BACKACHE

Are you looking to find relief from back pain? Are you looking for alternative solutions to long-term chronic back pain?

Knowing where to start and what to look at for relief from back pain when you’re suffering can feel like a monumental task and like searching for a needle in a haystack. Let’s break it down and take a look at the different types of natural options available for the relief of back pain by looking more specifically at;

Exercises: How a regular exercise routine can help back pain.
Heat therapy: The benefits of warmth (and also cold) on the brain and in offering relief from back pain.
Sigesbeckia. How it can be used to help with back pain and what it does.

Plus, how the wide range of natural remedies and conventional medicines compare and what you can do to help alleviate your symptoms of back pain.

Let’s first take a look at the causes of back pain and take a more in-depth look at the available natural remedies for back pain relief;

Causes of back pain

What are the most common causes of back pain?

Quite often back pain can have no specific cause and can often originate around the joints, bones and soft tissue from around the spine.

Back pain can occur straight away or can develop over time with lower back pain being reported as one of the most common types of back pain. Generally, with these types of back pain you will experience;

Back pain can occur through a sprain or strain, spasms, nerve compression, herniated discs and other problems in your lower, middle and upper back.

Poor posture, lifting and stretching, and sudden movements placing strain on your lower back and sports injuries are amongst the main culprits for causing back pain.

Can back pain be exacerbated by professional life or sports activity?

It can be. Especially professions where you’re standing for great lengths of time or stooping over patients, heavy lifting and where twisting is part of your role. Such as that of a warehouse and construction worker, nurse or nursing home professional, dentist, air hostess etc will pose a greater elevated risk of back injury and back pain.

Sports activities and exercise can exacerbate or cause injury through twisting and larger forces of impact. Be aware of the risk of injury to your back and look to minimise any risk, but of course don’t prevent movement and exercise unless instructed to do so.

Can the conditions be symptomatic of other physical or medical problems?

Sometimes. There are other medical conditions that can cause back pain and very rarely it can be more severe and serious. It is always wise to seek advice from a professional first.

Natural remedy treatments for back pain relief

You may find that a range of treatments is needed to help soothe your back pain and offer back pain relief. There’s not a one size fits all approach and you may well find that through a process of trial and error that you find the right balance for you.

Try exercises for back pain relief:

Not only can regular exercise help to stave off problems in your back, it can also offer relief for back pain plus it makes you feel good too. If you’re suffering from back pain or any other condition, always seek professional advice first and make adjustments where necessary.

Unless advised to do so try not to restrict movement all together, as you can find that you heighten your symptoms.

Carefully stretch out your hamstrings twice daily. This can help alleviate tensions in your lower back which can cause more pain.

Look to strengthen your core for back pain relief. If you don’t already have a routine that may include this, perhaps look to incorporate 20-30 minutes of core strengthening exercise daily. Simply by sitting on an exercise ball upright can be enough to engage the core muscles.

You can also look to try partial crunches to help prevent stress on your lower back. Crunches help to strengthen your back as well as your stomach. Repeating 8-12 times lie on your back with your arms crossed behind your head. Gently lift your head along with your arms up off the floor. Be careful not to lead with you elbows. Try holding for a couple of seconds and then release.

Lastly look at wall sit-ups. Resting with your back against the wall and legs placed around 12 inches in front of you; gently slide down the wall towards your knees and hold for around 10 seconds and then back up again to resting position. Aim to do around 10 of these.

Exercise offers you a great range of benefits both mentally and physically. It’s helpful to see exercise as something which is habitual and that forms part of your weekly routine. For long-term ongoing and acute problems, you may want to consider daily exercises to help offer back pain relief.

As an additional support to regular exercise a professional may recommend manual therapy. Which can be considered alongside exercise and other natural remedies, and can help to reduce back pain.

Look at heat therapy for back pain relief:

Look at things such as taking a hot bath, hot water bottles or warming heat patches for relief from back pain. Our brains interpret pain and receives messages from our bodies when you’re experiencing pain. Heat therapy helps to temporarily hold the message from being received in the brain and can offer some relief.

Heat therapy also stimulates blood flow which encourages the body to try to heal itself and offers relief from back pain.

As well as heat you may find that cold patches such as ice-packs can also have a positive impact. The cold from an ice-pack or cold compress acts as an anti-inflammatory looking to reduce swelling. Plus, it helps to stop the nerves from going into spasm which can cause back pain.

Hot and cold therapy can offer back pain relief almost instantaneously. A steady amount of warmth can aid improvement in your range of movement, and can offer constant relief throughout the course of your day.

Natural products such as Sigesbeckia are used for the relief from back pain

Sigeskbeckia can be taken daily and works best when used over time. It is used traditionally for the relief from pain in the back as well as pain in the joints and muscles.

Although Sigesbeckia has been used for centuries, it is more commonly known within Europe as St. Pauls Wort. Sigesbeckia approved and registered herbal medicines are made to be used for relief of rheumatic or muscular pain, back pain, minor sports injuries and general aches and pains of muscles and joints.

Comparison to conventional treatments for back pain relief

Medication can offer pain relief for back pain allowing other treatments the opportunity to work. It is worth speaking to a professional first and looking at over-the-counter medications to begin with.

Beyond over-the-counter medications are prescription-based drugs which can only be prescribed by your doctor. Seek advice but also do your own research and get to know your body and what will best suit you in terms of back pain relief.

Natural remedies such as Sigesbeckia extract have been used with no known side effects. Licensed products using Sigesbeckia extract according to the Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) cause no known interference with other medications.

In summary: Find balance in natural remedies to manage your pain back relief

Back pain may well be a common cause of injury but the pain is real and for some can be chronic and long-term. Finding a balance of natural remedies for you to manage your pain and symptoms is key. By addressing symptoms with natural remedies, you can find back pain relief so you can get back to living your life.