Lifestyle

6 Most Effective Ways to Relieve Back Pain at Home

Karen Donovan

We all know someone who has complained of back pain. It’s hard to know what it feels like until you have it. Do you suffer from nagging back pain? Maybe you have an old injury acting up or you overdid it moving furniture. There are lots of ways to injure your back and once you’ve done it, it seems like it lingers around to haunt you.

If you are having a problem with pain in your back, all is not lost. There are several things you can do to lessen the ache or even make it disappear altogether.

Here are the six most effective ways to relieve back pain in the comfort of your home:

1. Get More Sleep

Sleeping is a time of rest and repair. When you are suffering from back pain you need to let the body take over and work it out. You may find that sleeping is painful but it is where you need to be. Poor sleep can be caused by bad positioning in bed. Try lying on your side and put a pillow between your knees to straighten out your spine.

If you are a back sleeper, place the pillow under your knees. This will allow your hips to move forward and take pressure off your lower back. Find the sweet spot and get lots of sleep.

2. Practice Good Posture

Good posture is another effective way to relieve back pain. Many of us have to sit at work to perform our jobs. This can be really hard on the back and you need to have proper posture in order to keep the pain away. Try not to slouch or slump over your desk. Sitting upright with your back against the chair and your feet flat on the ground will do wonders. Also, don’t be too rigid.

Try not to arch your back too much as that can increase pain. Rotate your pelvis to flatten out your back, on and off for a sitting exercise. Get up and take a short walk every hour to take pressure off your spine.

3. Start Moving

Exercise is key to having a healthy, pain-free back. It may seem to aggravate it but don’t worry; your muscles need to strengthen your lower back to give it support. Start by walking every day and work your way up to going to the gym. Don’t go heavy and avoid exercises that put stress on your spine like sit-ups and leg lifts.

You can also do more passive forms of movement like swimming and yoga as they are more gentle and help elongate the spine. Swimming can decrease swelling and inflammation while improving circulation. Yoga promotes stretching and better posture as it relaxes you. Whatever form of exercise you do, take it slow and steady. Too much and you could be back to square one.

4. Get Chiropractic Therapy

I’m talking about different kinds of physical therapy like massage, chiro, and acupuncture. These are all proven methods for repairing injury and relieving pain. Your body is a machine. As you go through life, it can start misfiring and get out of tune.

  • Chiropractors work to find the root causes of your back pain and restore function to your body.
  • Acupuncture allows Qi to flow uninterrupted. It is designed to correct imbalances at key points around the body
  • Massage Therapy can alleviate pain by treating repetitive injuries, chronic pain, and soft tissue inflammation.

Having a professional in alternative healing is very beneficial. They know how the body functions and can recognize when your back is misaligned. Through their healing hands, they can alleviate pain and get you on the road to recovery.

5. Hot and Cold Treatment

Hot and cold therapy is a great remedy for back pain and easy to do. Start with regular intervals of a cold pack on the area that is giving you pain. This can help bring down the inflammation. After several days switch to heat. It will relax the muscles and help increase blood flow. Warm baths are also an effective way to rest your body and let it repair.

6. Reduce Stress

Stress is a factor in most chronic diseases and negatively affects injured areas. It produces inflammation and can cause tension and strain in your back. Anxiety causes people to be inactive and that’s the opposite of what you need when you have back pain. You can do a lot of things to combat stress in your life.

Adopting a healthy diet is good for stress relief and exercise is also very effective. When you make positive changes in your life it can have a physiological effect and that aids the body too. Finding ways to relieve stress is crucial to reducing back pain.

When you are in pain, all you want to do is have it go away. Back pain can reduce the quality of your life just when you are in a position to start living it. Don’t let back problems keep you down. Take action today. By using these methods you can turn the tide on your back issues and start on the road to health.