your hands directly over your shoulders. Increase up your best leg, maintaining your knee at a 90-degree angle, until your leg is alongside the ground. Gradually lower it pull back to the ground. Repeat for 90 secs, then switch legs.
Hi there! Im Sara and welcome to my site, 4thicft. As someone who has been suffering from back pain for most of my adult life, I understand what a pain it can be. Thankfully my back feels almost as good as new these days after much trial and error. I am also a big Yoga fan as it has helped with my posture. Hope my site helps!
What Prevail Causes Of Lower Pain In The Back 1
Usual causes of low pain in the back include lumbar pressure, nerve inflammation, lumbar radiculopathy, bony infringement, and conditions of the bone as well as joints. Each of these is assessed listed below.
Back stress : A lumbar pressure is a stretch injury to the tendons, tendons, and/or muscles of the lower back. The extending case cause tiny tears of varying levels in these tissues. Lumbar pressure is considered among one of the most common sources of lower neck and back pain.
The injury can happen as a result of overuse, improper use, or injury. Soft-tissue injury is frequently identified as severe if it has actually existed for days to weeks. If the strain lasts longer than three months, it is referred to as persistent. Back strain usually happens in people in their 40s, however it can happen at any age. The condition is defined by local pain in the lower back location with beginning after an occasion that mechanically stressed the back cells. The severity of the injury varies from mild to extreme, depending on the degree of strain and resulting convulsion of the muscles of the lower back. Advil Vs Aleve For Lower Back Pain
The diagnosis of back stress is based on the history of injury, the place of the pain, and also exemption of nerve system injury. Usually, X-ray screening is only practical to exclude bone irregularities.
Also Check: Mayo Clinic Low Back Pain Exercises
Common Causes Of Chronic Back Pain
Chronic back painis usually age-related, but can also result from a prior injury. The mostcommon causes include:
- Arthritis of the spine the gradual thinning of the cartilage inside the spine
- Spinal stenosis narrowing of the spinal canal that may lead to nerve pain
- Disc problems, such as a herniated or bulging disc
- Myofascial pain syndromeunexplained muscle pain and tenderness
In some cases, its difficult to pinpoint the cause of chronic back pain.If your doctor has exhausted all diagnostic options, its time to seek asecond opinion from a back pain specialist, recommends Nava. Itsimportant not to make rushed decisions or undergo extensive medicalprocedures until the origin of the pain is found. Not only may they nothelp they could make the pain worse, warns Nava.
If the source of the pain is not known or cant be treated, your bestoption may be to work with your doctor on reducing the flare-ups and makingthe pain manageable with nonsurgical treatments.
What Side Effects Do Nsaids Have
Most patients do not get major side effects when they take NSAIDs such as ibuprofen or naproxen for short term up to two weeks. However, you are at increased risk of side effects if you take NSAIDs for a long time or if you have medical problems such as a history of heart attack or stroke, kidney disease, or previous bleeding in your stomach or intestines that we discussed above . The most common side effects of NSAIDs are as follows:
- Heartburn: NSAIDs can cause heartburn and stomach upset. You should take an NSAID with food to minimize heartburn.
- Stomach ulcers or bleeding: If you are over 65 years old or take NSAIDs for a long time you may start to develop ulcers or bleeding in your stomach, esophagus, or intestines. Your doctor may recommend antacids such as omeprazole or lansoprazole to reduce the risk of developing a stomach ulcer or bleeding when you are taking an NSAID.
- Increased Blood Pressure: Your blood pressure may increase while taking an NSAID, but if you are taking blood pressure medications and your blood pressure is stable, NSAIDs probably will not affect your blood pressure that much.
- Kidney Disease: Avoid NSAIDs if you have kidney disease because NSAIDs can make your condition worse.
- Liver Disease: Although rare, taking NSAIDs for a long time may damage the liver. If you have to take NSAIDs for more than a month, your doctor may need to check your liver function with a blood test.
Read Also: Back Pain Advil
What Causes Lower Back Pain When Sitting
It was assumed for years that pressure on the discs in the lower back was responsible for pain that people experienced when sitting. This is largely due to a number of older studies in which the pressure inside the discs were measured with the spine in various postures. It was then found that disc pressures were substantially higher when sitting, than when standing or bending. However, we now know that the presence of bulging, herniated, and degenerative discs on an MRI is a poor predictor of who DOES and DOES NOT have lower back pain. There are many people that have bulging, herniated, and degenerative discs in their spine as well as arthritis that have NO PAIN AT ALL. See the table from American Journal of Neuroradiology below showing how common these findings are on MRIs of people without back pain!
Furthermore, a newer study in The Journal of Electromyographic Kinesiololgy show that intradiscal pressure is likely not responsible for lower back pain when sitting, and is not associated with faster disc degeneration or onset of lower back pain when standing.
Know Your Otc Medications
Nonprescription pain relievers can help with muscle aches and stiffness. The two main types of over-the-counter options are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and acetaminophen. NSAIDs include aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen.
True to their name, NSAIDs help lower inflammation that can lead to swelling and tenderness. But acetaminophen does not relieve inflammation. You can reach for either type of pain reliever for occasional back pain. NSAIDs may work a bit better, Hemani says, if you have arthritis of the spine or other inflammatory conditions.
Recommended Reading: Back Pain Cleveland Clinic
What Are The Warning Signs Of A Serious Problem
Very rarely back pain or pain that travels down the leg is a sign of a serious problem.
If you have any of the following symptoms, you should seek urgent medical attention:
- difficulty controlling or passing urine
- loss of control of your bowels
- numbness around your back passage or your genitals
- serious weakness in your legs so you find standing really difficult
- severe and ongoing back pain that gets worse over several weeks.
The above symptoms could potentially be linked to a rare but serious condition that needs urgent medical attention.
Diagnosis Of Lower Back Pain
Your physiotherapist or GP will usually be able to diagnose lower back pain from your symptoms and by examining you. A physiotherapist is a healthcare professional who specialises in maintaining and improving movement and mobility. You may want to go straight to see a physiotherapist if a self-refer service is available in your area. If its not, you can see your GP who can advise and refer you.
Usually further tests wont help. But if you have other symptoms, your GP may recommend tests including:
Don’t Miss: How Much Advil Can I Take For Back Pain
What Is Upper Cervical Chiropractic Care
There are several different types of upper cervical chiropractic techniques including NUCCA, Knee-Chest, the Blair Technique, and more. We dont have time to address all of the different methods in detail here, but what we can do is give a general overview of the difference between upper cervical techniques and general chiropractic.
Get Enough Restorative Sleep
Pain is a leading cause of insomniadifficulty with falling asleep and/or staying asleep. Inadequate sleep can also make your back pain worse. This vicious cycle makes it more difficult for you to get restorative sleep.
See Restorative Sleep Brings Back Pain Relief
Getting enough restorative sleep is needed for the bodys tissues to heal and recharge energy levels. If you have trouble sleeping, it is important to address pain or other factors that are causing it. Your doctor might recommend lifestyle changes, medications, or other treatments depending on what is disrupting your sleep.
Also Check: Does Motrin Help With Back Pain
How To Relieve Lower Back Pain When Sitting In A Recliner
Sitting in a recliner is a great way to relieve lower back pain, but it’s important that you do it correctly. When you sit upright, gravity is pressing vertically through your spine creating compression on your joints and discs. Additionally, your muscles have to work harder to stabilize your spine. However, when you recline, gravity presses your back into the backrest and makes it easier for you to relax your muscles. The downside is that it also creates an extension in your spine as your hip to spine angle increases substantially greater than 90 degrees. There’s a simple fix to this though. Instead of having your legs out straight on the recliner, bend your knees and place the bottom of your feet flat on the leg rest of the recliner. Doing this will bend your hips back closer to 90 degrees. So now you’ve eliminated the effect of gravity pressing down through your spine AND you’ve also kept your trunk to thigh angle close to 90 degrees. It’s a win-win! See the picture below for details.
