Chronic back pain can be nagging in that it can last up to three months or more. Usually, it comes and goes bring some temporary relief, and then it returns. According to the American Chiropractic Association, chronic back pain can cause disability, and it is challenging, especially when you are not aware of the cause. The good news is that there are various ways of treating chronic back pain ranging from exercises to home remedies.
Physical Therapy
Among the first options for treating chronic back pain is exercising. You can do this under the guidance of a physician or a spine therapist. Physical therapy can sometimes help one in minimizing pain and improving posture. The therapist can tailor exercises based on the kind of pain one is experiencing. The exercises can include core stretching, aerobics, retraining posture, and testing pain tolerance.
Meditating
Chronic back pain entails both emotional and physical straining. Therefore to manage the depression, frustration, and other psychological aspects that may result from chronic pain, it might be appropriate to visit a rehabilitation psychologist. The psychologist can either recommend yoga, meditation, tai chi, as well as other relaxation and cognitive strategies to help one from focusing on the pain.
Having better sleep
Sometimes when one has back pain, they can hardly sleep, and this aggravates the pain, and it gets worse. Having a bad sleep position can worsen the effects of the pain. Therefore to remedy it is advisable to sleep by your side and keep a pillow between the knees to keep the spine in a neutral position and relieve the strain in the back.
Injection treatments
Injections can be a better way of managing back pain compared to surgery. The injections apply different types of medication into the pain site. They include epidural steroid injections, nerve blocks, nerve ablations, as well as others. They are appropriate when you know the source of the pain. Injections can lessen or stop pain for some time, but it is not a long term solution. The good news is that your insurance may cover injection treatments.
