Although back pain is a common problem that affects a large number of Americans, that doesn’t mean we should take it lightly. Yes, even if you are experiencing the mild pain in your back or lower back, it is essential to seek quality treatment for it; otherwise, you may end up facing an intense health problem later on in your life.
So, whether you have injured your back while enjoying the activities you love-the-most: running, gardening or weightlifting, you must take professional help at the right time, which is immediately after experiencing the symptoms. Physical therapy and yoga can help you with your back pain.
Before we discuss how to reduce back pain, let talk about its underlying causes a bit.
Causes of Back Pain
Surgeries
If you have undergone the spinal surgery, you might start experiencing mild or severe pain in your back, after you come back from the hospital. It’s true that you come back to your home way before you recover from your condition or you regain your strength and flexibility. Therefore, it’s quite natural for you to experience pain even if the surgeon has done a great job.
Sports Injuries
Sports injuries are one of the biggest causes of back pain, so whether you are a professional runner, footballer, or tennis player, you have to be very careful while enjoying your game. Some of the common injuries that affect your back include muscle strains and ligament sprains, disk injury, spondylolysis, and spondylolisthesis, etc.
Arthritis
Pain in your back can also result from arthritis, a disease that affects the joints throughout your body. Arthritis has several forms that affect the bones and muscles accountable for supporting your back. The pain that stems from arthritis stays forever if you fail to take the right treatment for addressing its signs and symptoms.
Spinal Tumor
If you have a tumor in the spinal column, it may cause the severe pain in your back. The Pain generally results due to the weakening of the bone. Besides, it also occurs due to the expansion of the bone.
Common Forms of Arthritis that Affect the Back
- Psoriatic arthritis
- Reactive arthritis
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Osteoarthritis
- Enteropathic arthritis
- Infectious arthritis
Other Common Conditions That Lead To Back Pain
Other common conditions that cause back pain include Paget’s disease of bone, spinal stenosis, scoliosis, and sciatica, etc.
So, if you are having back pain due to any of these conditions, here is how you can subside it.
Take Rest But Not Too Much
Taking sufficient rest is one of the most common ways of mitigating back pain. So, even if you are a professional athlete, it’s better to miss a couple of practice sessions to regain your health. However, if you continue to play even when you are in pain, it can affect your health further.
But, taking too much rest is also not good, so after missing a few practice sessions, you should get back to your activities. All you have to do once you start doing your daily activities is to be a little more careful in the way you move your body. If your doctor has asked to you take bed rest, make sure you do not exceed it more than three days, in case you have a minor injury.
Start Exercising
Regular exercising has multiple benefits for your health, so if they are not a part of your life yet, make sure you introduce them now. Beginners should start with a 20-minutes-walk a day and then increase their walking time gradually. People with back injuries should make sure that they keep their walking pace slow initially and then improve it slowly when they start experiencing a difference in their pain.
After slow walks for a week, you can introduce running in your fitness routine. It not only helps in burning calories but also strengthens your muscles and flexibility, and reduces the risk of future injuries.
Yoga
If you want to improve your overall health, you must introduce yoga in your life. It not only helps in strengthening your flexibility and muscles but also allows you to concentrate on your work, fix digestion problems, and improve sleep.
In case you are struggling with the conditions like stress, anxiety, and depression, along with the back pain, then yoga is the best option for you. If you perform yoga regularly, you will experience a vast difference in your overall health.
Improve Your Posture
A wide range of people experience back pain due to poor posture, so if you are also one among them, then you must take some concrete steps to improve it. If you learn how to walk, sit, and sleep, you can reduce the risk of back pain to a great extent. Most of the times, you experience back pain when you put undue stress on your back while walking and sitting.
Therefore, if you have a sitting job, make sure that you sit up straight. While sitting in your office chair, you should place your feet flat on the floor, keep your back straight, and bend your knees in such a fashion that they make a 90-degree angle.
Similarly, make sure that you keep your back straight while walking and driving. In short, to avoid back pain, it’s essential for you to maintain the actual shape of your spine.
Consult a Physical Therapist
One of the best ways to address the primary cause of your back pain is to consult a skilled physical therapist. Since they are movement experts, they know what kind of exercises can help improve your flexibility, reduce your pain, and restore function. For example, if you are experiencing back pain due to a condition like sciatica, then your therapist will create a care plan to address it.
According to Bridle Trails Physical Therapy, one of the most renowned PT clinics in Kirkland, WA, ” The sciatic nerve is a big nerve that travels the full length of the body, following the lumbar region of the back and down the leg all the way to the feet. Pain begins in the lower back and typically travels to the buttocks and leg.”
However, if the pain in your back is due to arthritis, then your therapist will design a care plan to address the signs and symptoms of arthritis.
Besides, shedding those extra pounds that put undue stress on your back while you perform physical activities, can also help you stay away from back pain.