3 Ways to Ease Your Back Pain Without Drugs
Back pain is a difficult problem to treat. For one thing, back pain often has multiple causes at once – instead of being just a sore muscle or a slipped disc, you might have problems with both the muscles and discs in your back, as well as joint inflammation contributing to your pain. It can also be difficult to identify a triggering event for the back pain. Back pain could be caused by a single accident, but it could also be caused by repetitive motions or even lifestyle.
What's more, some of the most common treatments for back pain simply involve painkilling drugs, which can temporarily relieve the pain but don't address any of the underlying issues that cause the back pain in the first place. Take a look at some remedies that can address back pain without relying on drugs.
Change Your Mattress
The wrong mattress doesn't just worsen existing back pain, it can actually be the cause of your back pain to begin with. You spend a significant chunk of every day sleeping, and in those hours, your back is dependent on your mattress for support. Poor support during that time can easily lead to back problems over time.
When choosing a mattress, it's important to think like Goldilocks – you want a mattress that's not too hard and not too soft. Experts say that a medium-firm mattress is best for your back. A study of 313 patients found that patients using a medium-firm mattress felt less pain. You also have to take your sleeping position into account – stomach sleepers need a firmer mattress than side-sleepers, for example.
Try Anti-Inflammatories
Inflammation is responsible for a lot of back pain. A lot of common food ingredients, like white flour and sugar, are thought to increase inflammation, leading to more pain for more people. If you have a sedentary job that involves a lot of sitting, that may also increase inflammation in your back.
While standard painkillers may not do a lot to address the underlying causes of back pain, anti-inflammatory medications can. But if you want to avoid taking drugs, there are also effective, natural anti-inflammatories. Chamomile tea, for example, reduces inflammation and functions as a mild muscle relaxant. The spice turmeric has been used in Asian medication for many years, and it has anti-inflammatory properties. You can find it in supplement form, or you can try an old natural remedy that involves adding the spice to a glass of warm milk.
Visit a Chiropractor
If your back pain is chronic or severe, you shouldn't expect to be able to handle it on your own. A chiropractor is a type of medical professional who focuses on spine and back pain, as well as other musculoskeletal issues.
Chiropractors have several tools at their disposal to help alleviate back pain, including massage, physical therapy and exercise, and chiropractic adjustment, which is a method of manipulating your back to bring your spine into better alignment. These can be effective ways to manage and treat back pain, so check out chiropractors' sites like allendalechiropracticclinic.net to learn more.
Back pain is tough to treat, but that doesn't mean that you have to accept it as part of your life, or that the most you can do is disguise the pain with painkillers. With the right treatments, your back pain can get better.
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