Back Pain

Back Pain Diagnosis

Back pain diagnosis is not always easy as there can be many disparate reasons for backache, including injury, stress or as a symptom of a seemingly unrelated disorder.

A doctor will take into consideration the location of the pain, the type of pain (e.g., mild, dull, throbbing, sharp), the frequency of the pain and the events leading up to the onset of the pain.

Lower back pain, for instance, may be a consequence of a slipped disc or simply part of the menstrual process.

When there seems no obvious cause for back pain, a doctor may perform one of a number of back pain diagnosis tests:

• X-rays and CT scans provide details of the bone structures and can also be used to see if there are any tumors or fractures.
• MRI scans provide details of the disc and nerves.
• A discogram is an injection technique used to determine if a specific disc is generating pain.

It is not recommended you make your own back pain diagnosis, particularly if the symptoms have persisted for more than a few days without relief, but some forms of back pain are readily diagnosed at home.

• You may, for instance, be experiencing backache because you’re pregnant, menstruating or have strained a muscle. Gentle exercise and a mild pain killer should have you back on your feet in no time. A slipped disc, on the other hand, requires bed rest.
• Tightness in the middle back is often caused by muscle strain. This may be a result of exercise or poor posture. Bed rest is often recommended followed by light exercise to stretch and strengthen the damaged muscle.
• Unable to stand or even move and experiencing pain in one particular spot? You may have lumbago. The pain will ease with time but a doctor can give you a pain killer.
• Sudden back pain after lifting a heavy weight or an awkward movement may indicate a slipped disc. A slipped disc may also result in sciatica as the disc presses on the sciatic nerve. Bed rest is the only answer.
• Do you have a tired back? This kind of dull backache is often caused by bad posture. If you’re on your feet all day or sitting at a desk, make sure you stand up straight, wear the correct shoes and move around as often as you can.
• Having trouble breathing? When backache constricts your breathing you need to see a doctor immediately. This may be a symptom of disease.
• Are you experiencing other symptoms? Pain when causing urine, for instance, on top of back pains could be a sign of a kidney disorder.
• Extreme pain on one side of the lower back could be kidney stones and you’ll need to see a doctor.
• A sharp, shooting pain starting in the back and extending below the knee may be a herniated disk. Once again, you’ll need to see a doctor.

Severe Back Pain

Are you suffering with severe back pain? You’re not alone. Most people will at some time in their lives experience back pain, or backache as it is commonly referred to. But we all experience pain differently and therefore benefit from different treatments. More importantly, sufferers of severe back pain need to manage pain before it manifests in worse symptoms.

Not long ago it emerged in newspaper reports that German literary genius Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, famed not only for his writing but admired for his upright posture, suffered from a degenerative disease that leads to deformation of the spine. Apparently he suffered for more than 40 years with severe back pain.

Charles Darwin is said to have suffered from lumbago, severe back pain in the lower part of the back.

Howard Hughes, the American billionaire famous more for his eccentricities than his money, was another well-known character who lived, or tried to live, with severe back pain. He is said to have taken large does of morphine for the pain creating secondary medical problems, including constipation, and probably responsible for many of the rumors of his apparently bizarre lifestyle. His back pain started after he was involved in a plane crash.

Poet John Keats was known to have a C-shaped spine. He stooped and suffered much of his life with severe back pain.

Do you suffer in silence or try every advertised so-called cure or therapy for your severe back pain? As individuals we all experience, and deal with, pain differently. That is why it is important to consult an expert for the best treatment for your pain.

Severe back pain cannot be cured overnight. It can however be eased with pain killers – the most commonly used include Naproxen and COX-2 inhibitors, both non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) – and sensible back health like gentle exercise, massage, therapy, warmth and good posture habits.

After the common cold, back pain is the most common cause of work absenteeism. Unfortunately, how we work, stress at work and the kind of posture we adopt while performing our jobs, e.g., sitting at a desk all day or manual labor, are all contributing factors to the state of our back health. It is only recently people have recognized the importance of learning good posture from an early age for health and not just aesthetic reasons.

Severe back pain is a common cause, as well as common symptom, of depression. It’s a vicious circle of deteriorating health. The “snap out of it” approach has never worked with depression and neither does it work with severe back pain.

With more and more people suffering from this debilitating disorder, it is essential that anyone with severe back pain consult an expert to treat the problem before the pain starts to affect their emotional and not just their physical life.

Chronic Back Pain

Backache is often referred to as ‘chronic back pain’. What does chronic mean? Chronic back pain is back pain that lasts for a long time without much change in the condition. This is opposed to acute back pain, which usually occurs suddenly and runs a relatively short course. Chronic back pain is, in other words, persistent back pain; it is not necessarily more serious or more painful than acute back pain, it is just relentless.

Many elderly people suffer from chronic back pain caused by diseases or conditions that come with the ageing process, including a lifetime of bad back posture. Chronic back pain may affect the lower, upper or middle back, and is usually, although not always, described as numb, dull, throbbing, uncomfortable and general, rather than sharp, stabbing and localized.

Chronic back pain benefits enormously from exercise, massage and physical therapy. Rather than being cured outright, chronic back pain often needs to be managed. Simply learning how to walk, stand, bend, sit and handle heavy objects can make a big difference to the lives of sufferers of chronic back pain.

Most people never learn good posture or good back health. Today, more and more people spend more and more time in front of a computer, but they don’t know how to sit correctly – legs never crossed, feet firmly on the ground, back and neck straight.

For chronic back pain, simple remedies like massage and hot water bottles can help to ease the pain. Many doctors may recommend mild pain killers but chronic back pain treatment is an ongoing process and it is preferable to learn to manage the condition in as natural a way as possible.

This is true of any form of pain management and sometimes requires a change in lifestyle and a change in attitude to one’s health. The best approach is threefold:

 

• Step 1: Ease the pain. Because chronic back pain is so persistent, it’s treatment needs to be persistent too, including a regular exercise, massage or therapy to gradually build muscle strength in order to support a flexible and supple spine.
• Step 2: Adopt good back health. This includes learning about good posture and making sure your have the correct mattress. If you sit at a desk all day, make sure you have a good chair. Your company is obliged to provide you with one.
• Step 3: Try to rid yourself of stress. Stress is a major contributor to almost every physical manifestation of ill health.

Middle Back Pain

Sports people suffer often from middle back pain, particularly golfers, swimmers and rugby players. Middle back pain causes extreme pain in the middle part of the back, behind the thorax and is sometimes referred to as sports stress or sports strain.

Consider a golfer taking a hard swing with his club and the way his body arches into the movement. It is obvious this is a lot of potential strain in the making. Or consider the movement of a swimmer using the butterfly stroke. Ball players are continually running, twisting and turning to evade being tackled.

A large percentage of middle back pain caused by sports injuries is also due to athletes not warming up. Any vigorous exercise should always be preceded with warming up exercises and followed by cooling down exercises.

Middle back pain is sometimes also referred to as thoracic back pain. The thorax is essentially the chest cavity and middle back pain may be caused by problems in the internal organs of the thoracic cavity as well. The thoracic vertebrae form the outward curve of the back below the shoulder blades.

Bad posture – not keeping the thoracic vertebrae of the spine as upright as possible when lifting, walking or moving – will eventually, with time, cause back pain – upper, lower or middle back pain.

Of course, another major cause of middle back pain is a result of the natural effect of aging on the body – osteoporosis, for instance, and the decrease in the strength and flexibility of muscles and ligaments. As the muscles decrease in strength, even simple actions like lifting or turning sharply may cause damage to the spine and resultant middle back pain.

Skeletal muscles (the muscles that move the spine, legs and arms), remember, work in pairs and when one muscle contracts, it cannot relax without assistance from another muscle. This is why gentle exercise to ensure good muscular coordination and flexibility is so important.

Another cause of middle back pain is a protruding disk.

Patients who suffer with middle back pain often also suffer with sleep disorders. Pain causes the sleep to be disrupted and as sleep is often a great healer, the sufferer of chronic middle back pain is often missing out on one of the simplest, yet most effective, cures for his or her condition.

As middle back pain should not, in the majority of cases, last longer than a few weeks, it is wise to investigate any prolonged middle back pain with a professional – a general practitioner, osteopath, orthopedic surgeon, chiropractor, spinologist or rheumatologist will be able to advise you whether your middle back pain needs specialized treatment or even surgery.

Before considering surgery for middle back pain, it is advisable to first try natural treatment, including heat treatment, massage, gentle exercise or yoga for back pain.

Lower Back Pain

Perhaps man would have been better suited to getting along on all fours, rather than standing upright. It is standing upright that puts strain on the back, making it prone to the injuries, diseases and bad posture habits that cause lower back pain.

The spine consists of bones separated by cartilage discs, which allow the spine to bend, but the more the spine bends, the more strain there is on the discs. If while bending the discs are in any way traumatized, for instance, when picking up a heavy weight or in an accident, the discs may be damaged or deformed so that they press against a nerve – voila, lower back pain.

Lumbago is a general term used to describe lower back pain. Lower back pain may be in the form of a sudden, sharp pain, such as in a slipped disc, or a gradual pain due, for instance, to arthritis. In this regard, lumbago strikes with impunity the young manual laborer as well as the sedentary elderly person.

Lower back pain often extends from the lower part of the back right down into the buttocks, occasionally even as far as the back of the thighs. It may be accompanied by numbness or an unnervingly tingly sensation.

Sufferers from lower back pain find it difficult to move, especially bending forwards or leaning backwards. Patients having difficulty in breathing should visit their doctor or nearest hospital post haste.

As with many types of pain, but typical of lower back pain, muscle spasms around the spine may cause a stiff back and cause the sufferer to stand or walk in an unnatural manner, as though he or she in an effort to ease the pain is trying to escape from the pain.

Treatment for lower back pain in both acute and chronic cases includes pain killers and an anti-inflammatory accompanied by a gentle exercise program or spinal therapy. Experts don’t usually recommend traction and surgery is necessary in very rare cases.

Acute cases of lower back pain may find homeopathic remedies and treatments like massage and heat therapy almost immediately beneficial.

In is usually advised in chronic cases that patients adopt a back pain management program that utilizes a variety of treatments, particularly when the cause of the lower back pain is unknown. The effectiveness of this will be seen in the longer term as patients learn to adopt good back health and see for themselves which treatments are suited to their individual lifestyles.

Chronic Lower Back Pain

Chronic lower back pain is back pain that is persistent and may be caused by any of a number of factors. Chronic lower back pain may be a serious backache or mild; it may have a cause that is reason for concern (e.g., cancer) or not (e.g., pregnancy).

A medical practitioner is the best person to advise any sufferer of chronic lower back pain of the reasons for the pain and the best way to manage and/or treat the pain.

Some of the possible causes of chronic lower back pain include: back strain or sprain; after excessive or unaccustomed exertion; a slipped disc or other disc disorder; poor posture; muscle injury; an accident; arthritis; disease.

It is interesting, albeit a little frightening and sometimes even misleading, to note that there are many diseases and disorders that have back pain as a minor or major symptom.

Chronic lower back pain may be a symptom of cancer, rickets, meningitis, osteoporosis, Addison’s disease, pancreatitis, Rift Valley fever, urinary tract infections, renal colic, kidney stones, heart problems, gallstones … even depression.

Of course it may also be a symptom of pregnancy.

The small selection above is not meant to frighten the sufferer of chronic lower back pain, but point out that the first priority is to diagnose the cause of the pain correctly. Only a medical health practitioner can do this correctly and efficiently.

After diagnosing a patient’s chronic lower back pain, the next step is to either treat and/or manage it. In some instances, chronic lower back pain may be symptomatic of a condition that needs to be treated separately from the back pain. Cure for chronic lower back pain condition may be contingent on cure for another condition. When the root cause of the problem is diagnosed, an easing of back pain will occur naturally.

In the case of chronic lower back pain in pregnant or menstruating women or if a patient is depressed, a back pain management program must be worked out. This may include diet, exercise, physical therapy and medication.

Remember, any form of persistent pain, including chronic lower back pain and broken hearts, should always be referred to a doctor or specialist.

Where there is no underlying cause for chronic lower back pain, it is entirely possible there is no underlying cause. Modern pain theories suggest pain needs to be treated as a pathology in itself.

Severe Lower Back Pain

Lower back pain, also called lumbago, may have any of a number of causes, including injury or strain to the lower back or spine, arthritis or a slipped disc. But sometimes severe lower back pain seems to have no cause.

With modern understanding of how pain works and affects us, severe lower back pain where there seems to be no obvious cause of the pain is increasingly being treated as a disorder in itself. This is especially true in cases of chronic back pain.

It has been shown that people can undergo surgery under hypnosis, without experiencing the pain they would most certainly have experienced without hypnosis. Amputees experience pain in limbs that aren’t there. Shark bite victims talk about feeling no pain at the moment of being attacked.

Everyone experiences pain differently. Two people with the same injury may express pain differently depending on their attitude towards pain and showing emotion, their emotional state and the circumstances when the pain started.

Simply put, a soldier will physically experience as well as express the pain of a pin prick very differently to the way pain is expressed and felt by a small child.

On the opposite extreme, a so-called sexually frigid person may feel no physical sexual stimulation from sensations most non-frigid people would be unable to not respond to.

This seems to indicate that pain is something more than measurable physical damage and needs to be treated as such. It’s also why natural treatments like acupuncture and mental suggestion like hypnosis seem to have such a positive, even profound, effect on sufferers of severe lower back pain.

Acupuncture – the insertion of needles in certain energy areas of the body – can create an altered perception of pain. Studies have shown that often pain relief is a case of mentally coming to terms with pain as a bodily sensation that can be controlled by the mind. Pain is sometimes caused by fear. Hypnosis is often used to cure fears – like fear of flying or fear of dentistry. Acupuncture and hypnosis are essentially treatments that use the mind to take back control of physical sensation.

It is no surprise in light of the above that one of the most debilitating side-effects of severe lower back pain is depression and sleeping problems and that the healthier a person is – both emotionally and physically – the better they are able to cope with severe lower back pain.

Having said that, sufferers of severe lower back pain include healthy, active, happy and youthful sports people, film stars, doctors, lawyers and psychologists. Coming to terms with back pain may, ironically, be the best way to cure it.

Back Pain Help

In most cases, mild backache will heal on its own but, when you’ve got it bad, back pain help comes in a number of alternative forms to suit you and your lifestyle.

Your doctor is the best person to advise on the most appropriate form of back pain help for you because there is more than one possible solution. Back pain help includes: chiropractic help; spinal manipulation; using a corset; exercise; pain killers or anti-inflammatory medication; physical therapy; homeopathic medicine; acupuncture; massage; changing your posture; yoga and other forms of mild, natural exercise.

What’s right for you? While a hot water bottle may ease the discomfort of a pregnant woman’s back pain, a sports person may find physical therapy is the answer. An older person may require pain killers. Children with back pain will benefit and enjoy mild exercise, like swimming. The health conscious may choose to go the homeopathic route. In rare cases, an operation may be necessary.

Some studies have shown that most forms of back pain help are similarly effective. Once again, this means that you need to choose what is best for you, your particular type of pain, its cause and your life style. Some people, for instance, don’t like taking pain killers; others would rather swill medication every hour on the top of the hour than do exercise.

One thing experts do agree on, however, is that sufferers of back pain should not take to their bed if they can help it; this stiffens the muscles and weakens them, creating more work for the spine when the patient eventually does get up and consequently more potential pain. Trying to remain limber, active and warm is what mom would advise – and she’s probably right.

Sometimes back pain appears to have no obvious cause. This is obviously the most difficult type of back pain to cure. For instance, back pain may be a symptom of depression and you will need to take anti-depression medication and be aware of the side-effects.

In other cases, continuous back pain may lead to depression. When this happens, it is important to go for back pain help in the form of pain management and anti-stress therapy. Depression caused by back pain causes a vicious circle of increasing pain and stress.

It is essential to seek professional advice for back pain help.

Back Pain Treatment

In the good old days – or were those the bad old days – back pain treatment consisted primarily of pain killers and bed rest. After the common cold, back pain is the most common cause of absenteeism from work, so the recommendation to go to bed and rest in the past was welcomed by exhausted and / or lazy executives.

But things have changed – narcotic pain killers and bed rest are rarely recommended (although both have their place. For instance, a slipped disc requires immobilization and complete best rest while chronic back pain in the infirm and elderly can be eased tremendously by supervised drug treatment.)

Surgery, too, is these days a last resort. Figures indicate surgery as a form of back pain treatment is necessary in only 1% of back pain cases. Many studies show that traction, x-rays and facet joint injections are far less effective than back exercise programs like water aerobics or specialized back pain exercises.

Modern back pain treatment favors an active but gentle approach that includes plenty of mild exercise as well as active and passive physical therapy, manipulation and massage.

The objective of exercise is to create strong, flexible muscles that can support the spine. Strengthening and stretching exercises encourage the body to heal itself and to be fit and supple enough to help avoid further sprain, strain or injury. A weak back needs to avoid further injury at all costs.

Long term back pain treatment in the form of a professionally created exercise program goes hand-in-hand with short-term back pain management. This means learning how to ease your current back pain as well as develop long-term good back health in a three step program (recommended for both chronic and acute backache).

• Step 1: Ease pain immediately with warmth and pain killers.
• Step 2: Use recommended back pain treatments in the form of exercise, therapy and / or massage.
• Step 3: Sleep or rest on a good quality, firm mattress and practice good posture, particularly at work and at times when you don’t get an opportunity to move around a lot, e.g., in front of the TV. In the long term, treat your back with the same diligence and due respect as you do your hair, nails, eyes, feet, etc.

The good news is that professionally recommended back pain treatment is effective in most cases and back pain treatment can be incorporated into your individual lifestyle with ease.

Back Pain Exercise

Back and abdominal muscles that are underused deprive the spine of support and are often the cause of severe back pain. Experts agree back pain exercise is the single most important factor in both alleviating and preventing back pain.

In some cases, back pain exercise is not recommended. A slipped disc, for instance, requires complete bed rest, but most back pain can benefit from gentle back pain exercise to gradually build up the strength of the back muscles.

Recent studies have shown that even patients bedridden by backache may benefit from prescribed back pain exercise, particularly in the form of physical therapy. Physical therapy may include active and passive treatment. Studies have repeatedly shown that active people are less likely to suffer from back injuries than inactive people.

The back muscles serve two functions: they hold the vertebra together and in alignment and they hold the pelvis together. It makes sense that if these muscles are weak, things are going to start falling apart, literally. Sitting all day, as many people do at work, and bad posture are two of the major causes of weak muscles.

If the back muscles are weak, it won’t be long before an awkward movement results in a back sprain.

Tight hip and hamstring muscles often contribute to lower back pain so it’s important to keep these muscles supple and strong. Even more importantly, you need to warm up all muscles before attempting any back pain exercise.

Experts agree there are two aspects to back pain exercise – stretching and strengthening. Simple stretching warms up the body for the strengthening exercise and creates supple, flexible muscles. Strengthening back exercise includes low impact aerobics, walking, cycling or swimming.

The type of exercise one chooses depends on the type of back pain, patient gender and age.

Generally, back pain exercise is beneficial to patients who have sprained or strained their backs, have disk disease or have injured themselves. Tumors and fractures may not necessarily benefit from back pain exercise as the back pain is caused by something that can be fixed.

It is essential for patients to learn good posture and the correct way of sitting, standing, and lifting. The basic aim is to avoid too much curvature of the spine, so:

Always bend the knees when bending or lifting; always hollow the back when kneeling; when carrying, distribute weight evenly; when standing for long periods stand with your feet slightly apart; when pushing or pulling try to keep your back straight and take the strain on your arms.

For any type of back pain, good posture will stand you in as good stead as will back pain exercise.

Therapeutic Exercises for Curing Back Pain

Lower back pain is one of the most common ailments brought forth before your local physician. This is a problem that millions of people suffer from each year, and a far greater number of people have been suffering from this ailment for years on end. This is not a problem that afflicts only elderly people or those involved in manual work. Those performing sedentary work also tend to suffer from this ailment. Long hours seated in the workplaces, incorrect body posture, etc are just some of the causes that lead to back pain. There are some simple therapeutic exercises that can be performed in the convenience of your own home to overcome these simple aches and pains in the back. Some of them are as follows:

Wall Squats

This exercise is particularly useful for those whose back aches are caused due to long hours of sedentary work by way of being in a seated position. This prolonged position results in the sagging of the seat muscles, which include the muscles that support your seated position. It is interesting to note that dangling derrieres are to a large extent due to lack of strength of the muscles of the hip and backside. Official therapeutic associations in the United States have recommended this exercise. It involves mimicking the seated position without any chair placed below you, and using the wall as a support for your back. One should also cross their hand in front of themselves while performing this exercise.

Pelvic Tilt

This is an interesting exercise to perform. It involves lying flat on the floor and folding the legs with the knees pointing towards the ceiling. After doing that one must gently push the pelvic area slowly upwards and than come back down. Repeat this exercise a few times.

IT is very important to note that you make a thorough study of any of these or other therapeutic exercises that you may want to undertake. If not performed in the right method and under incorrect guidance they can actually have a reversal effect of being harmful.

Relieve Back Pain

To relieve back pain, or any form of pain for that matter, it is necessary to understand your pain. Pain often causes and is caused by stress – a vicious circle that feeds on itself. Therefore, to relieve back pain, one needs to treat both mind and body simultaneously.

Pain is a warning signal; without this warning signal, we’d damage our bodies by overexertion and ignore diseases and disorders that could have been cured if we’d heeded the warning.

Pain varies from mild to severe and differs for different people. Pain one person might ignore, another may take pain killers to avoid. Consider women who opt for natural child birth without the benefit of conventional pain relief. Think about how young boys are brought up to ignore a grazed knee – “big boys don’t cry”.

Anyone ever say to you: ‘Oh, don’t be ridiculous. I didn’t step on your toe hard. It can’t possibly hurt’? The measurement of pain is a personal measurement; there’s no ruler or measuring jug that measures how much pain you feel.

Pain is never a product of the imagination, but it can be influenced by emotion. If you feel it, it’s there. Amputees often feel pain or sensation in a limb that doesn’t exist, but that doesn’t make their pain any less ‘real’ – pain messages are still being sent to the brain, and the pain still needs to be managed.

Pain can be worse if not anticipated, or if someone is not in a good frame of mind or is physically run down and less able to cope with physical pain. Chronic pain may result in an anticipation of pain that can set off an emotional response akin to fear and horror.

This is why unconventional methods to relieve back pain can be very effective. Natural pain relief teaches patients to relieve back pain by managing it through visualization techniques, disassociation techniques, massage, hypnosis, relaxation, acupuncture, exercise and homeopathic remedies.

Distraction and visualization techniques, for instance, focus on pleasant thoughts or pictures that soothe, relax and distract.

The power of emotional support can also not be underestimated. Sometimes patients looking to relieve back pain that doesn’t appear to have an obvious cause are labeled hypochondriacs. This may lead to depression; ironically a contributing cause to many cases of severe back pain.

Brisk Walking is an Effective Remedy to Cure Back Ache

Life is changing nowadays and so are the food habits. Most importantly people want everything instantly, food, work and sports. By this they tend to adapt themselves to wrong eating habits and gain weight and then they want to reduce it. Then they try to find the solution over the obesity and that is heavy workout. But that further transforms in the back problem. It is because several organs spinal chord to tail bone, thighs to legs and further to toes are indulged while walking which helps to cure all types of back related problem.

Causes of Aching Back

Back pain may have several reasons. But one of the most important reasons is lack of exercise. The exercise that’s done in and for back pain must include brisk walking because. It is equally effective on all parts of the body. Pain in back is nothing but due to a catch in muscles, nerves, backbone or other part of back. Or it could also be the reason that other parts of the body may radiate the problem. Back pain is also the cause of injury in the back and that may result in tingling and burning sensation. Or often it may be because of the several reasons collectively causing the back pain. Some of the other important reasons in the back pain could be stated as follows:

1. Due to stress or strain on the back.
2. Strain on the spine can occur due to various reasons
3. Incorrect posture
4. Prolonged intervals of standing or sitting down in one posture.
5. Insufficient exercise
6. Lifting or pushing up of heavy loads

Brisk walking helps to improve cardiovascular fitness. It helps to maintain the heart beats. Back ache may be caused due to lack of blood flow to the organ. Oxygen reaches to the muscles through the blood by brisk walking. It also helps to heart and lungs grow efficiently by reducing blood pressure. In addition to that walking can result in increasing the size of blood vessel of the arms and legs.

How Swimming Helps in Curing Back Pain

Swimming is regarded as the best exercise for physical fitness. It really helps in curing the back pain that usually people get in the senile stages. Elimination of the back pain is not an easy task as it elongates with your age and your weight. For that reason you have to keep on exercising everyday before you go for your work. The reason behind taking this exercise into consideration for the cure of the back pain is the essence of the posture. Actually the posture of keeping the head out of the water stretches the whole part of back and such extension will make you free from pain. There are a lot of exercises that will help you to feel relaxed the whole day. You can realize the same when you start swimming and it also makes you feel fresh. Swimming comes under the stretching exercises that are prescribed by the doctors. It is also one of the recommended exercises for curing back pain. Even heated swimming pool reduces the risk of the asthma attacks. Swimming regularly can cure various health problems.

Significance

Well the muscle toning and other exercises that are done in water are very effective for relieving bone and joint pains. It is also used to low down the calories and people those who have the problem of obesity should start doing it and those who have started it should go for it regularly. You must be aware of the causes of the back pain that most of the people experience it due to over weight. So loosing your weight is an important factor will help you to get rid of various diseases.

Alternate suggestions

Back pain cannot be easily cured with regularity of exercising. It is only possible when you start treating it medically and the best way is consulting a doctor rather than going for such natural treatments. There can be a requirement of surgery also because if you are basically caught with a constant back pain then treatment through surgery is necessary. You have to go for various treatments and exercise is not the only solution to it.

Resting and Sleeping Techniques Helps in Relieving Back Pain – Sleep Well

All the organs in the human body are constantly at work. However there are some body parts that bear more pressure than the rest of the body parts. Hence these organs experience more wear and tear than the others. The back is one such extremely part in the body. Due to the increasing pressure the back suffers from disorders more often than the other body parts. There are several ways to reduce the pain that arises in the back due to any problems in the back. One of the best, simplest and arguably the most rewarding ways to reduce back pain is through adequate rest and appropriate sleeping techniques.

Importance for Sleep and Rest

The back is that part of the human body that bears the maximum brunt. Whether an individual works in an office or works in the field or indulges in strenuous physical activities or is even working continuously at the desk, his back is always at work. Thus, by the end of the work, individuals often experience maximum pain in their backs. Sometimes, the best way to eliminate this pain is to take ample rest. When an individual is at work, the muscles in his back are also strained. To reduce this strain, an individual must stretch them to the maximum so as to remove the pain. Individuals can take rest by stretching themselves in an arm chair or by going to sleep on a bed or on the floor. By giving the strained muscles enough rest, an individual actually enables the back muscles to restrengthen, which is crucial in relieving the back pain to a great extent.

It is important for the people to understand that only sleeping is not enough to reduce back pain. If people suffer from severe back pain, they must also concentrate on the ways of sleeping that they must adopt. Individuals with back pain must avoid sleeping on their stomach as it puts pressure on the muscles in the back and the neck. However, if an individual is very much used to sleeping on his stomach, he is advised to keep a pillow under his stomach. This helps in maintaining the alignment of the spine. It is very important that the back is in an aligned position and totally relaxed. To remove back pain, it is necessary to sleep on the side, with bent knees and a pillow placed between the knees. This position of sleep is recommended because this maintains the natural shape or curve of the spinal cord of the back. Also, another way of sleeping is to lie on the back and place the feet in a slightly raised position, say on some pillows. This helps to relieve pressure, especially on the lower back.

These tips are certain to be helpful for those people who are suffering from severe back pain or stress related back pain. The biggest advantage of these techniques is that they are absolutely painless techniques.

Use of Proper Shoes in Curing Back Ache

There is a general misconception among people that back pain is caused due to various factors such as manual labor, sedentary lifestyles, incorrect body postures, etc. These reasons are absolutely valid reasons for the causing of back pain. However there is another factor that is largely responsible for this problem of back pain. The nerves on the sole of our feet are directly connected to the spinal chord situated in our backs. Our feet are under continuous stress as we go on with our day. There is constant and continuous pressure on the soles of our feet. This indirectly implies that there is constant pressure on our back. This results in the nagging back pain that some of us are subjected to.

Customized Footwear

Customized footwear seems to be the leading remedy for backaches caused due to incorrect footwear. Custom insoles are molded directly to your feet and are engineered to assist in your active and in some cases sport oriented lifestyle. These go a long way in helping the cushioning, support and propulsion of your feet. While designing this footwear, the biomechanics of movement are taken into consideration. There have been specific institute’s sets up just to study and implement the science of biomechanics. These soles reduce the pressure on the feet and also improve the circulation of blood.

Before the designing of these shoes, most companies preparing these customized shoes will take a video of you running both with shoes and also without shoes. They therefore make a detailed assessment of the different points on the sole of the feet which experience the most pressure and accordingly design your footwear to reduce the pressure on your feet. This goes a long way in easing the pressure on your back.

Thus a simple remedy to the problems of your backaches is by simply changing your footwear. Besides using customized footwear, you can also use other footwear that has been designed to provide not only a comfort fit, but also to ease up the pain in your legs and back.

Natural Back Pain Relief

Yoga, acupuncture, massage, natural dietary supplements, dietary changes, disassociation therapy, deep muscle relaxation, hypnosis, visualization techniques, posture education, warmth therapy, gentle exercise and homeopathic remedies are all forms of natural back pain relief.

Conventional pain killers will, practically immediately, deaden pain for most patients to a larger or lesser extent, but for backache sufferers looking for natural back pain relief, curing their back problems can be a hit and miss affair as there is no one guaranteed “cure all”. Often, health therapists will advise patients they won’t feel any effect for months.

Natural back pain relief is an active choice of pain relief. While Joe Bloggs may agree to take oral homeopathic remedies, he may balk at doing yoga or going for hypnosis. Finding a qualified and professional health therapist who treats you as an individual and is aware of the full range of options available is therefore essential. So too is a commitment to a healthy lifestyle.

While good eating habits can only do you good, the jury is out on the benefits of certain foods – fish, vegetables and certain oils – to actively cure back pains. However, a common side-effect of back pain, constipation, benefits from a high fibre diet with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables. It makes sense to eat healthily. A fit body is better able to fight pain.

Vitamin and herbal supplements used by health care practitioners include some of the ingredients you’d normally only add to your curry, like tumeric and ginger. Cat’s claw and nettle are often prescribed for back problems as are vitamins like vitamin B and glucosamine. Other homeopathic remedies your health practitioner may recommend include: arnica, hypericum, rhus tox and Kali carb.

Studies have shown that some nutritional supplements traditionally prescribed by health practitioners for natural back pain relief have shown significant improvements for many individuals. They are unlikely to do harm, but if you are taking conventional drugs as well, you must inform your doctor.

Stress plays a major role in any physical disorder. Natural back pain relief should therefore include techniques and exercises to minimize stress that causes and is caused by back pain problems. Relaxation techniques do double duty soothing stress and relieving physical discomfort.

Relaxation techniques include massage, meditation and visualization techniques. Even if you don’t suffer from stress or backache, take time out to relax and listen to soothing music or enjoy a few silent moments alone will rejuvenate your body and make it easier for it to cope with pain and stress.

Yoga for Back Pain

Yoga for back pain is often recommended as a gentle and relaxing treatment and is said to help the mind heal the body.

The aim of yoga for back pain is to increase flexibility, suppleness, strength, stability, posture, breathing, coordination, body-awareness, better posture, balance, improved self-awareness, and increased blood flow and oxygen circulation.

Yoga for back pain consists of a series of gentle moves – at its most basic, stretches and poses designed to create flexible, supple muscles. It is combined with meditation to a larger or lesser degree. For the advanced yoga practitioner, there are more strenuous and complicated poses. A novice should start out with simple, gentle movements under the guidance of a professional yoga instructor who understands you have a back problem.

If your back pain is very bad, precluding you from too much movement, the meditative and visualization exercises in yoga will endow you with a sense of well-being and relax your body – giving you some measure of back pain relief.

Strictly speaking, yoga is not an exercise routine, but a series of poses that release the body’s natural energy and creates a sense of well-being and suppleness. Yoga for back pain is ideal in that it places little strain on the spine and can also be useful as a method of warming up and cooling down between more vigorous exercises.

Yoga for back pain increases the strength of both back and abdominal muscles, to give your spine better support. We’re not amoeba and without the support of the muscles of our backs and tummies, our spines would collapse.

There are two main types of yoga for back pain: Hatha yoga concentrates more on increasing muscle strength and coordination, while Raja yoga relaxes the mind and teaches you to breathe correctly and deeply, something many of us don’t do. But, the two are designed to work together to create a sense of mind/body harmony.

Yoga for back pain is meant to create improved body awareness and should never be uncomfortable or painful. If you have bad body posture from years of working at a desk in an office or not standing correctly, you may find some poses initially uncomfortable, but with gentle, regular repetition, you will learn to train your body.

You can practice many yoga for back pain techniques during the day, at home, and enjoy the benefits of a few minutes of relaxing meditation almost anywhere you are – even in the traffic or at the supermarket.

If you suffer from severe backache, do first mention to your doctor you are interested in doing yoga for back pain.