How To Relieve
Lower Back Pain
Read these 5 simple steps that will relieve your back pain and improve your life
By Doctor NICK JOHNSON
Lower Back Pain Is Common
Lower back pain can be a debilitating and painful condition. It affects up to 80% of all people at one time or another, but when pain persists and continues to interfere with your life quality, multiple treatments options may be needed for adequate relief. Try these 5 remedies, and get back your pain-free life:
1. Sleep Better
When you have back pain, sleeping can be hard. It can be a vicious cycle because when you don’t get enough sleep, your back pain may feel worse. A poor sleep position can also aggravate back pain. Try lying on your side. Place a pillow between your knees to keep your spine in a neutral position and relieve strain on your back. If you need to sleep on your back, slide a pillow under your knees. Be sure to sleep on a comfortably firm mattress.
2. Good Posture
Poor posture can make back pain worse, especially if you sit for long periods. Don’t slump over your keyboard. Sit upright, with your shoulders relaxed and your body supported against the back of your chair. Try putting a pillow or a rolled towel between your lower back and your seat. Keep your feet flat on the floor.
3. Ice and Heat
If you’ve tweaked your lower back, apply ice during the first 24 to 48 hours. Here’s how you can use ice to your advantage:
- Place ice cubes or crushed ice in a plastic bag, or purchase a cool pack. Wrap what you’re using in a cloth to protect your skin from injury.
- Apply to your lower back for no more than 10 minutes at a time.
- Repeat as needed throughout the day. Give yourself at least 10-minute breaks between ice applications.
While heat may be tempting to apply after an injury, it can cause your body to release even more inflammatory compounds into your body. After one to two days and for chronic pain, you can begin to apply heat.
4. Improve Your Workspace
If you work at a desk job all day, you might have some areas to thank for your back pain. Evaluating your workspace and making it more ergonomic (back friendly) can help you experience lower back pain relief and prevent pain from getting worse.
Looking to high or too low at your computer monitor, for example, can affect your posture and therefore contribute to lower back pain. Your monitor should be about an arm’s lenght away from your chair with the top portion of the screen just a small amount below eye level.
5. Lower Back Stretching
Fortunately, staying phisically active may be the most efficient way to soothe or prevent lower back pain. This 30-second stretch can be the easiest way to relieve your back pain and making it disappear. You can watch the video of this stretch here