2011年6月5日 星期日

The Biggest Cause of Lower Back Pain - And Its Second Cure!


Can you imagine being able to get out of bed in the morning feeling 100%, yes no more lower back pain to hold you back. Just think of all the things you could do again once your lower back pain had vanished. You would have time to read more...

Wait up, read more, why??

Well if you missed the first part to this article, it would pay to read it first. So go back to the search area and put in "The Biggest Cause of Lower Back Pain... and its' Cure!" to find the first part of this series.

Welcome back...

As I was saying, imagine being free of lower back pain. Being able to go to work pain free, come home pain free, and enjoy life without lower back pain. It is simple and you can have this seemingly unavailable dream.

Firstly you have corrected those pesky weak abdominal muscles, and now you need to release those persistent tight hip flexor muscles. After all they are just as much a cause of your lower back pain as your weak abdominal muscles.

If you don't want to know why these tight muscles cause lower back pain, just skip the next paragraph or two and go straight to how to release them...

The hip flexor muscles attach into the front of your lower spine and then reattach in your hip (where your leg attaches to your pelvis - not the area you call your hip in the side of your lower back). If they tighten they increase the curve of your lower back. This places pressure on your spine and then leads to lower back pain.

The hip flexor muscles are commonly irritated by a few things - performing sit-ups wrong is a good one, especially if you have been doing thousands of them in your aim to get those wash-board abdominals or to remove lower back pain. Sitting too long allows them to contract and shorten, which is the biggest cause today. Most of you reading this are sitting down and possibly have spent a few hours searching the internet already.

The way to release them is easy though. No doubt you will have come across many hip flexor stretches before. You now are sitting in hope that I am going to give you a 'miracle' stretch to remove your tight hip flexors once and for ever. But I'm not...

In fact the way to stretch the hip flexors is the same as always. You kneel on the ground, keep your back straight, have the front leg bent with the foot flat on the ground, and then move your pelvis forward so that you stretch the hip flexor of the back leg. Simple, you see these all the time.

The 'miracle part' is when to stretch. When you stretch, your aim is to release the tight muscle, and most of all keep it relaxed all the time. This way your lower back pain will ease and disappear. To achieve this you need to stretch three times each day...

When you wake up, once in the day and just before bed. The night time stretch is the most important as you stretch then relax the muscle by sleeping. This is the ideal way to train your muscle to stay relaxed. The other most important aspect is how to stretch.

Knowing what to stretch is essential, knowing when to stretch is imperative; knowing how to stretch is the fail-safe.

You are most likely reading this with lower back pain. You want to be able to get out of your chair and enjoy life, free of lower back pain. This is achievable and all you have to do is increase the strength of your abdominal muscles and release the tension in your hip flexors... simple.

Lower back pain can disappear and remain that way. Life becomes the way you always dreamed it would...








Dr Graeme Teague is an expert in the structural field, and has been in practice since 1991. His newly launched web site The Back Pain Advisor - http://www.back-pain-advisor.com - strives to give you valuable and expert advice, tips and information on your back pain issues.

For more information on lower back pain issues just visit - http://www.back-pain-advisor.com/lower-back-pain.html

Receive a free e-book on back pain when you subscribe to our newsletter, just click here - [http://www.back-pain-advisor.com/back-pain-adviser.html]


2011年6月4日 星期六

Understanding Chronic Treatment-Resistant Pain - Psychosomatic Back Pain


Science has demonstrated that there is an incredibly powerful link between the mind and the body. In many instances, the underlying cause of neck pain, back pain and sciatica, also referred to as the back pain complex, may be psychological. Many times, when an individual is in pain and told that it may be psychological or psychosomatic, the patient immediately becomes defensive, often stating, "It is not in my mind, the pain is real!" The fact is, it is indeed very real, regardless of whether the pain is labeled as psychosomatic or not. When dealing with treatment-resistant, chronic pain the mind/body link must be explored, so it can be ruled out. In this article, we will discuss psychological pain, psychosomatic pain, and chronic psychological back pain. While discussed in a previous article, we will also address, once again but briefly, the link between chronic back pain and depression. Chronic pain, in any form, can be the most insidious, debilitating, and disabling of any medical complaint. In order to fully treat the condition, underlying causality must be explored and diagnosed thoroughly. It is true that most cases of neck pain, back pain, and sciatica are or have their basis in an actual pathology or other physiological condition. However, psychological back pain is quite common and in fact is one of the primary causes of treatment-resistant chronic pain.

Unfortunately, when an illness is labeled psychosomatic there is often an immediate stigma or negative perception associated with it. Very often, when an individual suffering from neck pain, back pain and/or sciatica hears the term psychosomatic, they immediately respond defensively. When a condition is labeled as psychosomatic the connotation attached is that the condition is "all in the mind" or somehow "imaginary." There is even a mental illness stigma attached, with the patient protesting, "I am not crazy, this pain is real!" Even people close, at times members of the individual's own family, will say unkind things like, "I knew he was faking it" or "I knew she was just trying to get attention, I felt sorry for her!" For these reasons and others, the resistance to a psychosomatic diagnosis is considerable, often socially and culturally based.

As discussed in a previous article, there is a powerful link between stress and psychosomatic illness, in this case neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica; or treatment-resistant chronic back pain. Additionally, the link between depression and psychosomatic illness, particularly as we age, is often quite powerful. Individuals suffering from psychosomatic illness may experience incredible pain or other physical manifestations or symptoms, with no physical diagnosis. Paradoxically, there are a number of physical conditions, such as brain injuries and vitamin deficiencies just to name two, which may exhibit profound psychological symptoms. However, it is often the case that many individuals exhibiting treatment-resistant chronic pain, with no underlying medical diagnosis, may have a psychological or psychosomatic condition.

Contrary to commonly held beliefs, pain that is the result of a psychosomatic condition, of an emotional or psychological process, is actually quite real. Psychosomatic pain, in this case treatment-resistant chronic back pain, is not imaginary, it is not "in our heads," it is not the result of a delusional or a sick mind, and it is not the consequence of mental illness. The fact is that anyone suffering from tension headaches, ulcers, colitis, tension backaches, and a myriad of other stress-related illnesses has a psychosomatic condition. Clearly, all of these individuals are not "crazy." I suppose the best way for an individual to understand just how real psychosomatic pain can be is to have them think back to their last tension headache and ask a single, quite simple question: "Was the pain real?"

Psychological back pain is simply another name for psychosomatic back pain and is sometimes referred to as stress-induced back pain. Once again, pain associated with this condition is indeed very real. While the pain may ultimately be linked to the mind/body link, the physical expression of pain, whether the pain is neck pain, back pain or sciatica, may be debilitating and disabling. Consequently, dealing with psychosomatic, treatment-resistance chronic pain is often difficult, if not close to impossible, without effectively dealing with the underlying condition. As a noted evolutionary scientist once pointed out, psychosomatic pain may be considered an evolutionary anomaly but it is completely human and utterly normal. As our system, and that includes our mind, becomes overloaded, it seeks to alleviate or eliminate the problem as quickly and efficiently as possible. Unfortunately for the patient, it does this by shifting focus away from the actual cause, the real danger, expressing it in a very uncomfortable, often intense fashion; and, in this case through chronic treatment-resistant back pain.

Psychosomatic pain is the most frequently diagnosed and least understood form of both acute and chronic back pain. Significantly, most treatment-resistant chronic back pain sufferers, those with unresolved back pain, meaning that there is no clear diagnosis, by definition suffer from an underlying and misdiagnosed psychological ailment or condition. While medical schools are beginning to address this very significant medical issue, psychosomatic illness has long been relegated to the back burner of medical education. Consequently, medical practitioners are simply not prepared for or able to understand, much less treat, this condition. As a result, many individuals are misdiagnosed with this "scapegoat condition," leaving individuals with very real physiological, structural, and medical conditions undiagnosed.

Unfortunately, while solutions are available, they are still relatively unknown. As the medical community begins to educate itself, so they can be better prepared to deal with this condition, we are beginning to see the first steps towards a holistic approach to this problem. Psychosomatic medicine has been talked about for centuries, even Sigmund Freud was fascinated by it in his time, yet it is only in the last few years that we see a real movement to deal with this ongoing epidemic. Treatment-resistance chronic pain sufferers, particularly those individuals with an extended history of unresolved and undiagnosed pain, are most likely to exhibit a myriad of medical complaints to include ulcers, colitis, and depression, just to name a few. The combination of unresolved neck pain, back pain and/or sciatica and depression leads to profound consequences for the individual, the family, the community, and even the state. The impact of this poorly understood and often misdiagnosed condition or set of conditions ripples throughout the system with consequences far beyond those of a medical nature.

Ultimately, and until such time as the underlying condition has been diagnosed, treated, and eliminated, symptoms must be recognized and alleviated. For this reason, it is advisable for the individual to begin a wide-ranging, individualized, and medically supervised program to deal with both symptoms expressed and causality yet undetermined. Exercise, in and of itself, will have a remarkable and immediate impact on most individuals. Not only will an exercise program, properly administered and supervised, do wonders to alleviate stress, it will also serve to improve self-esteem and self-confidence. With exercise, particularly until the musculature adapts and adjusts to the new routine, certain other measures will need to be taken. The additional treatment strategies to be initiated, along with the exercise program, should include a stretching program, 2 to 3 times a day (see: "Simple and Easy Program of Exercise for Sciatica Relief... Part I & Part II"). Self-education, both individually and in a group setting, will also enhance understanding, self-knowledge, and self-esteem. Most importantly, either individual or group therapy should be initiated in order to comes to grips with the underlying issues contributing to the unresolved and/or misdiagnosed psychosomatic pain condition. The concert of bad back strategies will do wonders to alleviate symptoms, ultimately leading to a resolution when used along side of a solid therapy program to understand underlying stressors which resulted in the back pain complex of neck pain, back pain, and sciatica.








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John P. Zajaros, Sr., The Bad Back Guy


How to Relieve Lower Back Pain - 6 Simple Tips For Your Back Pain


How to relieve lower back pain is the use of interventions and therapies which involve blocking the conduction of nerves between specific areas of the brain and the body to alleviate pain, medications for short- term relief, exercises for strengthening and pain relief, surgery for relief of chronic pain and other disabilities.

Low back pain is very common among adults and it is often caused by overused of muscles causing strain or injury. Long hours of sitting and standing can also aggravate the condition. Since the lower part of your back makes the most of your movement in everything you do, it can also be the most affected when stressed and injured. As such, when people have such condition, they feel as if they want that pain to disappear in a second.

In the advance of technology these days, there are treatments to help relieve pain in the lower back that varies depending on the severity of the case. There some key points that we have to remember when dealing with the treatment options:


Different treatments can help you stay as active as possible as it will help you understand that some continued or repeated back pain is not surprising or dangerous at all. Most low back pain can get better if you stay active, you avoid positions and activities that may be exhausting to your lower back, use ice for pain and inflammation, and take nonprescription pain relievers when you need them. Doctor's advice is necessary.

When pain is no longer severe, you may be ready for gentle strengthening exercises for your back, necks, legs and to some different areas of the body.. Exercise may not only help decrease low back pain, but it may also help you recover faster, prevent recurrence injury to your back, and reduce the risk of permanent disability.

Exercises to reduce low back pain may not be complicated and can be done at the comforts of your home without any special equipment.

Don't be afraid of the pain and let it stop you from trying gentle activity. You should try to be active soon to prevent pain recurrence and other disabilities. Remember, too little activity can lead to loss of flexibility, strength, and endurance, thus causing more pain.

How To Relieve Lower Back Pain

1. Introduce lower back pain stretching exercises

Some relief from the early stages of lower back pain can be accomplished by performing simple stretches which are often advised by your therapist. Lower back strengthening exercises, along with cardio training exercises are keys to get rid of lower back pain. These will enable your body to become stronger and increase movement and flexibility.

The gentle motions of aerobic exercises such as swimming or riding a stationary bicycle will encourage blood flow through the muscles, increase your flexibility, and enable your body to release natural pain killers of the body into the blood stream thus relieving pain. Aim for 20 to 30 minutes of these exercises each day and you'll notice a significant difference in not only your lower back, but you'll feel better overall.


Aerobic exercise - this is done to condition your heart and other muscles, maintain health, and increase oxygenation to the different parts of the body

Tread milling, swimming, riding on a stationary bike, brisk walking, jogging, aerobics.

Strengthening exercises - this focuses on your back, stomach, and leg muscles.

Prone hold, chest life, opposite arm leg raises, roll outs, super man.

Stretching exercises - this is done to keep your muscles and other supporting tissues flexible and less prone to injury.

If you have low back pain, avoid:


X Straight leg sit-ups.

X Lifting both legs while lying on your back (leg lifts).

X Lifting heavy weights above the waist.

2. Hot and cold treatment

The early stage of lower back pain can be treated with Alternate hot and cold compress. You have to try out whether ice will work better for you than heat. Experiment to determine which one do you prefer and which one is more effective for you. Try to use ice pack for pain and inflammation for at least 10-15 minutes. Once the pain has subsided, apply some hot pack and do it for another 10-15 minutes.

3. Medications

The most common medications for back pain is the over the counter pain killers and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). These are highly recommended to alleviate back pain. They both work differently so they usually are taken at the same time. Prescribed drugs such as muscle relaxant, anti- depressants are used for prolong relief of pain.


Pain killer such as Acetaminophen (Tylenol) is the single most effective non prescription drugs for lower back pain and it has fewer side effects. It relieves pain by working its action into the brain to turn off the pain perception.

NSAIDs such as Aspirin decreases swelling on the affected area. However, aspirin is not usually taken because of its life threatening effects.

Prescribed Steroids which are effective in treating swelling; however, these drugs have a lot of adverse effects so the dose should be exact and be given regularly and on time.

For the dose, frequency and duration of the drug, consult your health care provider for safety.

4. Transcutaneous electrical nerve simulation is a method employed to bring lower back pain relief. A battery-powered device is used to send mild electric pulses going to the nerve fibers in order to block pain signals to the brain thus alleviating the pain.

5. Ultrasound is a non-invasive method that works by warming the internal tissues of the body that results in the relaxation of muscles at the back.

6. Surgical therapy is one of the many methods on how to relieve lower back pain but it is the least thing to do when the patient does not respond to therapies. It is depending on the doctor's advice if surgery is really needed and consent from the patient must also be considered.








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2011年6月3日 星期五

The Growing Epidemic of Low Back Pain in Children


Low Back Pain Is Not Just For Adults

In years past, low back pain was thought to be a malady afflicting only the elderly. Well, it's not just your granddad's disorder any longer. Once considered a rare pediatric condition, low back pain in children has become a growing concern among many in the medical community.

Children's skeletal structures are continuously growing until late adolescence. Combined with the stress of sports activities including contact sports, the incidence of low back pain in children is skyrocketing. In a recent study, it was determined that low back pain was responsible for approximately 23% of most school absenteeism, and when sports injuries were thrown into the mix, that number jumped to 29%. Even more surprising, researchers discovered that in 75% of reported cases, childhood low back pain triggered depression and other psychological problems. This constitutes a serious concern that demands the attention of parents and health care providers alike.

What Causes Low Back Pain In Children?

It seems that many of the same health issues that initiate low back pain in adults, such as poor posture, misalignment of vertebrae, trauma, emotional stress and sports injuries, have the same affect on children. Add to these issues the fact that most school-age children carry backpacks that weigh 10-20% of their body weight, and you have a recipe for life-long health concerns and back pain.

Emotional stress is also an important factor to consider. Adolescents are subject to wildly varying emotions sometimes compared to a rollercoaster ride. It can be terrifying and exhilarating at the same time; filled with soaring, sky-high excitement only to suddenly plummet into a downward spiral. Interestingly, these rollercoaster emotions have been associated with lower back pain. Research in England involving children between the ages of 11 and 14 revealed that children with higher levels of psychological and social difficulties are much more likely to experience low back pain than their peers.

The Good News Is That Chiropractic Can Help

When spinal vertebrae become misaligned, whether in an adult or in a child, the diagnosis is called vertebral subluxation. This may sound like a frightening medical condition, but it is one that a professional chiropractic doctor can address with great success. However, when left untreated, vertebral subluxation can lead to frequent earaches, headaches, infant colic, neck pain and carpel tunnel syndrome.

Chiropractic care also addresses the nervous system which, among a myriad of other miraculous functions, governs the way in which our bodies react physically to stress. Chiropractic adjustments actually help your body release pent-up stress, relieving tight muscles, tendons and ligaments, and helping to prevent low back pain.

Chiropractic treatment is a wonderful, highly effective way to enjoy natural relief of back pain. Your child's chiropractor will painlessly adjust the vertebral column in order to correct any vertebral misalignment, without potentially harmful drugs or invasive surgery. There is no recovery time; instead, your child will most likely experience an immediate relief from pain and restoration of movement. Additionally, your chiropractor can recommend exercises to relieve low back pain.

What Are The Three D's, And Is Your Child At Risk?

DDD, or degenerative disc disease, is actually a form of arthritis and has been proven to be a common cause of lower back and leg pain in children. Surprisingly, DDD has even been diagnosed in infants. And yet, degenerative disc disease is not typically identified by traditional medical practitioners. Rather, highly-skilled and well-trained chiropractic doctors are leading the way into this new medical frontier.

Degenerative disc disease sounds like a progressive, very frightening disease that could certainly alarm any parent, so here is a brief explanation of DDD. Changes in the water and protein content of the body's cartilage results in weaker, more fragile and thin cartilage. This more typically occurs as we get older. Now, because both the discs and the joints that stack the vertebrae are partly composed of cartilage, these areas are, unfortunately, subject to degenerative changes. The deterioration of the disc between the vertebrae is referred to as degenerative disc disease, and makes the disc tissue more susceptible to herniation.

Natural Remedies For Degenerative Disc Disease Are Available The important thing to remember is that chiropractic care offers you and your child gentle, effective treatment of degenerative disc disease. Early detection and treatment is key to optimum recovery, however. Research at St. Louis University led by Francis W. Smith, MD revealed that degenerative changes in the spines of pediatric study participants occurred much earlier than previously suspected, creating a predisposition to muscle and muscle and ligament sprains and strains, as well as arthritis of the spinal joints.

DDD is not always accompanied by lower back or leg pain, so the wisest course of action is to seek preventative chiropractic care for you and your children. Further, Dr. Smith advises that degenerative disc disease preventative care should begin prior to puberty. Be sure to ask your chiropractic doctor about symptoms of degenerative disc disease and what treatments are available.

Be Proactive - Protect Your Child's Health

A wealth of scientific research confirms that chiropractic care provides safe, effective, and drug-free relief from back and neck pain ... regardless of the cause. So if your child complains of low back pain, if you notice a difference in the way he walks, stands or sits, if your child appears overly clumsy or if you suspect a sport-related trauma, do not ignore these symptoms. Protect your child's physical and emotional health by contacting a chiropractic care professional today.








ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Drs. Brenda and Erik Slovin are board certified Chiropractic physicians at http://www.SlovinChiropractic.com in Norwalk, Connecticut. Drs. Slovin specialize in teaching people how to get rid of their headache, migraine and neck and shoulder pain, quickly and easily, without the use of drugs or surgery.

To get instant access to all their most successful health strategies and secrets, as well as a free Chronic Pain Report that lets you know why, what most people don't know about chronic pain can actually hurt you!, visit them at: http://www.headache-neck-pain-relief.com and sign-up to receive their monthly newsletter "Live Well".


2011年6月2日 星期四

Pain Free: A Revolutionary Method for Stopping Chronic Pain

Pain Free: A Revolutionary Method for Stopping Chronic PainPete Egoscue learned a lot about pain when, as a Marine officer, he was wounded in Vietnam. He segued from patient to physical therapist, and now runs a famous clinic in San Diego, where he claims he's helped 95 percent of his patients cure chronic pain--including Jack Nicklaus and Charles Barkley, whose athletic careers he helped prolong. At the heart of his program are stretches and motion exercises to restore proper function to muscles and joints. His methods are often surprising and counterintuitive. For example, for foot pain, he suggests a series of hip exercises. In fact, this is one of the most startling books you'll read about the human organism. Egoscue has strong opinions about how modern life is changing the way our bodies function, reducing the tasks we must perform and thus reducing the functional range of motion of our muscles and joints. Fortunately, he offers movement exercises to restore what nature meant us to have.

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2011年6月1日 星期三

How to Diagnose Lower Back Pain


Lower back pain is a common affliction, with millions each year visiting physicians for relief. Not only will they seek relief, they will want a diagnosis.

It is not always easy to diagnose lower back pain. Many body structures can cause it. There are muscles, ligaments, and tendons; spinal column bones; joints, discs and nerves. In addition to these structures, there may be underlying medical conditions your physician needs to evaluate.

Whether you initially diagnose lower back pain yourself, or leave that to your physician, the diagnosis will need to consider both the location and symptoms of your pain.

Step 1 - Location

The first step is to decide the location. "Where does it hurt?"

1. Axial lower back pain: This lower back pain hurts only in the low back. Pain does not travel into any other area.

2. Radicular lower back pain: This lower back pain hurts in the low back, and also radiates down the backs of the thighs into one or both legs.

3. Lower back pain with referred pain: Diagnose lower back pain with referred pain if it hurts in the low back area, and tends to radiate into the groin, buttocks, and upper thighs. The pain will rarely radiate below the knee, but may seem to move around.

Step 2 - Symptoms

Once you diagnose lower back pain as to location, you will consider symptoms. "How does it feel?"

1. Worsens with certain activities: If you play football, for example, the pain is worse.

2. Worsens in certain positions: Perhaps it gets worse if you stand for too long. Or it is more painful after you sit in a car.

3. Feels better after rest: Resting from the activity or position usually reduces the lower back pain.

4. Deep and steady: Not a sharp muscle catch, this pain is constant and deep within the affected areas.

5. Severe: The pain is excruciating, possibly more so in the calf than the lower back.

6. Numbness and tingling: There may be "pins and needles" within the area.

7. Fleeting pain: Pain may seem to come and go, leaving you unsure at times just how it feels.

8. Achy and dull: Like the flu, this pain is sore and dull, though sometimes intensifying.

9. Migratory: It hurts in one spot, then another.

Diagnosis

AXIAL: If location is best described by number 1 above, and symptoms are a combination of 1, 2, and 3, you can probably diagnose lower back pain as being axial - the most common type. This is also called "mechanical" lower back pain. A variety of back structures can cause axial lower back pain, and it is difficult to identify which is the cause. Axial pain gets better on its own, and about 90% of patients recover within six weeks.

RADICULAR: If location is best described by number 2 above, and symptoms are a combination of 4, 5, and 6, you can probably diagnose lower back pain as being radicular - commonly called sciatica. This lower back pain is caused by compression of a lower spinal nerve, usually the sciatica nerve that runs from the spinal column, down the back of the thighs to the feet. Doctors usually recommend conservative treatment such as physical therapy exercises, medications, and possibly spinal injections, for six to eight weeks.

REFERRED: If location is best described by number 3 above, and symptoms are a combination of 7, 8, and 9, you can probably diagnose your pain as being lower back pain with referred pain - the least common type. This lower back pain is treated the same as axial back pain and frequently goes away as the problem resolves on its own.

How do you diagnose lower back pain?

Diagnose lower back pain with care. You need an accurate diagnosis, which your physician can best make, to be sure no underlying causes need attention. It is not enough to know you have sciatica. You need to know the underlying cause of the sciatica to determine treatment options.

If you do diagnose lower back pain, check the diagnosis with your physician.








?2007, Anna Hart. Anna herself is a back pain sufferer, and can sympathize with your problem. She invites you to read more of her articles about back pain at http://www.backpainreliefblog.com Anna has posted additional information on that site about the lower back. If you want to fend off lower back pain, please visit Anna.


Back Pain Relief: Desired By All


Back pain relief is desired by most of us since back pain is a common phenomenon. Most of us suffer from back pain from one or the other point in our life, but a majority of us are unaware of the true reason or the cause of this ailment. A poor posture or a strain in the back muscles generally leads to pain. Activities such as lifting, bending and twisting can result in back pain. Although back pain may emerge suddenly, it may be caused by a problem which has plagued us for a long time.

Appropriate back pain relief can be provided only after finding out the exact cause or the identification of the situations that result in back pain. Back pain can be acute, recurrent or chronic. Most of the people suffering from back pain fall in the first category wherein the pain vanishes in about six weeks and home remedies prove to be very effective. In the case of the recurrent category, the pain reappears after some time while chronic pain lasts for a longer period of time.

Simple exercises or massage can provide adequate back pain relief in cases where the pain is not severe or is caused by a poor posture or a simple strain in the back muscles. However, in cases where the pain stays on for a longer time and is accompanied by other symptoms such as the difficulty in passing urine or numbness in the back or the genital area, weakness and a shooting pain in the leg or feeling unstable while standing, one should consult a specialist rather than rely on home medicines or remedies.

Bed rest is not an effective method to provide back pain relief. Evidence has shown that rest does not aid in the recovery of a person suffering from back pain. It is much better if we continue with our normal activities while taking some measures for relieving the pain.

Massage and regular exercise are the two effective methods of providing back pain relief. Yoga is considered to be one of the best ways to reduce back pain. However, some Yoga positions may aggravate the pain. So it is essential that we carry on these Yoga exercises under the supervision of a trained instructor. Many a times, non prescription medicines such as aspirin or other pain killers provide adequate back pain relief. Application of a cold pack or ice wrapped in a towel to the affected area for five to ten minutes also reduces the pain.

It is also essential that we avoid sudden movements which can hinder back pain relief. We also need to maintain a proper posture at all times and avoid slouching. It is said that prevention is the best cure. So it is important that we identify the various factors or activities that result in back pain and than try to restrict their happening. The best way to ensure adequate back pain relief is to identify and solve the factors causing the pain.








Paul Osborne is the executive editor of http://backpain-resources-online.com & http://lowerbackpainrelief.org Both sites offer a host of information, tips and advice for lower back pain relief.