Avoid Prolonged Static Posture
It is important to pay attention to the joints and muscles of your spine and hip. Prevent fatigue and stresses on these joints by following simple tips, such as:
- Avoid excessive sitting or consider using a standing desk while you work. When you sit for a long duration, the pressure on your spinal discs increase. Aim to get up every hour and walk a short distance to take the load off your discs.
When you have a flare-up of symptoms, consider less exertive activities, such as reading a book, listening to music, or crafting. These activities can help divert your mind from the pain and let your back rest at the same time.
What Can Cause Lower Back Pain
Most acute low back pain is mechanical in nature, meaning that there is a disruption in the way the components of the back fit together and move. Some examples of mechanical causes of low back pain include:
Congenital
- Skeletal irregularities such as scoliosis , lordosis , kyphosis , and other congenital anomalies of the spine.
- Spina bifida which involves the incomplete development of the spinal cord and/or its protective covering and can cause problems involving malformation of vertebrae and abnormal sensations and even paralysis.
Injuries
- Sprains , strains , and spasms
- Traumatic Injury such as from playing sports, car accidents, or a fall that can injure tendons, ligaments, or muscle causing the pain, as well as compress the spine and cause discs to rupture or herniate.
Degenerative problems
- Intervertebral disc degeneration which occurs when the usually rubbery discs wear down as a normal process of aging and lose their cushioning ability.
- Spondylosis the general degeneration of the spine associated with normal wear and tear that occurs in the joints, discs, and bones of the spine as people get older.
- Arthritis or other inflammatory disease in the spine, including osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis as well as spondylitis, an inflammation of the vertebrae.
Nerve and spinal cord problems
Non-spine sources
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.
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Bonus Tip: Consider Taking A Vitamin D3 Supplement
If your doctor agrees, consider taking a vitamin D3 supplement. Vitamin D is essential for bone, neuromuscular, and immune system function. Taking a vitamin D3 supplement can help reduce back pain by increasing the absorption of calcium in your body and improving bone strength.15
See Calcium and Vitamin D Requirements
Finding the perfect pain relief technique is usually a process of trial and error, making it worth exploring various approaches. Try these natural pain-relieving strategies for your back pain and see what works best for you. Severe pain that is not relieved by self-care must be evaluated by a health professional for an accurate diagnosis and treatment plan.
More Treatments For Leg Pain
If these home remedies dont help with your leg pain, talk to your pain doctor about how to get rid of leg pain. Your pain doctor may recommend any of the following treatment options. Click the links below to learn more about each of your options.
Reach out to a pain doctor today if youre interested in trying any of these leg pain treatments. Theyll be able to discuss these treatments in more depth and can figure out which ones would be most appropriate for your pain.
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Root Causes Of Lower Right Back Pain
Bad posture, slouching while walking, and bending your head too much are all of the mechanical troubles that gradually cause back pain in the body.
This can only be relieved by certain stretches and correct postures. Wear and tear of the spinal cord can eventually end up damaging the lower back. Injuries on the right side, especially with soft tissue, can lead to immense back pain. When the muscles or ligaments on the back are excessively stretched, it causes muscle and ligament pain respectively.
Certain injuries on the bone and tissues cause pain on the lower right back side. Kidney problems often cause pain in the lower back. Since the location of the kidney corresponds with the lower right side, it is a painful experience as the stones pass through the urinary tract.Spinal stenosis happens when the space between the spinal cords is narrowed.
When this occurs in the body, the lower back aches on one or both sides. Arthritis and Appendix also have similar results. Moreover, weakened body muscles may also affect back pain. This is due to the weak muscles procrastinating without exercising or moving around much.
Complementary Alternative Emerging Treatments
In some cases, doctors suggest therapies that are not considered current standard of care. They probably wont be covered by insurance, but they may be worth considering. Examples include:
. PRP treatments use a small sample of your own blood that has concentrated amounts of blood building blocks known as platelets. Your doctor then injects the PRP directly into a damaged disc. The theory is that PRP injections use your own healing system to accelerate improvement of injured tendons, ligaments, muscles, and joints.
PRP treatment has a longer track record in knee osteoarthritis, but a recent review article in the Journal of Spine Surgery suggests it may have a useful role for back pain, too. PRP needs a lot more research before it can be considered a proven technique.
In this emerging treatment, your doctor injects stem cells harvested from your hip into the intervertebral disc or discs causing your pain. Doing so may lessen pain and the degenerative effects of aging, though, like PRP, more research is needed before stem cells for lower back pain could eventually become the standard of care.
. Your doctor probably doesnt perform acupuncture , but may support you trying it as a complementary therapy. Acupuncture involves careful insertion of fine, sterile needles into specific points on your body. This may stimulate the release of your natural pain-killing chemicals.
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How Is Lower Back Pain Just Above The Buttocks Treated
The first course of action is medication to reduce inflammation and pain, so anti-inflammatory drugs can make it easier to carry out your daily tasks. Heat and cold therapy can help, whether heat or cold packs or a hot bath. Taking a break from any vigorous activity is important, but you need to stay as active as possible, as too much time resting can exacerbate some conditions.
If your pain hasnt eased after these treatments and lasts more than a couple of weeks, speak to your doctor as they can refer you to the right specialist.
Your doctor may recommend physical therapy, including core-strengthening exercises, stretching, and massage. Surgery may be necessary if other treatments are not effective.
Comprehensive Chiropractic Care In Anchorage
At Better Health Alaska, we can provide you with a sciatica diagnosis and comprehensive chiropractic treatment. Waiting for sciatica to go away can lead to long-term issues, so its important to see a professional sooner rather than later. Visit Alaskas most trusted Anchorage chiropractor at 8840 Old Seward Hwy E today for a same-day appointment!
You should know that not only do we offer secrets 1, 2, and 3, but our chiropractors can also offer advice about secrets 6, 7, and 8 all in one location!
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Secret #: Physical Therapy Modalities & Physical Rehabilitation
One of the great things about physical therapy is that you will learn exercises and stretches to strengthen your muscles to not only stop sciatica pain but to prevent a recurrence.
Physical therapy and chiropractic go hand in hand, which is why most chiropractors offer physical therapy modalities in their clinics.
There are a variety of options that a physical therapist might choose to treat your sciatica, including active treatments, such as stretching, strength training, yoga, and core strengthening exercise programs, or passive therapies, such as ultrasound or chiropractic massage.
Depending on the cause of your sciatica, your physical therapist might suggest less intense exercises and treatment plans, such as walking, swimming, water aerobics, or joint mobility.
Your chiropractor can use multiple physical therapy modalities that work in combination with chiropractic care to treat your pain, find the root cause, and make a treatment plan that works for you, so you can get back on your feet again without the pain of sciatica. In fact, one study found that patients with sciatica who received physical therapy as joint mobility and exercise experienced more meaningful improvement than those who didnt.
If you have sciatica nerve pain while pregnant, seeing a chiropractor along with a physical therapist is even more important.
What Causes Lower Back Pain That Radiates Down Both Legs
Home » What Causes Lower Back Pain that Radiates Down Both Legs?
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Back problems are one of the most frequent complaints to doctors. Its a common condition thats usually treated with conservative treatment methods. However, if the lower back pain radiates to other parts of the body like the legs, it might be time to visit a pain management or spine specialist to determine its possible cause.
So whats the possible reason for back pain to travel down to both legs? The leg pain youre feeling on both sides might be a symptom of a spine condition that affects the lower back like sciatica, piriformis syndrome, herniated disk, osteoarthritis, degenerative spondylolisthesis, sacroiliac joint dysfunction, cauda equina syndrome, and degenerative disc disease.
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Learn More Precise Words To Describe Your Pain
It can be really difficult to find the language to describe physical sensations, and youll probably never find a word that seems to fit perfectly. But learning more about the different words your language has for pain can help you communicate more effectively. It can even help your doctor diagnose the cause of your pain.
Here are some words commonly used to describe pain. Make a note of which ones resonate with you:
For more resources on how to communicate what pain feels like to your doctor, check out some of the links at the bottom of this article.
Ii Natural Home Remedies For Leg Pain Relief
After reading my overview of natural and safe home remedies for back pain and leg pain relief, I hope that it will help you get more ways to deal with your back pain and leg pain. I also show you step by step instructions on how to use these remedies without taking drugs or pills. This post is part of a series of tips, methods, and advice on how to deal with common diseases and conditions. Got a question? Need answers? Leave a comment below.
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Be Aware Of Potential Bias And Bring It Up Proactively
If youre a woman, trans person, or person of color or if you have a disability, mental illness, or body type thats considered unhealthy in our society you might already be aware of the fact that doctors are all too human.
And humans often have prejudiced attitudes that they may not even be aware of.
People with larger bodies often find that doctors dismiss their symptoms, including pain, by telling them to just lose weight. Some groups of people are stereotyped as over-dramatic or over-sensitive, and their reports of pain are sometimes dismissed by doctors as hysterical.
Black women in particular have struggled to have their pain recognized and treated by doctors, which almost certainly has to do with our nations long, shameful legacy of medical abuse and violence toward Black people especially women.
In 2017, an image of a page from a popular nursing textbook went viral online. You may have seen it. The page was apparently intended to teach nursing students about Cultural Differences in Response to Pain and included such gems as, Jews may be vocal and demanding of assistance, and Blacks often report higher pain intensity than other cultures.
Although the textbook was revised after public outcry, it was a stark reminder to those of us with chronic health issues that this is the sort of thing our providers are being taught about us.
Find Your Inner Om With Yoga
Many people use yoga as a way to stay fit and increase their sense of well-being through meditation and relaxation. Yoga is essentially a choreographed series of movements meant to open your energy centers and stretch and strengthen the muscles in the body. Yoga is generally considered safe and it is easy for beginners to pick up the basics. However, it is important to make sure that you do the poses correctly to avoid any unnecessary strain on the body and prevent injury. While there are plenty of videos and mobile apps that can help with yoga it may be a good idea to start with a class where a teacher can instruct you in the correct form.
This kind of dedicated stretching workout can be great for osteoarthritis. Because yoga is low-impact by nature and does not involve any sudden movements it likely will not put pressure on already damaged joints. Yoga can also be modified to use in a variety of ways if someone has any physical limitations.
Like swimming, yoga can also be beneficial for relieving the pain of sciatica leg pain. Because this pain is caused by pressure being placed on the sciatic nerve, anything that can take the pressure off can provide pain relief. Seated or standing spinal twists can help alleviate this pain as well as poses that open the hips.
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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.
Should I Rest If I Have Sciatica
Some rest and change in your activities and activity level may be needed. However, too much rest, bed rest, and physical inactivity can make your pain worse and slow the healing process. Its important to maintain as much activity as possible to keep muscles flexible and strong.
Before beginning your own exercise program, see your healthcare provider or spine specialist first to get a proper diagnosis. This healthcare professional will refer you to the proper physical therapist or other trained exercise or body mechanics specialist to devise an exercise and muscle strengthening program thats best for you.
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When To See Your Gp
You should speak to your GP as soon as possible if you have back pain and:
- find it difficult to pass or control urine
- feel numbness or altered sensation around your back passage or genitals – such as wiping after the toilet
- have pins and needles around your back passage or genitals – such as wiping after the toilet
If your GP surgery is closed, phone 111.
What Complications Are Associated With Sciatica
Most people recover fully from sciatica. However, chronic pain can be a complication of sciatica. If the pinched nerve is seriously injured, chronic muscle weakness, such as a drop foot, might occur, when numbness in the foot makes normal walking impossible. Sciatica can potentially cause permanent nerve damage, resulting in a loss of feeling in the affected legs. Call your provider right away if you lose feeling in your legs or feet, or have any concerns during your recovery time.
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When To See A Doctor
People can often treat back pain with home remedies and some patience. However, a person should speak with a healthcare professional about chronic or severe back pain.
A healthcare professional may recommend physical therapy, medication, or other treatments. People with existing health conditions or who take regular medications should speak with a medical professional before trying herbal medications or supplements.
Consider Supplements To Relieve Osteoarthritis Pain
The most recommended supplement for improving osteoarthritis is glucosamine sulfate. On his website, Dr. Andrew Weil notes that:
Glucosamine sulfate provides the joints with the building blocks they need to help repair the natural wear on cartilage caused by everyday activities. Specifically, glucosamine sulfate provides the raw material needed by the body to manufacture a mucopolysaccharide found in cartilage. Supplemental sources are derived from shellfish. Taken in supplement form, glucosamine may help improve the maintenance of healthy cartilage with an enhanced deposition of glycosaminoglycan.
Chondroitin is another supplement commonly taken with glucosamine that can also stimulate the growth of new cartilage components. In addition to these supplements, Dr. Weil recommends eating foods that can reduce tissue damage from inflammation. These include oily fish, such as salmon, ginger, turmeric, and organically grown fruits and vegetables.
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