Back pain can be both mentally and physically debilitating. It can affect everything that you do from work and exercise to simple everyday tasks. Back pain can be short term, or quickly become a lifelong struggle due to injury or illness.
Thankfully, there are natural ways you can alleviate back pain without having to resort to medication. relief,
To start, back pain can come in many forms. Some deal with per-sistent lower back pain and regular occurring spasms while some people suffer from sciatic nerve pain that travels down your legs and into your arms.
These chronic conditions have a prominent possibility of sidelining your life. And it’s not uncommon.
Eight out of every ten people suffer from some sort of back pain during their lifetime.
In fact, over two million emergency room visits each year are due to lower back pain, which also happens to be the leading cause of disability in the world. Unfortunately, treatment for back pain is still not as efficient as it should be.
Many back-pain sufferers find themselves the center of a myriad of tests, are given instructions to stay sedentary despite research showing the effectiveness of continuing everyday activities, and are often prescribed powerful painkillers.
While painkillers can help the pain short term, they also can cause multiple health issues and even addiction problems. Sedentary lifestyles tend to stiffen the muscles, making the body prone to future injury.
Luckily, there is a multitude of alternative treatments for back pain, and most of them are easily accessible and low cost or even free.
These treatments don’t require a physician’s prescription, though it is best to discuss all new supplements and exercise routines with your doctor before you begin.
Tip 1: Anti-Inflammatory Drinks
Inflammation is a natural response by the body. When your body senses harm, infection, injury, or toxin, it attempts to heal itself. In these instances, cellular destruction then triggers your immune system.
The immune system releases antibodies and proteins while in-creasing blood flow to the affected area.
For acute inflammation, the process lasts just a few hours or days. However, for those with chronic inflammation, the body gets so used to the response it stays in a steady state of alert. Research has shown this state can play a role in multiple different condi-tions, from asthma to cancer.
To help reduce the inflammation in your back, keeping an anti-inflammatory diet can help reduce the response and the pain.
We will discuss anti-inflammatory foods later in the report, but similar drinks also play a vital role and are easily consumed daily.
Below are several anti-inflammatory drinks you can drink to stave off pain and inflammation.
Turmeric Milk
The positive effects of Turmeric are utilized across the world, and there is a reason for that. The Asian spice contains an abundance of antioxidants that help to reduce inflammation and ease arthrit-ic pain.
Turmeric is available at just about any grocery store in the spice section. To make the milk, simply pour ½ teaspoon of Turmeric into a glass of warm milk. Sweeten to taste or drink as is. If dairy milk increases inflammation for you, try adding the spice to warm almond milk instead.
It is best to drink this at night before bed, to allow the antioxi-dants to work in your body as it rests.
Cherry Juice
A very accessible and antioxidant-rich drink is cherry juice. When you look for the juice at the grocery store, make sure it is low or free of added sugars and includes Tart Cherry Extract. The extract holds the bounty of anti-inflammatory ingredients.
Green Ginger Tea
Both green tea and ginger are known to decrease inflammation in the body after prolonged consumption.
You can purchase both green tea and ginger tea separately but also combined for convenience. Try making a cup of tea an every-day addition to your lifestyle to help ease your discomfort.
Anti-inflammatory drinks should be free of chemicals and added sugars.
Always attempt to eat and drink clean ingredients to keep harmful chemicals from the body. These chemicals can have adverse ef-fects on both inflammation and mental health.
Tip 2: Sleep and How to Get It
Sleep and rest can be a hard thing to come by in our busy daily lives, and acute or chronic pain only adds to the difficulty. Lying down with a sore back or neck can often feel unbearable.
How many times have you been ready for bed, laid down, and the pain wakes you, keeping you from relaxing and healing the body during those vital sleeping hours?
Getting the correct amount of deep sleep and rest is incredibly crucial for, not just your back, but your entire body.
As your mind rests, your body goes to work, healing, and repairing the damage done during your day. When you don’t get the rest your body needs, inflammation, and pain increases.
Helping your body relax quickly and sink into a deep and restful sleep can be tricky without the aid of sleep medications, but the side effects can be harmful.
Here are several all-natural supplements you can try one at a time, to help reach that crucial deep sleep state.
Melatonin- Melatonin is a chemical naturally produced in the pineal gland in the center of your brain.
Melatonin is responsible for helping your body regulate when to go to sleep and when to wake up.
Melatonin is taken when natural sleep patterns are disrupted, in-cluding those associated with pain management. Melatonin works with your body’s natural rhythm but does have the occa-sional negative side effect such as daytime sleepiness, headaches, and short term depression.
Valerian- Valerian is an herb that grows in Asia and North Ameri-ca. The oils from the herb are encapsulated and taken orally.
Valerian has shown to calm the mind and sedate the brain. The sedation allows the body to relax and inflammation to recede. Va-lerian can also have a positive effect on anxiety and depression.
L-theanine- L-theanine is an amino acid most commonly found in green and black tea leaves.
The effects of L-theanine are bountiful and include helping to relax the mind and the body when taken in doses of 200-400mg, result-ing in a deeper and more restful sleep.
This amino acid can be found in small doses in tea, and in larger doses via capsules and tablets.
As always, check with your physician before starting any type of supplement. Some supplements, though all-natural, can react to certain types of medications.
Tip 3: Static Posture
Static posture is simply holding one specific movement, stance, or bodily posture for a prolonged period. The muscles in your back and neck often take on the excess pressure when joints in your legs and hips become overtired or stressed.
Keeping one stance, rotation, or posture puts pressure on those joints.
Movement is key. Whether it’s small or more exerting, this shift in pressure points can help keep the back and neck from taking on the overflow of stress on other joints.
It is vital to pay attention to your hips and joints, sensing for these pressures and strains, so you know when to move. Get in the hab-it of shifting and changing your position regularly.
Posture- If you’ve ever been standing in one spot for a prolonged period, and then rolled your shoulders back, then you’ve felt that release of tension in your back.
Posture affects so many aspects of your body, especially your neck and spine. Make a concerted effort to notice your shoulders and adjust them back to keep a tall, straight posture.
Rotation of Activity- Many people have jobs where they either stand making one motion for multiple hours or sit and do the same. If you are able, try rotating your activities or position nu-merous times a day, if not more.
Changing from standing to sitting, turning to bending, and even the level you hold your chin can help to reduce the stress on joints and tightness and pressure on your back and neck.
Sitting Too Long- Staying in a seated position for large amounts of time compresses the discs in the back. The compression puts a strain on muscles from your lower back to the base of your neck. It can also affect your posture.
Try taking a two-minute break every hour and simply walking around the house or office.
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