EXCERPT

CHAPTER 6
Alternative ways of getting rid of your back pain…

As previously suggested, one very simple, effective but completely natural way of getting rid of your back pain is to stay in bed for a couple of days. Alternatively, if you are already someone who suffers chronic back problem or perhaps someone who falls into a high risk category for back pain in the future, you should consider making whatever lifestyle changes are necessary so that you become stronger, fitter and healthier. In this way, you will reduce or completely remove the possibility of ever suffering back pain problems again.

This is all very well and good, but if you already have back pain, there is no doubt that you want to know how to get rid of it as quickly and effectively as possible. Furthermore, by the fact that you are reading this book, it is clear that you are looking for a natural back pain solution, which is what you are going to read about in the next few chapters.

The method of back pain relief that you seek will be very much dependent upon the cause of that back pain. If your back pain is caused by a serious medical condition (e.g. a fracture suffered as a result of osteoporosis or a slipped disc), then treating your back pain at home is not going to be an appropriate course of action. However, given the fact that the majority of back pain problems will becaused by muscle strains or ligament pulls, we are going to focus on treatment that can be used to address pain caused by non-critical conditions.

In essence, if you have back pain caused by muscle strains or a pull, this is a situation that you can treat at home in a natural manner. If it is anything worse, however, your back pain is likely to besomething that requires medical treatment.

Heat and ice treatment…
Both heat and ice treatments can be used to deal with back pain from muscles, with the most suitable choice depending upon the reason for the pain. If you have suffered some kind of back muscle injury, the first thing to
ascertain is whether there is any swelling or inflammation. If there is no swelling, you are probably best advised to use heat to reduce the pain, because applying heat to a muscle increases its flexibility and elasticity.

Especially if activity is in the offing (even if it is only having to go to work), applying heat is probably more appropriate than applying an ice pack to your damaged muscles. In this way, you will encourage movement in your muscles, which is going to enable you to use them as and when it becomes necessary without suffering an undue degree of pain.

Because heat increases blood flow and skin temperature, you can apply an appropriate source of heat to your muscles for 15 to 20 minutes at a time. As moist heat is best, you could try using a hot towel or you could use a special athletic heat device or application on the injured area. There are also quite a few websites where you can buy natural heat applications like the National Allergy site.

Alternatively, there might be times when applying ice to your injury could be more appropriate. Although it is generally believed that applying an ‘ice pack’ of some description to any muscle injury is the
best idea, heat works best for chronic pain. If you are in the situation where your back pain is caused by an obvious
injury where there may be swelling or inflammation, then application of an ice pack is likely to work better than applying a heat source. The application of ice acts as a vaso-constrictor, meaning that it will cause
your blood vessels to narrow and that will limit internal bleeding and swelling.

Apply ice to the affected area (wrapped in a cloth or towel to prevent discomfort or ‘ice burn’) for 10 to 15 minutes at a time. After application, allow your skin temperature to return to normal before
repeating the process as many times as necessary. This is a process that you can repeat as many times as necessary for three or four days, but if after that, the problem still persists, you should seek appropriate medical advice.