I’m sure everybody has experienced a few back pains in their life. May it be a mild form or severe, we all know what it feels like and we all know that it is such a discomfort. The worse type would probably be lower back pain. But, with the right type of guidance with prevention or natural treatments for mild backache, you don’t have to be too alarmed because this article could definitely help you out.
Before we actually start with tips on preventing backaches and natural cures, let’s begin with the question… What is back pain and how do we get it?
First off, it can affect anybody, from children, young adults and elderly, if something is done to provoke it, it could happen. But usually adults aged from 30 to 50 years old are most commonly experiencing this problem.
The risk factors of back pain are as follows:
- More common in females
- Being over weight
- Age – adults that are ranging from their 30s to 50s are more susceptible
- A job that involves frequent lifting
- A sedentary lifestyle – mostly sitting at work or at home
- Pregnancy –because of the weight of the tummy affecting the woman’s lower back
- Strenuous physical exercise – especially if the exercise is not done properly
- Smoking
- Anxiety and depression
The main symptom of backache is a pain felt anywhere on the person’s back (could also be felt radiating to the buttocks and legs).
If any of the following symptoms are being experienced, you should contact your healthcare provider:
- Fever
- Swelling on the back
- Persistent backache – does not go away even with resting
- Pain constantly radiating down to the legs
- Difficulty in peeing
- Losing feces control
- Numbness felt around the buttocks or genital area or other areas near the back pain
IF you are experiencing it and are part of any of these groups please do seek medical attention as soon as possible:
- having a low immune system
- people less than 20 years old or more than 55 years old
- taking steroids for a few months
- cancer patients or former cancer survivors
- drug users
The common causes of back pain are:
- Strain on the muscles and ligaments are the most common causes
- Lifting objects that are heavy and lifting it improperly
- Making an awkward movement which result in pain in the back
- Spasms in the muscles
- Sleeping on a bad mattress for a long time
- Over-stretching of the back muscle
- Sitting in a hunched position for prolonged periods of time
- Long drives without a good break for stretching
The causes that are more severe are as follows:
- Since our vertebra in our spine are cushioned in between disks, the rupture of these disks could cause pressure on the nerve thus resulting in severe back pain
- Arthritis
- Abnormal curvature in the spine – example is scoliosis
- Osteoporosis – brittle bones
- Bone cancer specially if it reaches the spine
- Spine infection
How is back pain diagnosed?
First things first, your healthcare provider will do an initial physical examination of your body and do an interview about health history. Depending on the severity of the pain, tests may also be done to determine the underlying cause. Examinations such as:
- X-rays may be done to see the alignment of the bones only
- CT scans or MRI. These texts are ideal for detecting herniated disks, tissues, tendons, nerves, ligaments, blood vessels, muscles and bone problems
- Bone scan. This can detect compression on the bones, tumors that may be caused by bones being brittle
- EMG (Electromyography). This provides electrical impulses produced by nerves in response to how muscles react. This examination can confirm compression in the nerves and if there is a herniated disk or narrowing in the spine
Don’t be too alarmed though especially if the pain just started and is still in its mild form. If you feel like it is becoming severe, tell you doctor as soon as possible to get it checked and have some tests done to know the severity of your back pain.
For mild cases, try out these home remedies for back pains:
- Apply ice. Apply a cold pack to the painful area after injury to keep swelling from becoming worse and to also ease off discomfort. Don’t directly put the ice on the affected area, make sure you wrap a towel around it before applying it. Leave on the ice pack for at least 15 minutes, take it off for 20 minutes then repeat one more time for 15 minutes
- A warm relaxing bath. If you’re back pain has been more than 24 hours, ice will not help. You may want to try heat instead to relax the muscle. Warm up some bath water in a tub and soak in it for 20 minutes. If you’re pregnant, don’t sit in the bath too long. Keep it down to 10 minutes. Best to talk to your doctor before trying out this warm bath treatment
- Get in some sleep. Getting enough sleep is always important especially when you have strained muscles. Try lying on your side with your knees flexed in and a pillow in between. If you want to lie on your back, make sure you place a pillow under your knees
- Massage time. It is best to contact a real massage therapist when it comes to massages because if you contact one that doesn’t have professional training, your back pain might just get worse. Try asking your doctor for massage therapist contacts that they may have. Massage is also a natural pain relief for arthritis.
- Relax. Back pain can be caused by tension and stress on the muscles and person. Do some relaxation techniques such as meditation or breathing in deeply. Close your eyes, inhale and exhale slowly deeply while counting 1 to 100
- Swimming. Yes, swimming is said to be the best aerobic exercise for a bad back. Doing a couple laps around the pool can strengthen and tone the muscles in your back and abdomen. This is important because it supports the spine. If you can’t swim, try walking because it could also help out naturally
- Proper body mechanics. Like we were taught in elementary school, always lift with your legs and have your knees bent to avoid stress on your lower back. Use the large muscles in your legs and buttocks when lifting heavy objects to avoid back strain. Make this a habit every single time you lift
- Stay away from obesity. Watch your weight today! Maintain a healthy body weight to avoid muscle strains and overall body health.
- Rice. All you have to do is fill a clean sock with about a cup of uncooked rice and stick it in the microwave for 30 to 60 seconds. Check the temperature before applying on back. Leave on until there is no more heat
- Epsom salts. Using this treatment can reduce swelling. Fill your tub with 2 cups of salt with warm bath water and soak in it for 30 minutes.
Now that you have a few remedies you can try out that is safe and natural for your mild back pain, I also wanted to include another helpful website that could possibly help. While I was reading this, I learned more techniques and more vital information about easing off backaches. I believe that this website can really do the job especially if your back pain is still at its mildest form.
Amazing Tips its very informative thanks for Sharing 🙂