Back pain is one of the most common diagnoses in the world. Nearly 80 percent of you will experience back pain at least once in your life. Many will experience discomfort for a month or longer. The back is made up of several components, such as disc, vertebrae, nerve roots, muscles and ligaments. Damage to any one of these areas can result in back pain. The good news, there are several different natural back pain treatments out there that can help your suffering.
Back pain is usually classified in two categories, acute back pain, and chronic back pain. Acute pain refers to sudden pain, the type of pain that trauma and injury would bring on. Acute pain is short-term pain, my back pain coach review lasted no longer than a few months. Chronic pain refers to long-term pain that has lasted 3 months or longer. Chronic pain can be the result of injury, medical conditions, disease or brought on by yourself. Although your back can heal and your discomfort can go away on its own, chronic pain often requires proper treatment and testing.
You have several different options in reference to back pain treatments. One common natural treatment is physical therapy. Physical therapy can refer to a few different categories that include exercises, stretching, and massages. Physical therapy is used to keep your back mobile, flexible and strong. Exercises are used to strengthen the back, stretching keeps your back flexible and massages are great for your muscles. Anyone of these can help relieve pain in your back.
Another great natural back pain treatment is Yoga. Yoga has several health benefits and studies have shown that Yoga can be effective in treating this condition. The movement and stretching are good for your back. Many people don’t realize this but stress can cause pain in the back. Stress affects us all, and it can be the cause of back pain. Yoga Is a great stress reducer. If you’re stressed or having anxiety, Yoga can reduce your stress. Reducing your stress can relieve your back pain.
How to Prevent Low Back Pain
It is important that you take the following information at face value, as it is sourced from my personal experience as a musculoskeletal physiotherapist. In no way should it be used to undermine the advice given to you by your doctor or another health professional.
1. Good Posture
Good posture is crucial to maintain the correct alignment of the joints and the surrounding muscles. Optimal posture (I say ‘optimal’ and not ‘normal’, as there are many forms of ‘normal’) ensures that the forces transmitted throughout the body are distributed in a way that is symmetrical, most effective, and requires the least amount of effort.
Just by observing others around you, it becomes apparent that there are many different shapes and sizes of the body. For example, racket sport players often present with a forward-shouldered posture (i.e. their shoulders are slightly rounded) due to the constant overhead action associated with their sport. Repetitive movement can over time, result in muscle imbalances in the body, which in this case, results in the muscles at the front of the shoulder becoming dominant and shortened; hence pulling the shoulders forward.
However, posture itself is not only influenced by the sports and hobbies we participate in, but also by our chosen occupation and congenital factors (you’re simply born that way). Unfortunately, there is little wiggle room with regard to changing congenital factors (for example, an overly curved spine), however, we can influence the other two parts of the equation to ensure the maintenance of a healthy spine (and body).
As mentioned earlier, prolonged, poor posture can result in the associated shortening and lengthening of the soft tissues, therefore affecting joint alignment. Muscles and their relative attachments to the joints can exert abnormal forces on a joint, which can lead to the stresses of movement being transmitted through the wrong points on the body. Similarly, the muscles and joints over time may become predisposed to overuse which can lead to joint inflammation and fibrosis (the formation of ‘muscle knots’).
The best example of back pain is the role of the deep core muscles, which function as a muscular corset to help stabilize the trunk and hip/pelvis. In most cases, the deep core (or stabilizer) muscles become neglected; the body, therefore, seeks out a compensation strategy by utilizing the larger and more superficial muscle groups (known as the ‘mobilizer’ muscles) to fulfill this stabilization role. Over time, these muscles can become overworked and fatigued, which manifests as muscle tightness and potentially, muscle spasms.
