Best relief of lower back pain (sans chiropractor/medicine)?!
Question: It really does depend on what is causing it, but without further information, I will assume that it is muscular in nature.
The first thing I would do is ice the area involved (no longer than 30 minutes at a time.)
The general rule for heat vs. ice:
ICE for acute injuries (immediately after you're hurt through the next few days)
ALTERNATING HEAT/ICE for sub-acute injuries (a few days to a few weeks after the initial injury). Use it at a 3:1 ratio, 15-30 min. of heat, then 5-10 min. of ice, always ending with the ice.
HEAT for chronic pain (things that have been bothering you for months or years.)
After that, I would definitely see a massage therapist. I know that many people still think of this work as a luxury, but I have seen countless people have their pain significantly reduced and even completely relieved after 1 or 2 sessions (assuming you get a therapist who knows what s/he is doing.)
The great thing about massage is that it gets you back on your feet without drugs or other invasive treatments, it benefits every system in your body, and it feels really good.
Answers: It really does depend on what is causing it, but without further information, I will assume that it is muscular in nature.
The first thing I would do is ice the area involved (no longer than 30 minutes at a time.)
The general rule for heat vs. ice:
ICE for acute injuries (immediately after you're hurt through the next few days)
ALTERNATING HEAT/ICE for sub-acute injuries (a few days to a few weeks after the initial injury). Use it at a 3:1 ratio, 15-30 min. of heat, then 5-10 min. of ice, always ending with the ice.
HEAT for chronic pain (things that have been bothering you for months or years.)
After that, I would definitely see a massage therapist. I know that many people still think of this work as a luxury, but I have seen countless people have their pain significantly reduced and even completely relieved after 1 or 2 sessions (assuming you get a therapist who knows what s/he is doing.)
The great thing about massage is that it gets you back on your feet without drugs or other invasive treatments, it benefits every system in your body, and it feels really good.
depends on the type of pain and what caused it. Here are some of the things we do at the nursing facility I work at though:
To start, heating pads work wonders on sore muscles and in general aching backs. Especially the ones you can just wrap on your back and go- they relieve a lot of pain. If it's caused by nerve damage or something of the sort though, just go straight for the pain meds. You could also keep a log and see when the pain is the worst- is it specifically at the same time or after the same activity each day? Say sleeping? Invest in something better for yourself that would help alleviate whatever that thing is.
Overall though, just be good to yourself and treat yourself every once in a while. Keeping happy will make the biggest difference.
i chiropractor would most likely be better. i always go there, like i did something to my back doing butterfly. had lower back pain, went to the chiro and its all better.(with a day of not swimming)
Physical therapy may help (depending on what the cause for your pain is). It may not feel good in the beginning, but it can be beneficial. If you don't want to go to an actual therapist or can't afford one..you can do the exercises/stretches at home. You can look up online several back stretches that will at the least loosen up your muscles. The following website has a few stretches described..but I'm sure there are many more.
http://physicaltherapy.about.com/od/flex...