Health experts suggest that about 80 percent of individuals will deal with back pain at some time during their lives. Back pain can be cause by a variety of different actions, such as over-straining during work tasks or sudden moves during athletic activities. If you suffer from chronic back pain, a number of measures can help to relieve pain and allow you greater flexibility and range of motion.
Exercise
Traditional advice to relieve back pain has been to get plenty of rest, in hopes that lack of movement would help to reduce inflammation of tissues. However, research has found that too much bed rest can have a detrimental effect on back problems. In fact, it can lead to a decrease in muscle tone and condition. Maintaining your normal activities can help to keep muscles strong and aid healing, along with preventing depression from inactivity. Gentle exercise can also help to restore normal spinal movement and can return you to full function.
Apply Ice & Heat
Ice packs and heat packs can be simple, yet effective, measures to help relieve common back pain. You can find a number of different types of hot or cold packs at your local drug store. These are often filled with a gel that makes a flexible ice pack or can be heated in the microwave oven for a few seconds for applying heat. Place the ice pack on your back for 10 to 20 minutes to calm nerve activity and reduce discomfort. A thin towel will help to protect skin during the application. Once the pain has decreased, apply a heating pad or heat pack for 20 minutes, making sure to protect the skin from burns.
Seek Medical Attention
In many cases, back pain may be a sign of something serious, like a herniated disc. A specialist can determine what is wrong and find the right treatment for your needs, to help you enjoy relief from pain and more comfortable movement. If your back pain is severe, worsens, or does not go away after home remedies are tried, be sure to see a medical professional. Seeing a professional about your back pain can help make sure you don’t accidentally do permanent damage.
Pain can have a significant impact on your daily activities. If you take the time to give your back and spinal structures a chance to recover, you will achieve gradual improvement in comfort and function. These three tips can help you get back to your normal range of motion.
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