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What Can You Do When Your Lower Back Hurts

Manage Or Reduce Stress

How to Fix âLow Backâ? Pain (INSTANTLY!)

Stress can trigger muscle tension and painful spasms, including in the back. If long-term stress or a traumatic event seems to have caused back pain, a person can try stress-relief techniques, such as:

  • Mindfulness meditation.One study showed that mindfulness-based stress reduction improved back pain. Mindfulness involves being aware of what the body is doing and using meditation techniques to assist with the pain.
  • Deep breathing. Taking deep breaths in and out for several minutes can calm the bodys stress response.
  • Progressive muscle relaxation. This involves tensing and relaxing muscles in the body, focusing on one muscle group at a time. Lying on their back, a person can start with their feet and gradually move up to the shoulders.
  • Guided imagery. This involves focusing on specific mental images to bring about a feeling of relaxation. One study found guided imagery and music helps with work-related chronic stress.
  • Yoga. Yoga focuses on particular poses and breathing and can help with relaxation, especially when practiced regularly. One review found yoga to be an effective stress management tool.

Many smartphone apps are available to guide a person through relaxation techniques and meditation.

Daily Habits To Stop Back Pain

10 daily habits to stop back pain

Although determining the cause of back pain can be complicated, there are many different actions you can take to help alleviate your back pain or prevent it from getting worse. Its all about relieving pressure, reducing strain, protecting your spine, and strengthening your muscles. Changing a few daily habits can help you maintain a healthy, pain-free back for a long time.

Do Pay Attention To Your Posture

Your mothers advice to stop slouching was spot on! Too many people spend hours slumped over a keyboard, slouching on the sofa looking at television or slumped over looking down at our cell phones.

Put your back against the backrest of your chair and sit up straight. Your back will thank you for it! If you arent sure what proper posture should be, speak with your chiropractor.

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Dont Sleep On Your Stomach

Sleeping on your stomach is the worst possible position when you have low back pain. Sleeping in this position will put the most amount of pressure on your neck and lower back. If sleeping on your stomach is a habit, try sewing a tennis ball into the front of a shirt or your pajama top to prevent you from turning on your stomach in your sleep.

The best position will be sleeping on your side or on your back. Be certain that you have a good, supportive pillow. If you sleep on your side, you might want to put a very flat pillow between your knees to help align your spine.

Pillows dont last forever! If yours is more than three years old, it is probably time for a new one. Your mattress will also make a big difference when it comes to back pain. What is the best mattress for your back anyway?

Types Of Low Back Pain

Lower Back Pain

If your back pain is short-term — meaning it lasts a few days or a few weeks — doctors call it âacute.â If it has gone on for 3 months or more, itâs considered chronic.

You may hear the term âmechanicalâ low back pain. That means the problem involves the moving parts of your back — disks, vertebrae, ligaments, tendons, and muscles.

Other names for low back pain include lumbar syndrome and lumbago.

How your back pain feels can vary. You might describe yours as:

  • Aching

It may also radiate down into your butt, hips, or thighs.

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Sensations That Might Indicate A Medical Emergency

1. Sharp pain rather than a dull ache: This could indicate a torn muscle or ligament, or a problem with an internal organ in the back or side.2. Radiating pain: This pain “moves” or shoots to the glutes or legs, which could indicate a nerve compression condition.

3. Sudden weakness in the legs: Limb weakness can be caused by compressed nerves in the spine due to conditions like sciatica or spinal stenosis. However, sudden leg weakness could also indicate a stroke.4. Incontinence: Back pain paired with inability to control the bowels or bladder might be a sign of serious nerve compression or a spine infection, such as discitis or meningitis.5. Numbness or pins and needles in the groin or glutes: This is known as saddle anesthesia and is also a sign of a serious nerve or spine condition.

If you have leg weakness, incontinence, and numbness together, you might have cauda equina syndrome, a serious illness characterized by spinal cord nerve damage. This is a medical emergency, and patients usually need surgery immediately to decompress the nerves and reduce permanent damage.

Related reading: Get help for back, neck, and leg pain caused by spinal stenosis

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

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Dont Look Down For Hours At A Time

Most people are completely unaware of how many hours they spend looking down at cell phones and tablets. Your job might include writing or other tasks that involve looking down. This can wreak havoc on your neck and if you are sitting down, your lower back.

Take frequent breaks whenever you are using a cell phone, reading, or doing any other task that keeps you looking down. Stretch your neck and back at least every 30 minutes. If possible, move the tablet or other object higher, so you avoid looking down and slouching over.

Other Conditions That Cause Back Pain In Older Adults

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We often see a range of less serious but still painful spine conditions in seniors. Most patients with these conditions will not require surgery. Physical therapy, medication, injectable anesthetics, or a combination of treatments usually can control symptoms.

  • Degenerative disc disease, which can cause whole spine pain, and lumbar arthritis, which usually causes low-back pain, commonly develop with age and are considered wear-and-tear conditions.
  • Sacroiliitis is an inflammation of the joints that connect your spine and pelvis. This condition can cause pain in the low back, glutes, and upper legs.
  • Ankylosing spondylitis is an inflammatory arthritis that causes patients spines to become inflexible, resulting in a continual hunched forward position and spine pain.
  • We also check for adult degenerative scoliosis and kyphosis, spine-curving conditions that can result in back pain and weakness in the lower extremities.

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What Are The Most Common Lower Back Surgery Procedures

Spine surgery is not necessary for most people who have lower back pain. If you do need it, your doctor will recommend an appropriate procedure to address your specific symptoms and medical situation. Common spine surgeries include:

Spinal Fusion. Two or more vertebrae are permanently fused together to limit excess spinal motion. Your surgeon will use a combination of bone, bonelike material, screws, plates and rods to hold the vertebrae together so they can heal into a single unit. Spinal fusion may be done to correct spinal deformities or to increase the spines stability in severe cases of spinal osteoarthritis or herniated discs.

Laminectomy and laminotomy. Laminectomy is a surgery in which your surgeon removes the back portion of one or more vertebrae to create more space for the spinal cord or other nerves. In people with severe arthritis, bone spurs within the spinal canal can grow large enough to press on the spinal cord, causing pain and limiting mobility. In a similar surgery known as laminotomy, your surgeon will remove a small piece of bone called the lamina from the back of the vertebra.

How To Get Rid Of Lower Back Pain If You Think My Back Is Killing Me

According to the NIH lower back pain affects nearly everyone at some point in their life.

Lower back pain also:

  • Is something that Americans spend $50 billion dollars on annually in physicians visits and rehab
  • The #1 cause of job related disability
  • The #2 neurological health issue

Seeing as how back pain is such an ubiquitous problem, I was a little disappointed when I googled back pain relief, because this is the useless advice I got from just about every website.

Useless guides online to backpain:

  • Surgery
  • Herbs
  • Yoga

But heres the problem none of these things you can do yourself , right now .

So heres what Im NOT going to tell you: Im NOT going to tell you to go see XXX specialist, because that would be useless advice that you should already know. I am not a doctor or qualified medical professional. You should always be seeing them first.There are thousands of other websites telling you to just go see your doctor or a physical therapist. You know you should be doing that.

Instead, these are a few key strategies Ive used to reduce the majority of my back pain on a day to day basis, but in my experience these are mostly short term fixes. Check out our epic guide to lower back pain relief to learn more about how I got rid of most of my back pain on a daily basis.

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How Long Before The Pain Goes Away

This will depend on what the root cause is. Most people will find that, with proper care, their low back pain improves within 4 weeks.

Unfortunately, unless you have followed your chiropractors advice, chances are your pain will return.

We hope you found this information helpful. If you did, please feel free to share this article with others.

At Better Health Chiropractic and Rehab, we believe that no one should live in pain. Contact our office for a same-day appointment or schedule an appointment online by .

Dont let low back pain ruin your life! Call and speak to one of our friendly representatives today.

Schedule an Appointment and Receive

Find Activities That Make You Happy

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Ongoing back pain can wreak havoc on your life, affecting your cherished relationships, finances, and your ability to get stuff done at work and at home. Finding activities that make you happy can help reduce some stress and may relieve some pain.

Some people find that even doing just 3 things that make them feel good each daysuch as enjoying a comforting cup of tea or coffee, calling an old friend, walking the dog, or receiving a longish 30-second hug from a loved onecan make pain more tolerable.

Even something as simple as laughter with a friend may stimulate feel-good endorphins.1, 2

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What To Do If You Suspect Something Else

Theres only one major tiphere: See a doctor, whether it is your primary care physician or aspecialist. Each condition that mimics spinal problems comes with its own treatments,but the first step is an accurate diagnosis. For example, a nerve test such aselectromyography can help a doctor spot neuropathy, and a blood-flow testsuch as the ankle-brachial index can distinguish between spinal stenosisand peripheral arterial disease.

Its so important to look atall of your symptoms and history and do a thorough examination, Dr. Khalafsays. Its how we can tell the difference between a back issue and a medicalcondition.

Chronic Back Pain: Long

Chronic back pain, on the other hand, can be serious. Chronic pain is serious because the symptoms are strong enough to impact your health, mobility and quality of life for an extended period of time.

While chronic back pain can come on suddenly, it usually builds gradually and lasts more than six weeks. Chronic back pain can also be recurrent, meaning itll go away at times but regularly come back.

What causes chronic back pain? Chronic pain can be triggered by a new injury, but underlying conditions are usually the real cause. Muscle deconditioning is one of the most common contributors.

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Injections For Low Back Pain Relief

Epidural steroid injections are a commonly used short-term choice for treating low back pain and sciatica. These injections work by reducing inflammation to relieve pain. Injections are intended for short-term use and should not be utilized for an extended period of time as they may worsen pain in the long run.

For those with chronic pain or sever spinal injury, a nerve block may be utilized to prevent nerve conduction in a certain area. This essentially blocks all feeling from nerves. Nerve blocks are typically only used in extreme cases of severe pain.

Is Your Mattress Causing You Back Pain

Lower Back Pain? DONâT STRETCH! (What You Should Do Instead)

Sleep Advisor Disclaimer – Nothing on this website is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment… Read more here

There are a lot of different reasons that people experience back pain. Figuring out where your discomfort is coming from can be difficult, especially if you lead an active or challenging life. However, the mattress you go to sleep on at night can play a big part in how you feel in the morning. In other words, its important to find out whether your bed is to blame for your back soreness or not.

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Signs Your Back Pain Might Be An Emergency

In our 20s and 30s, normal back pain often can be attributed to factors of daily life, such as sitting too long, picking up children, or overdoing it while exercising.

In our 40s and older, work injuries and the beginnings of arthritis and degenerative conditions are more common.

Back pain is so common, in fact, that many patients shrug off symptoms that might indicate a medical emergency.

Approximately 80% of adults will experience back pain in their lives, so its important to be able to identify the severity of your symptoms and track how long the pain lasts.

If back pain can be associated with a specific activity, such as lifting or twisting wrong, and the pain goes away within 72 hours after resting and applying ice, its usually nothing to worry about. However, if pain creeps on gradually, appears suddenly, or doesn’t go away, you might have a more serious condition.

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.

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Is It A Pinched Nerve Or Pulled Muscle In The Lower Back

A pulled muscle occurs when you tear or overstretch some of the muscle fibers. This can happen if you overwork the muscle or twist it too hard. You will probably notice pain and swelling, and the area will be tender to the touch. You may even notice redness or bruising.

A pinched nerve, or nerve compression, happens when pressure in an area causes the nerve impulses to become partially blocked. You may experience a radiating, burning pain in the affected area.

While a pulled muscle in your lower back could potentially cause a pinched nerve, this can also be caused by a herniated disc in your spine. If you feel radiant pain that extends into your legs, see a doctor right away.

How About Some Walking

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One often overlooked form of exercise for people with sore backs is walking. Substituting walking for a harder workout may help you keep the health benefits of aerobic activity goingnot to mention alleviating some or all of your pain.

That said, walking may only be a short-term pain relief solution.

A 2015 study published in the Archives of Physical Medicine Rehabilitation found that while walking is associated with improvement in chronic musculoskeletal pain, including back pain, its effectiveness as a long term fix is not certain. The study authors caution that walking needs to be supplemented with specific strategies that target your back or other problem area.

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Static Stretches For Getting Rid Of Lower Back Pain

Static stretches, like those done in Yoga, can be a fantastic way to alleviate lower back pain for two reasons: #1 youre relaxing areas that are constantly experiencing tension and getting more blood flow to them, and #2 youre lengthening areas that grow stiff and shortened from lack of daily use.

For those of you that sit 40 hours a week, doing these regularly will help immensely. Many of us slump our lower back throughout the day which puts improper pressure on the lower back. There should always be a curve in the lower back, and putting a pillow or lumbar support will reduce back pain and even referred pain in your legs or surrounding areas.

A. Hip Flexor Stretch

Pretty self explanatory, we all did it in gym class.

The only difference here is that you should be focusing on the feeling of your hip flexors stretching and not much else. Your hip flexor is the vert top part of your leg right where it connects to your hip.

How to do this properly:

  • Keep your back straight
  • Focus on pushing the back leg up youll feel a harder stretch in your hip flexors
  • Flex your butt and clench your abs
  • To make this more difficult and more of a stretch, you can lean your upper body away from the back leg. So if its your left leg that is elongated at the back, face your body right.

B. Runners Quad Stretch

How to do this properly:

C. Childs Pose

Do it because: It will help stretch out the upper and mid back, as well as open up the hips a bit. It also feels relaxing as hell.

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