You probably know the situation: after a hard day’s work in the office, you’re finally finished and looking forward to relaxing at home. But no sooner have you flung yourself comfortably on the sofa and put your legs up, you feel a sharp pain in your back.
The human back is a complex interplay of muscles, fascia, bones, ligaments, blood vessels, intervertebral discs, and nerve cords. About twenty-five muscle groups need to work together so our back can do its job. Unfortunately, when the process fails, it can result in chronic back pain. From annoying tension and lumbago to scoliosis and herniated discs – everyone knows someone who has back pain. Now let’s take a look at the causes of back pain.
Causes Of Back Pain
The causes of back pain can vary. Apart from the common causes of back pain such as accidents and lifting heavy objects, at work, we are often exposed to high-performance expectations and are under constant time pressure. These mentally stressful problems can also burden our backs just like heavyweights and can complicate our upright walk through life.
Whether it’s stress at work, high-performance expectations from the social environment, family problems or relationship conflicts, these factors could make us ill not only mentally but also physically. In response to stress, your body releases the hormones cortisol and adrenaline, which cause tension in your muscles. This tension can be the cause of acute back pain.
Some back pains can be temporary and can be relieved through the use of products, or by resting for a couple of days and avoiding strain on your back. However, if pain persists for more than six weeks, chronic back pain will be the result.
If you value the importance of caring for your back, you should act directly when you first experience the initial signs of pain. This is because the pain could be a vital warning sign of impending damage that you should take seriously. But how can you stop the warning signals and prevent your back pain from becoming a lifelong issue? Let’s find out.
Visit A Doctor
Depending on the extent of the complaints, you should first visit a doctor, especially if after 3-4 days there is still no improvement in sight. Your doctor may prescribe certain painkillers for a limited time to help with the relief of pain.
Use Herbal Medicine
In parallel to a treatment using modern medicine prescribed by a GP, some natural remedies can also be used. Spices, such as chili or pepper, cause a burning sensation in our mouths when we eat them. Those ingredients that are responsible for this burning sensation can also be used externally to stimulate blood circulation which can help relieve back pain.
If you have a backache, you can put some crushed chili on a damp cloth and then put it on your back like a compress. The capsaicin contained in the chili triggers an irritation on the skin, which among other things causes a warming of the skin and at the same time increases the blood circulation.
Other herbs such as cannabis can also help to reduce back pain. However, cannabis comes in many different strains, so you will need to know which one to purchase for your individual case. You can read more here for further information on the different cannabis strains.
Exercise
When we spend the whole day outdoors in the fresh air with numerous physical activities, we give our bodies the extra oxygen and strength it needs to function. However, many people nowadays spend an excessive amount of time sitting down causing the body to weaken slowly. On average we sit for 7.5 hours a day. However, the human body was never designed to spend so many hours sitting every day. Therefore, it is even more important to take time to relieve our backs. Back exercises for just ten minutes a day can have a tremendous effect.
What is ideal is a combination of exercise, relaxation and pressure point massages. Most pains in the back are alarm pain and can be alleviated by simple exercises without having to have the syringe at the doctor.
Practice Yoga
If you are experiencing chronic back pain, various exercises such as yoga can help. In a good yoga class, the spine is moved in different directions. This means that the flexibility of the spine is maintained or restored in yoga.
Various studies show that yoga can considerably help with the improvement of back pain. In one study, scientists assigned 320 people with chronic low back pain to attend yoga classes once a week for three months.
The result: The back pain of most of the participants decreased considerably. Even a year later, these participants still had measurably less pain and physical limitations than at the beginning of the study.
Visit A Physiotherapist
In addition to the use of medication, physiotherapy plays a significant role in the treatment of back pain. In the case of severe back pain, a treatment plan should be defined for the patient which, over a specified period, provides for at least two physical therapy sessions per day.
Some physiotherapy treatments also use heat, which is perceived by many patients suffering back pain as pleasant. It has a relaxing effect on the muscles and promotes blood circulation. Even warm, windproof clothing, such as an extra undershirt or a thick sweater, can keep the back warm. Hot baths, sauna, hot air treatment, red light and the application of warm wrap packs also help with pain relief on the back. Rheumatic ointments also have a warming and circulation-promoting effect. However, they should always be used only for a short time and are not suitable for every patient. Sometimes the use of cold in the form of cold compresses or gel compresses may relieve the symptoms, especially with severe acute pain, which is based on an inflammatory reaction.
Conclusion
With the first signs of tension or pain on the back, you should try to implement the above tips directly to prevent chronic complaints. By taking the appropriate preventative measures and actively working to prevent further damage to your back, you can ensure you stay fighting fit and healthy, without your back pain limiting your day-to-day life.
