If you have a job that involves a lot of bending and carrying heavy loads, it is possible for you to develop back aches. Even an office job can cause back pain – sitting down for long hours in front of a computer can affect your spine and lead to back pain. Knowing how to ease back pain can come in very handful if that is your case.
Back pain in itself is very horrible because it can lead to other terrible health problems. When you experience back pain, there would be a limit to have you freely you can move. If you can’t move freely, this would definitely affect your productivity because there would be a limit to how much work you can get done.
Learn how to maximize your productivity with this ultimate productivity guide.
In chronic situations where the stress of the back pain is overwhelming, it can even affect your mental health and even lead to depression. This is the reason why patients who are bed ridden or confined to wheel chairs are prone to chronic depressive bouts.
If you are experiencing back pain, they are a couple of things you can do to help you find some relief. Learn how to ease back pain with this these relatively easy to do steps.
1. Make Use of Ice or Heat Packs
The physiological response of the muscles and joints to injuries is usually swelling. This is no different when you injure your back. Back injuries are usually accompanied with swelling. These swelling can cause a lot of discomfort and can be pretty painful.
To deal with the swelling or pain, it is helpful to apply ice or heat packs to the location.
The recommendation by physicians is that you make use of ice packs for the first 48 hours of the injury, then move on to heat packs after.
The function of the ice pack is to reduce the inflammation and swelling that comes with the injury.
Heat packs helps to relax the muscle which can help you with pain relief. Also when the muscles are relaxed, they would heal faster.
2. Change your Sleeping Technique
Majority of the time, the cause of back and neck pains is because of how we sleep at night. If your body remains in an uncomfortable position for long periods of time at night, you would be sure to experience aches in your muscles the next morning.
When you sleep at night, your body needs optimum support.
One of the ways you ensure that you get a good night sleep is by investing in a good mattress. A good mattress should be the one thing you should go all out on. Spending a couple of hundred dollars in a mattress is an investment for your health that you would surely reap benefits from in the long run.
A good mattress would give your body enough support and maintain a good posture for you while you sleep.
If you wake up and you don’t feel refreshed and energized instead you are feeling aches, this is a sign that you should change your mattress.
If your mattress is older that eight years, it is time that you change it. A mattress isn’t something that you would use forever. An old mattress would have it’s spring and paddings all worn out. This kind of mattress would not support a healthy night sleep.
When you sleep, it is also important that your spine is correctly aligned.
If you sleep on your side, the right way to support your spine is to put a pillow between your knees.
For people who prefer to sleep on their back, it is advisable to place your pillows under your knees.
3. Stretch Regularly
A good reason why you might be experiencing back pains could because the muscles around your spine are constricted.
A good way to help ease back pain would be to stretch these muscles.
Stretching your back muscles comes with a ton of advantages. Not only does it help to relieve back aches, it also helps improve your flexibility. When you become flexible, your chances of experiencing back pain also reduces.
Stretching also helps to remove pressure from your back and also improves your posture.
Read on the 13 amazing benefits you get from stretching.
There are several options for stretching, but the best is stretching is the one that involves dynamic movements.
Dynamic stretching would involve a ton of movements and is based on the principles of yoga.
Learning yoga also comes in handy when it comes to relieving back pain. Along with the stretching benefits of yoga, it also perfect for stress relief and also can be used for meditation (which I advise you do regularly).
4. Make Use of an Inversion Table
One of the easiest ways to ease back pain is to make use of an inversion table.
An inversion table is an amazing device that allows you to position yourself at a downward position for at least 15 minutes at a time.
The function of the inversion table is help you strengthen your spine which leads to a better posture. The table also helps to soothe the pain you feel because it removes pressure from your back.
The device has been certified to be safe to use and you can buy it either online or from a local dealership.
The people advised against using the inversion table are those suffering from high blood pressure, glaucoma and heart disease because you would be lying upside down.
Not all inversion tables are created equally. There are a couple of factors that you should consider before you buy one.
You should ensure that they make use of heavy duty steel frame in the parts. This would ensure that you would be able to use the table for a long time and it won’t break under you.
Check if it has weight restrictions. If you buy a table that is smaller than your weight, it would get broken fast.
5. Stay Away from Back Braces and Stop Smoking
A lot of people would recommend that you wear back braces to help relief back pain. While this might help relief the pressure in your back temporarily, this is not a healthy choice in the long term.
The reason why back braces are not suitable is because with prolong use, it would weaken the muscles of your back.
What this means is that you would become dependent on the back brace and when it is removed, you would experience even more pain than when you started using it.
Research has also shown that smoking can contribute to back pain. When you smoke, toxins are release into your bloodstream. These toxins can be a causative effect to the pain you feel I’m your back muscles.
6. Learn Relaxation Techniques
You feel back pain because your back muscles are tensed. If you learn good relaxation techniques, you would be able to deal with it.
Back pain can also affect your mental health and lead to conditions like depression and a high stress level. The sad news is that if you do not get any relief for the pain fast, the depression intensifies.
For people who experience chronic back pain, depression can be very destructive. Learning relaxation techniques would help you cope better with the pain.
A good example is meditation. An immersive meditation session can help you to focus on other things other than the pain your feel in your back. You can also try yoga and deep breathing exercises. They can be very soothing.
Try out some yoga techniques with your partner.
All these exercises are backed by science to help you feel some relief.
7. Change your Current Shoes
You would be shocked about the kind of effect that your shoes has on your spine. If your shoes aren’t the right fit for you, they might have an effect on the alignment of your spine. Wrong shoes would put heavy strain on your back, neck and body.
Especially females who wear a lot of high heels, you would be prone to back pain regularly. Try swapping your high heels for flat shoes. If you must wear heels because of work, wear shoes that comes with a short heel.
If you don’t know which kind of shoe is the best fit for your body type, you should visit podiatrist for the right advice.
In summary
More than 10 percent of the human population suffer from back pain, but thankfully it is a condition that can be managed.
If you use the methods written in this article on how to ease back pain, you should begin to see significant relief in a few days.
If after changing your sleeping position and making use of inversion tables and you still continue to experience back pains, it might be time for you to see a doctor for a more professional advice.
Your back pain might be an indicator of a more serious medical condition that you had no idea about. It is better not to take any chance because prevention is better cure.