How To Treat Lower Spine Pain

QI Spine Clinic, 9 hours ago

Lower spine pain is a common condition that many people experience at some point in life. Such pain resulting from bad postures, heavy lifting, or an injury normally tends to disrupt a person’s daily activities and general well-being. It is not always that serious and can often become better on its own. But in some cases, pain is your body’s way of communicating that something isn’t right. Understanding how to treat lower spine pain can make a significant difference in how you feel.

If you’re dealing with lower spine pain, you might be wondering, “How do I fix it?” In this article, let’s try to throw light on some simple and practical solutions with which you can control and bring manageability to lower back pain.

What Causes Lower Spine Pain?

Before diving into the treatments, knowing what might be causing your lower back pain is a necessity. The most common causes are:

• Muscle Strains: It is very common for lower back pain to be caused by overstretching or tearing of muscles and ligaments around the spine.
• Herniated Disc: Sometimes, the soft cushion between the spinal bones slips out of its proper position, where it places pressure on the nearby nerves and causes pain.
• Degenerative Disc Disease: As we grow older, our body experiences wear in the discs, which is located between the vertebrae in the spine and may cause aching or stiffness.
• Spinal Stenosis: This is a condition where the spaces in your spine compress the spinal nerves.
• Scoliosis or Abnormal Spine Curvatures: With any kind of misalignment in the spine or other abnormal curves, you tend to feel discomfort and pain.

Treatments for lower Spine Pain

Many mild to moderate cases of lower back pain get better with rest, ice and over the counter (OTC) pain relievers. You should be able to return to routine in a couple of days from resting. Continuing to be active will ensure increased blood flow in the area and will help you heal better.

If the back pain is severe and/or if you’ve sustained a traumatic injury, such as from a fall, call your healthcare provider immediately.

Rest: The first time that you have low back pain, you will probably feel the urge to lie down and stop moving. Rest is necessary, but a prolonged period in bed worsens the pain. You should not be lying around for long periods as the muscles weaken and increase stiffness. Gentle movements such as walking help keep the spine mobile, promote blood flow, and reduce pain.

Apply Heat or Cold Therapy: Both heat and cold therapy have been known to help with lower spine pain, but knowing when to apply one will make all the difference.

• Applying an ice pack during the first 48 hours since your pain begins may prevent inflammation. You can use a cold pack or even a bag of frozen vegetables, cover it in a towel, and place it on your painful area for 15-20 minutes.
• During the later stages, once the initial inflammatory process has subsided, restorative heat facilitates the reduction of the tightened muscles, enhancing circulation. This can be attained by using a heating pad or taking a warm bath.

Physical Therapy and Home Exercise Program: The primary treatment for chronic back pain involves physical therapy and a home exercise program. Exercises are typically prescribed as the first-line therapy, but they must be tailored to symptoms and comfort levels. Physical therapy is very important, but having a routine of exercise at home builds and maintains strength and stability in your spine.

Maintain Good Posture: Poor posturing is one of the major causative factors for lower back pain. Whether at work, sitting at a workplace, or standing for long periods, proper posturing helps tremendously in preventing and providing relief from lower back pains. When sitting, make sure your chair ergonomically supports your lower back and your feet are flat on the floor. When sitting upright and not slouching down, keep the shoulders relaxed. While standing, spread the weight across his or her both feet but do not tilt to one side.

Use Supportive Footwear: The footwear you use goes a long way in affecting your lower backbone. Wearing ill-supportive shoes or those that have heels can literally get your entire body alignment wrong, putting pressure on your lower back. Buy proper support arch shoes with plenty of cushioning. If you suffer from flat feet or other similar conditions, it would be helpful to make use of orthotic inserts for your lower back’s support.

Improve Your Sleep Habits: Poor sleep positions or the lack of good support from your mattress can make your lower back pain worse. Make sure you are sleeping on a mattress that has the right support for the curve of your spine. You can also think about sleeping on your back with the use of a pillow placed between your knees or on your side and placing a pillow between your knees as well, so the pressure is removed from your lower back.

Diet Change: Some diets, including diets containing high amounts of trans fats and refined sugars as well as processed foods, trigger inflammation and thus may be the cause of chronic back pain. Ask your doctor if diet is a problem and what you might do about it. Being at a healthy weight would minimise the force on your spine. If you want help to tailor your diet to more healthy, pain-reducing eating habits, work with a nutritionist to create these habits for yourself.

Stay Hydrated: This is because your spinal discs require water to effectively cushion and absorb shock as well as maintain their height. If a person becomes dehydrated, their discs may not function as well to cushion the spine, thus increasing the risk of causing pain. Sufficient spacing can be maintained between the alignment of your spine by drinking lots of water throughout the day.

Alternative Treatments: Acupuncture, massage, biofeedback therapy, laser therapy, electrical nerve stimulation, and other nonsurgical spine therapies can be effective in treating persistent back pain. These tactics are worth investigating because, all things considered, their potential advantages greatly exceed their possible drawbacks. Talk about it with your spine expert so you can explore other options that could be effective for you.

When to Consider Surgery?

While most of the patients with lower back ache are treated with nonsurgical treatments, they might require surgical procedures in extreme situations. If a herniated disc, spinal stenosis, or other conditions compress a nerve, then surgery is necessary to remove pressure and have the nerves working better.

Surgical procedure options commonly performed in cases of lower back pain include discectomy, laminectomy, and spinal fusion. Always see a spine specialist for appropriate consultation.

Preventing Future Lower Spine Pain

Prevention is said to be better than cure. To avoid the recurrence of the ache in your lower back, consider the following healthy habits:

• Stay active: Engaging in regular physical activity, either walking or swimming, can condition the muscles and make the spine flexible.
• Maintain a healthy weight: Excess body weight puts pressure on the spine; therefore, maintaining a healthy weight will result in decreased pressure on the lower back.
• Lift correctly: When lifting heavy objects, always bend at the knees and not the waist and try to hold that object close to your body to avoid strain on your lower spine.

Conclusion

Lower spine pain is uncomfortable, but there is an effective solution to how to fix lower spine pain by taking little steps to correct your posture, exercising regularly, and seeking professional help when necessary. Taking those simple steps might even help you be able to manage, if not prevent, lower back pain from disrupting your life.

At QI Spine Clinic, our specialists focus on nonsurgical treatments tailored to each patient’s needs. We have successfully and safely assisted hundreds of people in recovering from lower back pain by using cutting-edge technology in conjunction with a customised strategy. Come live pain-free with us!