Back Pain Treatment And Remedies – Everything You Need To Know

If you are suffering from back pain, you are not alone. There are millions of people who regularly suffer from back pain and ironically, there is no single treatment that can cure the pain. Usually, treating back pain requires trial and error, but once you have found the treatment or remedy that can cure your pain, you will be as happy as a buzzing bee!

Having back pain is not funny. It can affect your work, wreak havoc in your personal life and adversely affect your social life. It also can lead to depression. And, chronic back pain may make it impossible for you to work, causing you to lose your job and source of income. That is why knowing more about back pain treatments and remedies is a good thing.

Back Pain Treatments and Remedies:

There are several treatment and remedy options when it comes to back pain. That is why you should discuss these options with your doctor. A qualified medical professional is best suited to advice you on the back pain treatment and remedies that are ideal for you. Nonetheless, here are some of the most common treatments used for curing back pain.

Nerve Blocks for Pain Management:

Nerve blocks are used to help people manage the pain. There are different methods to block the pain-causing nerves. Usually, the doctor will inject a numbing medication into the area of your back where you are experiencing pain. Once the medication kicks in, that specific area will become numb. The medication is known as a nerve block.

Some of the nerve blocks used for different purposes include:

• Therapeutic Nerve Block: This is used to manage acute pain and is a local anaesthetic
• Prognostic Nerve Block: This is treatment done to determine the outcome of the treatment. For instance, it can be done to see whether the patient requires surgical intervention
• Diagnostic Nerve Block: As the name suggests, this nerve block helps the doctor to figure out the source of the back pain

In some patients, the doctor may decide to opt for a nerve block to avoid surgery.

Chiropractic for Back Pain:

Many times, people with back pain have misaligned spine and this can be rectified by going to a chiropractor. By manually adjusting your spine, the chiropractor will not only help with back pain, but will also provide you exercises to ensure that the back pain does return. In addition, you can expect your chiropractor to offer you nutritional counseling.

You can be rest assured, as spinal manipulation performed by a qualified and licensed chiropractor is safe and quite effective. If you have sustained back injury while lifting something heavy, playing a contact sport or moving around furniture, you definitely should visit a chiropractor. You will find this treatment for back pain quite effective.

Spinal Decompression:

Back pain that lasts for a long time can be troublesome. It will disrupt your life and also stop you from doing several things that you used to do before you started experiencing the pain. You may find that medication no longer provides relief. Under such circumstances, you may have to opt for spinal decompression, which can be done surgically or non-surgically. Sounds weird, doesn’t it?

Non-surgical Spinal Decompression: 

This is used to treat back pain caused due to sciatica, worn out spinal joints or injured spinal nerves. In this treatment, you will be put on a kind of motorized traction. This traction gradually stretches your spine, while being gentle. It takes pressure off from your spinal disk, allowing them to heal, as more oxygen and nutrients can reach the disk. Usually, you would need 20 to 28 treatment sessions, lasting 30 to 45 minutes each time. This treatment is given over a period of five to seven weeks and may be combined with hot and cold therapy both prior and after each session.

Back Pain Treatment due to Spinal Stenosis or Radiculopathy:

• Spinal stenosis is the medical term for the lower portion of the spine getting narrow, due to which more pressure is exerted on the nerves, resulting in back pain.

• Radiculopathy is either damage or inflammation of a nerve in the lower back or neck region. It causes a sharp shooting pain in the lower back that runs down one or both legs or from the neck into the arm. You can suffer from this condition if you have a herniated disc.

The treatment for these conditions is injections, such as epidural, nerve block or discography. In order to get the injections, you have to first undergo an MRI or CT scan. This allows the doctor to figure out the cause of the pain.

Surgical Intervention for Back Pain:

When every other treatment that you have tried does not cure your back pain, the only alternative left is having a surgery. However, it is important to remember that the surgery may not be able to offer you significant improvement, but if it does, you should opt for it.

Benefits of Back Surgery: There are many benefits of back surgery and several people have experienced reduced pain or complete relief from back pain. In addition, you may also enjoy the following benefits:

• Enhanced activity
• Better frame of mind
• Being able to return to work
• Use less pain medication and hence, experience fewer side effects
• Be physically more fit
• Be more productive at your workplace
• Just like any other surgery, there are few risks involved with back surgery. These include:
• Reacting adversely to the anaesthesia
• Excessive bleeding
• Infection
• Formation of blood clots in the lungs or legs
• Nerve damage resulting in weakness, paralysis or loss of bowel and/or bladder control
• Stroke
• Heart attack
• Recurring disc herniation

Speak to your doctor about these risks and then make an informed decision.

Also, remember the type of surgery for back pain will depend on the cause of the pain. For instance, if the pain is caused due to bone spurs, you will need a laminectomy, while spinal fusion requires a spinal fusion surgery.

Home Care and Remedies for Back Pain:

If you do not have a health issue that is causing the pain, it could be due to poor posture, sitting for long hours in front of the computer or lifting something heavy without proper precaution. Under such circumstances, you can opt for certain home remedies that can help you manage and control the pain.

Here are some ways that you can get relief from the pain without having to visit a doctor.

• Sleep on your side and place a soft pillow between your knees. It will ease the pain and also keep you comfortable in bed.
• Take OTC medications, such as ibuprofen and acetaminophen to get relief from the pain.
• Try massaging your back with a deep heating rub. Many times, it can prove to be quite effective and provide relief from the pain.
• Hot and cold compress is also great for back pain. However, make sure that you do not place the heating pad or ice directly onto the skin. Always wrap it around a towel and clean cloth and then place it on the skin.
• Many people think that exercise can help them get rid of the back pain and they start doing back exercises with the hope of getting relief. Researchers claim that no back exercise can reduce back pain or even help you with increased mobility and functional ability. However, researchers do agree that if you are suffering from chronic back pain, you will benefit from back exercises. Doing these exercises will allow you to return to work and do normal activities.

Points to Consider:

When you are suffering from back pain, you may think getting bed rest will help cure the pain. However, health experts claim that bed rest can increase your recovery period and it also could lead to depression, reduced muscle tone and formation of blood clots in your legs. If you have back pain, try to get rest initially, but do not let this rest extend beyond 48 hours. What this means is that you will be better off walking and moving around even with back pain rather than spending time in bed.

In Conclusion,

Back pain, whether it is chronic or temporary, is never welcomed. You should initially try home remedies for your back pain and if it persists, be sure to consult a qualified doctor. Many times, back pain can be extremely debilitating and it is easy to stay in bed hoping that it will get better with time. However, if you have a serious health condition causing the pain, such as bone spurs or narrowing of the spine, you will require medical intervention. This is the reason not to neglect back pain.

When you consult your doctor, find out the various back pain treatment options. Ask questions about the benefits and risks. Then sit and think through logically and make a decision. If necessary, seek a second opinion. This will assure you that you are getting the right advice from your doctor.