According to the National Institutes of Health of United States, back pain is the second most common neurological disorder next to headache. Common causes of back pains include the stress, muscle strain, osteoporosis or osteoarthritis, ruptured (or herniated) discs, spinal stenosis, tumors and many other possible complications. If you have had a serious major accident and your back is hurting, it is imperative to find a doctor immediately. If however you want to find out ways to get some back pain relief now, then we got some answers for you.
The first thing one thinks of when someone says back pain is a good massage. According to the Annals of Internal Medicine in 2003 massage is found to be the most effective alternative therapy to relieve pain, most especially among pregnant women. If you feel more force is necessary to alleviate the pain in your back, try chiropractic spine manipulation to restore joint mobility, relieve muscle tightness and improve healing. If the cause of your chronic back pain is poor posture, the Alexander Technique created by the Australian actor Frederick Matthias Alexander teaches people how to improve posture and eliminate bad habits like slouching which leads to muscle tension, decreased mobility, and pain in the back area.
Yoga is another form of exercise which creates balance in body through various poses that develop flexibility and strength. It has been found that yoga significantly reduced disability, the intensity of pain, and reliance of pain medication to people with back aches. Another form of body work which is very popular in Europe, Australia and now in the United States is the Bowen therapy developed by Australian osteopath Tom Bowen. This type of gentle bodywork involving the therapist to pull the skin slack away from the muscle, apply pressure and then quickly releasing the tension has been known to give back pain relief.
If you simply need something to quickly relieve your back ache, do try capsaicin (or capsicum) cream. This over-the-counter topical cream contains capsaicin which is known to cause analgesic effect by depleting a neurochemical substance that transmits pain. Be careful though, as the cream’s burning sensation not only relieves the pain, but can also last for two to four weeks!
Certain vitamins and minerals have also been found to significantly reduce pain and disability, and these are: Vitamin B12, Magnesium which helps maintain normal muscle and nerve function, and Vitamin D found in fish with small bones, fortified milk and cereals, and exposure to sunlight. Studies have shown that deficiencies to these three vitamins and minerals were associated to muskoskeletal pain and spasms. The bark of the white willow tree (Salix Alba) containing salicin (which is converted to salicylic acid once in the body) has also been found to relieve pain and reduce inflammation.
Other low-cost (if not, no-cost at all) and natural ways to simply ease that pain in the back is doing breathing techniques and having some music therapy. The former makes use of mind-body connection which integrates awareness, breathing, movement and meditation while the latter significantly reduced disability and even anxiety and depression. Although the findings were not statistically great, music had an amazingly immediate effect in relieving body aches, and is probably the fastest and cheapest way to get back pain relief.