How to Treat Back Pain



< 1Improper positioning of spine while you are asleep contributes to chronic lower back pain. Soft mattresses fail to maintain a normal curvature of the spine while you are asleep. This results in pinching of nerves between the spinal bones (vertebrae). Firm mattress provides a good support to your back bone while you are asleep.


< 2Obesity is an important cause of chronic lower back pain. It is easy to understand its relationship with the pain: the more you weigh, the more strain this will put on your backbone. In fact obesity not only puts extra load on your spine but also the other weight bearing joints such as knees, hips and ankles. This is the reason why these joints get involved frequently in overweight people. Mechanical stress erodes the cartilage that covers and protects the two bone surfaces that are in contact with each other in a joint. Losing weight is therefore key to management of back pain


< 3Heat therapy can alleviate pain. I recommend doing it every day at least for 30 minutes. Heat causes local vasodilation that increases the blood flow to the inflamed tissues. This helps to flush out the inflammatory substances that are collected in the inflamed bones and muscles. Many of these substances are pain mediators.


< 4Muscle rubs also work by the same mechanisms as heat therapy does. Rubs however cause vasodilation by reflex mechanisms.


< 5A significant portion of the back pain is due to the spasm of back muscles. Muscle stretching techniques may be used to gently relax the tight muscles. A manual massage may also do the same trick.


< 6Medications usually prescribed for chronic lower back pain are **** or ****, ****, soma, ibuprofen, naproxen, meloxicam, other narcotic medications and more. All of these should be taken in consultation with your health care provider.