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Most of us are familiar with this sensation. We’ll have been playing a sport, or lifting a heavy object as part of the household chores. Soon, we start experiencing pain in our lower back due to a pulled muscle and find it difficult to move or stand up. Backache is one of the most common problems. It can affect people due to a variety of reasons: aging, workouts, traveling, or even lifting the furniture. Let us have a look at some of the ways to reduce the pain:
- Oil Massage: Massage your back with a herbal oil or mustard oil before heading for a shower to ensure a quick recovery.
- Hot and Cold Therapy: When resting on your couch, apply a hot-water pouch to your back and support it using cushions. The heat loosens the tight muscles and increases blood circulation and oxygen supply to the affected region, thus easing the pain. Cold therapy, on the other hand, helps reduce the swelling by reducing the blood supply to the back. Both act as local anesthetics, inhibiting the pain messages being transmitted to the brain.
- Get Moving: Contrary to popular belief, taking too much rest can actually slow down the recovery process. Go for a small walk on level surfaces after every 2-3 hours, do some stretches and avoid sitting for long periods of time.
- Yoga: Studies have shown that yoga can be as effective as physical therapy exercises in reducing back pain. The stretching exercises of yoga help ease the tensions in the back muscles which contribute to back pain.
- Pop a Pill: Over-the-counter medicines like acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil) etc. can cure most of the cases of low back pain. But be careful and learn about their risks, side-effects and follow the dosage quantity and schedule as advised by your spine physician.
- Eucalyptus Oil: Take a bath with a few drops of eucalyptus oil mixed with a bucket of lukewarm or slightly hot water. This will help get rid of the backache and reduce your stress levels.
- Move your hamstrings: Tight hamstring muscles (the ones located in the back of your thighs) put additional stress on the lower back muscles. Do some basic hamstring stretches to ease the muscles and keep them flexible. You can try touching your toes while standing and bending down, or sitting on a chair and reaching towards the toes of your feet resting straight on another chair.
Preventing and curing a backache often involves keeping them supple and strong by doing some simple stretching exercises. Following the simple do-it-yourself tips can strengthen your spine and the spinal muscles.
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