3 Treatment Options For Chronic Back Pain
Suffering from back pain? If so, it likely affects every part of your life. When you have chronic back pain, even the simplest tasks can be difficult. You may experience pain as you go through your day-to-day activities like working, cleaning, or caring for children. You could even experience pain when you're sitting or lying down.
Unfortunately, there's no universal cure for back pain. Often, back pain is caused by a variety of issues, including natural aging. Since it's difficult to pinpoint the exact cause of your pain, it's also difficult to prescribe an effective treatment. However, there are some steps you can take to reduce your pain or possibly eliminate it altogether. Below are a few treatments to consider.
Home care. Before you pursue treatment from your doctor, you may want to try a few simple steps at home. Often, back pain is caused by pressure and tightness in the muscles around the spine. You could try resting each evening and applying a rotation of heat and cold to the sore areas. That could release tension. You also may want to incorporate stretching into your morning and evening routines. Sometimes a few minutes of stretching is all that is needed to relax your muscles.
You can also consider increasing your exercise routine. If you can lose weight and build up more muscle, you can relieve some of the pressure and burden on your current back muscles. That could reduce your pain. However, be careful not to do too much, or you may inflame any existing issues.
Pain medication. If home treatments don't work, you could see your doctor and discuss medication for the pain. There are a number of different anti-inflammatory drugs and pain medications that your doctor could provide. He or she could also prescribe steroid injections to help with muscle growth and to relieve pressure. Of course, all prescription drugs have side effects. Pain medications may cause drowsiness or other issues. Think carefully about the benefits and side effects before you start a prescription.
Spinal manipulation. Finally, you may want to see a chiropractor about a procedure known as spinal manipulation. During spinal manipulation, a chiropractor manually adjusts and shifts your spine to improve its alignment. This can have a number of important benefits. For instance, it can increase blood flow to your back, which can help reduce inflammation and pain. It can also minimize pressure from surrounding muscles. Spinal manipulation can be effective when you're working with an experienced and knowledgeable chiropractor.
Ready to eliminate your chronic back pain? Contact a chiropractor like Eric Schmetterling DC today to schedule your initial appointment.