7 Ways to Relieve Back Pain Naturally

There are a wide variety of natural remedies to soothe your back, which can help reduce the intake of medications or provide an added benefit to your existing medical treatment.

Take a look at these natural pain-relieving strategies and find out what works best for you:

Read on to learn more about effective pain-relieving strategies for chronic back pain from natural methods.

1. Enjoy an anti-inflammatory drink every day

When you consume anti-inflammatory foods regularly, several antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and even anti-cancer agents can build up in your blood. Over a period of time, these potent agents can play a significant role in reducing and/or eliminating inflammatory reactions in the body.

Consuming these healthy drinks on a regular basis may help reduce your back pain.

Turmeric milk

Turmeric, an Asian spice, contains antioxidant, anti-arthritic, and anti-inflammatory properties.1,2

An easy method to consume turmeric is to mix a small quantity (1/2 teaspoon) of turmeric powder in a glass of warm milk. You can add honey or stevia to the milk if you prefer a sweet taste. Consume this drink, preferably just before bedtime to allow the anti-inflammatory process to work while you sleep.

Consuming dairy products may increase inflammation in some people. In such cases, trying plant-based milk, such as almond milk can be helpful.

Tart cherry juice

Cherries are rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents.3,4 Cherry juice can help relieve muscle pain, which may be chronic or exercise-induced.4 Cherry juice is easily available to buy at grocery stores and commonly contains the tart cherry extract. Try drinking a glass of cherry juice on a daily basis and see if it has positive effects in relieving your back pain.

Ginger-green tea

You can also try infused-herbal drinks, such as ginger-green tea, which contains the pain-relieving benefits of both green tea5 and ginger.6 Ginger-green tea bags can be purchased from grocery stores and you can easily enjoy a cup either at work or at home.

Over a period of time, these anti-inflammatory agents can build up in your bloodstream, so including these drinks in your daily diet will help reduce overall inflammation and prevent new inflammatory pain.

2. Fall asleep faster and sleep longer

When you have a restful night’s sleep, your back will feel less sore during the day.7 A night of restorative sleep can have healing benefits and make you feel refreshed, rejuvenated, and less stressed.

Try these natural sleep aids, one at a time, to see which one works best for you:

Vitamins C and B6. The natural steroids in your body control your metabolism and promote good sleep.8,9 Supplements of vitamins C10 and B611 are known to help the body produce and regulate natural steroid hormones.
Melatonin. Your natural sleep hormone, melatonin can be taken as a supplement to improve your sleep cycle.
L-theanine. An amino acid found in tea leaves, L-theanine may help some people feel relaxed and get better sleep.
Valerian. Supplements made from the root of the valerian plant may help you sleep faster and stay asleep longer.

Another option is cherry juice or cherry extracts—cherries contain certain enzymes that help promote better sleep.4

See Natural Remedies and Herbal Supplements as Sleep Aids

3. Avoid prolonged static posture

It is important to pay attention to the joints and muscles of your spine and hip. Prevent fatigue and stresses on these joints by following simple tips, such as:

Avoid excessive sitting or consider using a standing desk while you work. When you sit for a long duration, the pressure on your spinal discs increase. Aim to get up every hour and walk a short distance to take the load off your discs.
See Choosing the Right Ergonomic Office Chair
Check your posture and adjust your neck, shoulder, and back alignment to prevent stresses on your spine. Poor, unsupported posture can lead to several problems in your back, causing or increasing the pain.
See Identifying Incorrect Posture
Rotate activities in order to avoid the same set of muscles and joints from getting over-fatigued. For example, if you have been standing and working for some time, consider changing to a different activity where you can sit down. You can go back to standing once the muscles and joints have had a chance to relax.
See Ten Tips for Improving Posture and Ergonomics

When you have a flare-up of symptoms, consider less exertive activities, such as reading a book, listening to music, or crafting. These activities can help divert your mind from the pain and let your back rest at the same time.

4. Gently stretch your joints and soft tissues through yoga

Yoga is an effective way to stretch your back, improve the health of muscles and joints, enhance distribution of healing nutrients through blood circulation, and increase the flexibility of the spine.12

See Healing Benefits of Yoga

When you start, perform the stretches slowly and advance only if you feel comfortable without pain. Gradually, you will be able to add more stretches to your routine. An ideal time for yoga is early morning—to help loosen your spine and also reduce stiffness and aches in your back.

See 3 Beginner Yoga Poses for Lower Back Pain Relief

5. Try mindful meditation

Meditation is a great way to improve concentration, release feel-good hormones (endorphins), and decrease anxiety and stress. Through mindful meditation, you can control the way your body perceives pain.13

Find a quiet, dark room and meditate for 5 to 10 minutes in the morning. You can also try meditating before bedtime or while you take a break at work. If you don’t like to meditate, try simple breathing exercises—take 10 deep, slow breaths in a row.

See How to Stop Your Pain with Your Mind

6. Support your body in a warm pool

The buoyancy of the water lets you enjoy the benefits of exercise with less pain. Exercising in water also helps regulate the functioning of nerves and muscles, relieving pain.14

If you prefer warmer pools, look into water exercise classes and hydrotherapy pools. Water therapy exercises are often done in water that is about 83 degrees to 88 degrees. Hydrotherapy pool temperatures are often more than 90 degrees.

See Water Therapy Exercise Program

7. Keep a self-activating heat patch handy

Heat patches that activate when in contact with the body are a great tool to carry during long drives or keep in your office desk/bedside table drawer. These heat patches activate quickly, can be worn inside your clothing, and provide a continuous supply of heat to relieve your back pain. Follow the package instructions and avoid wearing the patch for long durations to prevent skin damage. Some heat patches are also infused with medications for more effective pain relief.

Bonus tip: Consider taking a vitamin D3 supplement

If your doctor agrees, consider taking a vitamin D3 supplement. Vitamin D is essential for bone, neuromuscular, and immune system function. Taking a vitamin D3 supplement can help reduce back pain by increasing the absorption of calcium in your body and improving bone strength.15

See Calcium and Vitamin D Requirements

Finding the perfect pain relief technique is usually a process of trial and error, making it worth exploring various approaches. Try these natural pain-relieving strategies for your back pain and see what works best for you. Severe pain that is not relieved by self-care must be evaluated by a health professional for an accurate diagnosis and treatment plan.

0 Lifestyle Changes Help Prevent Lower Back Pain

10 Lifestyle Changes Help Prevent Lower Back Pain

About 80% of us will experience lower back pain at some point in our lives. Fortunately, lower back pain (LBP) usually gets better on its own. However, for some it may become an annoying recurring condition.

Lower back pain is not a diagnosis, it’s a symptom. We can’t always determine the underlying medical cause of lower back pain, but we can try to identify as much as possible about the root issues.

If you come to our office with back pain, we’ll start by getting your medical history. And we’ll perform a physical examination. If appropriate, we may do some additional tests.

Rather than just treating symptoms, the medical history, exam and tests will help us treat the underlying cause. This allows us to provide a better outcome.

Acute Lower Back Pain

LBP typically gets better in a few days or weeks. We call these cases acute LBP. The causes of acute LBP are usually difficult to identify. The cause is often ‘strain’ or ‘sprain,’ meaning muscle or ligament-related pain. We usually don’t need to find the root cause since it goes away in matter of days to weeks.

Chronic Lower Back Pain

When LBP lasts longer than three months, we call it chronic lower back pain (CLBP). Causes of CLBP are difficult to identify. However, we should always try to find the causes.

The careful process of finding the cause can help assure that there isn’t a life-threatening condition. We can eliminate concerns about paralysis or becoming a person who uses a wheelchair. We can also establish that you can continue to work and exercise, even if you are in pain.

You may be asked to provide a complete patient history. We’ll conduct a physical examination and, when appropriate, imaging tests such as MRI or CT scan. The specialized tests can help us find the causes of chronic LBP.

Research continues to give us a better understanding of CLBP. Genetics may play a major role as an underlying cause. So, choose your parents carefully!

Preventing Lower Back Pain

You can reduce the chances that you experience lower back pain by making these positive lifestyle changes.

Eat healthfully so you keep your body weight within a healthy range.
Get regular exercise to keep your back muscles fit and flexible.
Avoid prolonged sitting.
When you do sit, maintain good posture.
Use proper techniques for lifting (lift with your legs rather than your back).
Avoid frequent bending and twisting. Especially avoid bending, twisting and lifting at the same time (like shoveling snow).
Avoid situations where your spine is vibrated for long periods of time.
Get enough sleep each day.
Stop smoking.
If you have depression and/or anxiety, visit with your health care clinician about ways to manage it.

Ask your health care professional for guidance about steps we’ve mentioned for preventing lower back pain.

When Should You See a Health Care Professional?

If you have back pain that doesn’t improve within about six weeks, see your health care clinician or a back specialist.

See a clinician immediately if:

The pain becomes intolerable.
You develop leg numbness or weakness.
You have difficulty in controlling bladder or bowel.

For lower back, shoulder or knee pain, request a free injury evaluation from select Aurora locations. Just complete the short online form to get started.

Treating Lower Back Pain

If you suffer from lower back pain, treatment may include:

Chiropractic care.
Massage therapy.
Physical therapy.
Acupuncture.
Injections of pain medication or a special bone lubricant.
Surgery.

Need an appointment with a health care professional? Schedule one online. Don’t have a doctor, you can find one online, too!

10 Daily Habits to Stop Back Pain

10 daily habits to stop back pain

Although determining the cause of back pain can be complicated, there are many different actions you can take to help alleviate your back pain or prevent it from getting worse. It’s all about relieving pressure, reducing strain, protecting your spine, and strengthening your muscles. Changing a few daily habits can help you maintain a healthy, pain-free back for a long time.

Sleep with a pillow under your knees

Sleeping on your back puts pressure on your spine. Elevating your legs slightly relieves this pressure on your back as you sleep. You can cut that pressure in half by placing a pillow under your knees.

Work your core

The numerous health benefits of exercise are well-known. A regular strength-training routine that focuses on your core muscles can help reduce your risk of back-related injuries, such as strains and muscle spasms. Try incorporating back and abdominal strengthening exercises into your workout at least two times per week to develop a stronger, more flexible back.

Increase your calcium and vitamin D intake

Strong bones can help prevent osteoporosis. It’s one of the most common causes of back pain later in life, particularly for women. Keep the bones in your spine strong by consuming plenty of calcium and vitamin D. Calcium is in:

milk
yogurt
leafy greens
vitamin supplements

Vitamin D is in:

fatty fish
egg yolks
beef liver
cheese

Always consult your doctor before taking any supplements.

Change your shoes

Wear comfortable, low-heeled shoes to prevent back pain. They reduce the strain on your back while standing. Shoes with less than a 1-inch heel are the best bet for your back.

Straighten up

Good posture isn’t just a way to look more proper. It protects the intricate pieces of your spine to keep them healthy and functioning properly. Bad posture puts strain and stress on your back and can change the architecture of your spine. Avoid rounding your shoulders, slouching, or bending sideways when standing.

Don’t slump over your desk

When sitting in an office chair, use the same good posture techniques you use when standing. It’s critical to keep good posture and support your back when sitting down, especially if you do it for several hours per day. Choose a quality chair that provides firm support for your lower back, and make sure your knees are a little higher than your hips when you sit.

Mingle

Whether you’re at an office party or a bar for happy hour, avoid sitting in an awkward position or standing in one place. Move around the room to avoid putting pressure on your spine, which can happen if you stand in one place for too long.

Put out that cigarette

We all know smoking is a serious health risk, and smokers are also more likely to experience back pain than nonsmokers. One reason for this is that nicotine restricts blood flow to the disks in the spine. This can cause them to dry out, crack, or rupture. Smoking also reduces the amount of oxygen in the blood, which causes a reduction in nourishment to the muscles and tendons in the back. An unhealthy, weak back is more vulnerable to accidental strains and pulls that cause back pain.

Lighten your load

Improper or heavy lifting is a common cause of back pain, but it doesn’t only happen to people who lift heavy boxes on the job. Carrying a bulky laptop bag, suitcase, camera, or a load of groceries can also cause a strain on your back. Whenever possible, take some weight off your shoulders by carrying less, distributing the weight to both sides of your body, or shifting the weight from shoulder to shoulder. Consider using a rolling cart or bag with wheels for heavier loads like bags of groceries or boxes of files.

Stretch

Standing, sitting, or lying down in one place for an extended amount of time isn’t healthy for your back. Relieve the strain of the day whenever you can by getting up, walking around, and doing some simple stretches. This will help improve circulation to your back. It can also ease any strains or aches that occur due to inactivity.

8 Tips for Back Pain Relief

Sometimes all it takes is bending over to pick up a pen from the floor for back pain to strike. Fortunately, most of the time back pain is short term and goes away on its own. But if you experience chronic back pain, you may benefit from making certain everyday adjustments.

In fact, lifestyle has the biggest influence on back pain, and healthy habits such as a good diet, exercising, stretching, and posture can give you back pain relief or help you prevent future problems.

Make these steps part of your back pain treatment plan:

Maintain a healthy weight. Staying fit is one of the most important recommendations for avoiding back pain, says Santiago Figuereo, MD, neurological surgeon and founder and medical director of the Miami Neurological Institute. Extra pounds stress your back and can cause pain. Eating a healthy diet filled with fruits and vegetables and low on processed foods can keep your weight in a healthy range and your back healthy.
Keep your back muscles strong. The most common back problems happen because people who aren't in shape start doing heavy lifting or hard work and stress their back, Dr. Figuereo says. Back pain usually happens when there's degeneration of the spine because the spine is working too hard. But when you build up enough muscle strength in your back with exercise, the muscles give your spine the support it needs to keep it healthy. That's why physical therapy is standard back pain treatment, but being in shape can help you avoid back pain to begin with.
Stretch your muscles. In addition to exercise, stretching is important for staying flexible and avoiding back problems. It's also a key part of recovering from a back injury. Stretch before doing heavy lifting or exercise and make a habit of doing it before bed. Stretches can be as simple as bending forward, bending back, and bending side to side, says Neil Kirschen, MD, chief of pain management in the department of anesthesiology at South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside, N.Y. The ultimate stretching exercise: yoga.
Focus on good posture. Poor posture is another major contributor of back pain. Standing up straight with your ears over your shoulders, your shoulders over your hip joints, and your hip joints over your ankles will help keep your healthy pain-free. When you're sitting, getting a chair that's designed to keep your back straight will help.
Lift properly. When you do pick up a heavy object, bend at the knees and keep the item close to your body. Also, take care not to twist your body when you lift, and wear a brace if you have a job that requires heavy lifting.
Leave your purse at home. If you can, stash a few dollars and your identification in your pocket when you leave the house rather than carrying around a heavy purse. Carrying a bag changes your balance and can change the curve of your spine, Dr. Kirschen says. Even a wallet packed full of cards and receipts in your back pocket can affect your back because it puts pressure on your sciatic nerve, he says.
Practice stress relief for back pain relief. Stress tends to make back pain worse. That may be another good reason to practice yoga. Other ways to reduce stress include treating yourself well, avoiding over-scheduling your days, and taking time to enjoy life.
Sleep well. Soft mattresses push your back out of alignment, so it's best to choose a mattress that's in the range of medium to firm for back pain relief, Figuereo says.

Living a healthy lifestyle that's full of exercise and taking some care to have a healthy back can help you live free of chronic back pain.

What You Can Do About Your Back Pain

photo of medical illustration back low pain man bl When Deanne Bhamgara took a tumble off her electric scooter on a pier in San Diego, she didn’t make much of it at first. The fall left her sore, but she felt only little pain.

But over the next several days, she slowly began to hurt more and more.

"What started as a tingling sensation in my thighs had soon become sensitive to touch,” says Bhamgara, 28. The San Francisco resident later learned that the fall affected her lower back, tailbone, pelvic areas, and her hip joints. In a few days, Bhamgara’s pain had radiated to the rest of her back and to the thighs as well.

Almost all Americans get back problems at one time or another. You might sleep awkwardly or wrench your back while lifting something heavy. Or, like Bhamgara, you might hurt your back in an accident. But often, says physical therapist Eric Robertson, DPT, the culprit is too much sitting and not enough moving.

“We're largely a sedentary society, and so that sedentary lifestyle is the primary thing that we have to work on,” says Robertson, who also is a spokesperson for the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). “So any sort of movement exercise, walking, working with a physical therapist to give you an individualized customized program is a great idea.”

When Bhamgara went to doctors, physical therapists, and chiropractors about what to expect with her recovery, they gave her conflicting opinions. It might take 6-12 weeks, she heard, or it could take a full year before she was back to normal.

“I was mostly in bed after the pain started,” Bhamgara says. She had inflammation on her thighs right up to behind the knees, groin, butt, lower back, and sometimes in her shoulders.

Confused and worried, Bhamgara tried a host of treatments to ease her pain. She went to physical therapy twice a week. She got trigger point massage and acupuncture, which she said helped.

Bhamgara is now on the mend. She understands it’ll take time and effort to fully heal and to keep her inflammation in check.

Robertson of the APTA says feeling better with back pain doesn’t have to be complicated. Here are some effective steps:

Avoid bed rest. Studies show that lying down too much can slow recovery and raise the pain.

“Over the last 25 years or so, probably the one thing we've learned definitively about back pain and bed rest is that is not OK,” says William Lauretti, DC, an associate professor at New York Chiropractic College and a spokesperson for the American Chiropractic Association. Instead, “you want to be as active as you can be with your back pain.”

Move. You may not want to move when you’re in pain, but it’s important to do as much as you can handle.

Robertson says most back pain isn’t serious, even if it may be very painful. "So not being afraid of motion and continuing to move despite the pain is something that's really important,” he says. Walking is a good choice you can do on your own. You also can work with a physical therapist to learn how to spot dangerous levels of pain and which moves are best for you.

Keep good posture. Pay attention to the way you hold your back when you sit, stand, walk, sleep, or do day-to-day activities. Good posture is when all the bones in your spine are correctly aligned. Poor posture can leave your back stiff and tense. This often to leads to back pain.

Lauretti offers these tips on posture:

Don’t sit up in your bed hunched over your laptop. That’s a surefire recipe for back pain over time.
If you must sit for a long time, use cushioned chairs. Hard seats won’t support your back and may prevent you from sitting up straight.
Use a comfortable desk and chair if you need them while working.

Here are some general tips to maintain good posture:

Keep your feet shoulder-width apart.
Tuck your stomach in when you’re standing.
If you’re standing for too long, regularly shift your weight from one foot to the other and from your toes to heels.
Roll your shoulders back.
Let your arms hang naturally on the sides of your body.

Sleep smart. The ideal bed, Lauretti says, is one that’s “comfortable for you.” As for the best sleep posture, he says on your side or back is easier on your back than sleeping on your belly. If you’re face down, your head will be turned all night so you can breathe, which can lead to neck pain.

Bhamgara says tucking a pillow between her legs to help align her hips lessens her back pain.

Relax. Back pain can be linked to stress, tension, and other non-physical problems, Robertson says. Massages and acupuncture may help loosen muscles. Yoga, meditation, and other mindfulness practices may help lift your mood, stretch your muscles, and make you relax so you can better manage your back pain.

Bhamgara says mediation made her feel alive, especially when her back pain made it painful to move freely.

“I would think about healing every inch of my body,” she says. “There were times I would imagine myself walking in a park with my headphones on and just dancing! That brought me life.”

Call your doctor. If your back pain doesn’t go away after 4 weeks or if you have long-term pain that lasts beyond 12 weeks and keeps you from carrying on with your daily activities, see your doctor. They can help pinpoint the cause of your pain and may suggest new therapies. Get medical attention right away if your legs tingle, feel numb, or weak.