Suffering from lower back pain is a common problem faced by the majority of the population. It has been observed that around 80%(1) of adults experience chronic or sporadic lower back pain at some time in their lives. Back pain is the second-most common reason for a visit to the doctor. Men and women are known to suffer almost equally from lower back pain. Try these home remedies for lower back pain!
Causes of Lower Back Pain
The main causes of lower back pain are mechanical. Usually, lower back pain can be caused due to the degeneration of the joints, discs, and bones of the spine. Other than mechanical causes, there are some serious medical conditions that may cause lower back pain, such as infections, tumors, or aneurysms, and these must be given immediate medical attention.
When Should You Seek Medical Help for Lower Back Pain?
You should make sure that you go see a medical professional for lower back pain when you have a history of cancer, or if you have recently suffered from an infection, or if you are experiencing a body temperature, which is over 100 degrees F, or when it is accompanied by unexplained weight loss.
Home Remedies for Lower Back Pain
1. Exercises
Why does it work?
Regular and light exercises can be useful for reducing lower back pain(2). These exercises generally focus on strengthening the muscles that surround your spinal area so that it relieves the stress, which this area feels under movement. Specialized exercises for the lower back helps to increase the blood flow to the area.
How to do it and how much?
If the pain in your lower back increases while you are exercising, then you should stop the exercise immediately. The recommended exercises include hamstrings, hip flexors, prop up to the elbows, pelvic tilt, and tail wag. You should remember to breathe throughout your exercises.
Exercises for the lower back are simple body-weight exercises, which can be done at home, and should ideally be repeated two or three times a day.
2. Sleeping
Why Does It Work?
Sleep gives time for your back muscles to heal and relieves the stress on it.
How to do it and When?
Sleeping for lower back pain should be in a side position while resting a pillow between your knees because this increases your comfort level. Another good posture for sleeping is lying on your back while keeping a pillow below your knees.
It is also important that you do not overdo your rest periods during the day because this can reduce the muscle tone in your body. Sleeping for around eight hours of the day is appropriate.
[Read: Natural Supplements for Back Pain ]
3. Stretching and Posture
Why does this Help?
Keeping the right posture helps prevent undue tension on your lower back. Stretching(3) helps in relieving any muscle tightness that may occur from day-to-day activity.
How to do it and When?
You should not sit slouched on your office desk. Make sure to maintain your posture while you are seated at your office desk. It is important that you get up and stretch every once in a while. You should use a desk chair, which provides proper lower back support. You should make sure that you get up from your office chair every twenty minutes or so and stretch your muscles.
[Read: Yoga Poses for Lower Back Pain]
4. Ice Therapy
Why does this work?
Ice therapy for lower back pain is used because it reduces the inflammation as well as pain, which you may have after an injury. Ice therapy also reduces the swelling surrounding your injured area. Because ice therapy has a numbing effect on your muscles, it alleviates pain. Ice therapy has also been found to reduce the tissue damage caused by an injury.
When and How to do it?
You can apply cold to your lower back in a variety of ways, including a frozen bag of vegetables, frozen gel packs, or a frozen towel. You should make sure that you shouldn’t use the ice directly to your skin. Ice therapy should be used for your lower back in the first twenty-four hours to forty-eight hours after an injury to your lower back.
You shouldn’t apply a cold pack to your lower back for more than twenty minutes at a time, but this can be repeated up to ten times in a twenty-four period.
[Read: Cryotherapy To Freeze Pain]
5. Heat Therapy
Why does this work?
Heat therapy encourages the healing of your back by stimulating the blood flow to the region, which provides oxygen as well as required nutrients. Heat therapy for lower back pain also reduces the stiffness, that you feel after an injury to the area. They have been found to reduce pain, inflammation, and have no known side-effects or harmful effects.
When and How to do it?
You can provide heat to your lower back in many ways, such as by soaking in a hot tub, or by applying a heat wrap or heating pad. Heat therapy should not be applied in the first twenty-four to forty-eight hours of the injury. It should only be applied once the initial swelling or inflammation has subsided.
[Read: Ice and Heat for Lower Back Pain]
You should tailor your treatment to suit the type of lower back pain that you suffer from. It has been found that most individuals experiencing lower back pain do not have any other major health conditions. This kind of lower back pain, with a little help from you, should generally subside within a month.
FAQs
1. Can Lower Back Pain Be Prevented?
Back pain which is caused due to mechanical injury or wears and tear can usually be prevented by ensuring that you do not cause any sudden movements or prolonged stress on your back and keeping the right posture.
2. What Do You Suggest for Keeping a Healthy Lower Back?
Exercises that are not strenuous and are light are generally recommended for keeping all areas of your body fit, including your lower back. You should take part in daily light activities such as swimming, riding a stationary bike, or speed walking in order to develop your muscles in the area.
3. Does Weight Have Anything to Do with Lower Back Pain?
Yes, being overweight may cause additional stress on your spine and may cause recurring lower back problems.
