Get Rid of Back Pain

80 percent of adults experience acute back injuries and pain[citation needed]. Most of these injuries can be treated with a combination of ice, stretching and exercise. If you are experiencing back pain, it may be due to poor posture, prolonged periods of sitting or weak abdominal and back muscles. You can get rid of back pain with these lifestyle changes and exercise recommendations.

Steps

Respond to Acute Pain

  1. Take a dose of non-steroidal anti-inflammatories immediately after an acute back injury. If you feel like you just pulled a muscle, take ibuprofen, naproxen or acetaminophen to reduce inflammation.
    • Go to the emergency room immediately, if the injury has made your legs numb or if you cannot control urination. This is the sign of a severe injury to the nerves surrounding your vertebral discs.
  2. Lay on your back with your knees bent. You can also rest your legs up on the seat of a chair. If you have hurt your upper back or neck, find a pillow that supports the curve of your neck.
  3. Ice the area for 20 minutes. Cover the ice pack with a towel to avoid ice burns.
  4. Get up and start to walk around the same day as your injury. Doctors do not prescribe bed rest for more than 24 to 76 hours.
  5. Do some deep breathing exercises, such as the 7-4-8 exercise. Breathe in through the nose for 7 seconds, hold the breath in for 4 seconds and breathe out through the mouth for 8 seconds. This can reduce anxiety and muscle tension in the back.

Activity Levels

  1. Start a walking routine the day after your back starts hurting. Do 6 5-minute sessions of walking. Then, begin increasing the time you walk and reducing the number of walking sessions.
    • For example, the first week, do 6 5-minute sessions. Then, do 4 8-minute sessions the next week. Do 2 15-minute sessions the third week, and work up to at least 1 30-minute session per day. This resembles the recovery therapy for modern back surgeries.
    • Walking naturally build up the supporting muscles in your legs, back and stomach. It can also stretch out your hamstrings, hips and back muscles that tighten up while you sit in an office.
  2. Buy a pedometer. Aim to take 10,000 steps in a day. 10,000 to 12,000 steps is the doctor recommended daily activity level.
    • Increasing activity levels will reduce weight, increase supporting muscles and improve overall health.
  3. Reduce the amount of time you sit each day. Make adjustments at home and at work.
    • Never sit longer than 30 minutes at a time. Walk to the bathroom, the printer or the watercooler at work. Stand when you take calls, and pace while you are trying to solve a problem. Consider walking on your coffee breaks or lunch breaks. If you do have to sit, then sit with your back straight- good posture. Don't slump over in your chair, this can cause even more back pain.
    • Reduce the time you spend in front of the TV or computer at home. You should sit no more than a couple hours per day, in addition to time spent sitting at work. Get up during commercial breaks, go for an after-dinner walk or schedule outdoor activities with the whole family 3 times per week.
  4. Consider buying a sit/stand desk for use at work. This desk can move up and down through a hand crank or hydraulic pump. Standing for half of the work day can improve back pain, productivity, circulation and overall tension.
  5. Sign up for Pilates classes. Pilates focuses on strengthening the core muscles: the stomach, back, hips and glutes that support the spine. Find a Pilates mat class, go to a physical therapist or find a personal trainer who can focus on simple core strengthening exercises.[1]
    • Commit to at least six weeks of core-building classes. Your muscles don’t develop immediately, and for some people it can take six months to build up the muscles that will reduce or stop back pain.

Physical Therapy

  1. Schedule an appointment with a physical therapist after you hurt your back. These professionals can tell you what motions to avoid while you heal. They can also give you a prescribed list of exercises to build stomach and back muscles.
  2. Start swimming. 10 to 30 minute sessions of swimming, walking in water or aqua jogging can reduce back pain within a week or 2. Swimming is a low-impact, whole-body workout.
    • Use a paddle board or a leg rest to work your arms and legs separately at the beginning of your swimming sessions.
    • Then, try strokes like the crawl stroke and backstroke that work your arms and legs at the same time. Keep your stomach pulled in to reduce pressure on your back.
  3. Get up and stretch every 20 minutes during the day. The spine is designed to move and upright sitting postures are the worst because they increase the pressure on your lower back. Set a timer on your cell phone if you have trouble following this rule at home or at work.[2]
    • Do the knee-to-chest stretch. Lay on your back with your knees bent. Lift your right knee and grab it with both arms. Gently pull the knee toward your stretch for a count of 20 seconds. Repeat with the opposite leg.
    • Do the straight-leg hamstring stretch. Place your knees back on the floor. Lift your right leg. Wrap a towel or belt around the bottom of your foot and grasp the ends of it. Pull the leg toward your chest, keeping a slight bend in your knee and your hips firmly on the ground. Hold for 20 seconds. Repeat on the opposite leg.
    • Do the number 4 stretch. Return your knees to their bent position. Cross your right ankle over your left thigh. Thread your right arm through the area between your knees and wrap the left arm around your left thigh. Pull the left leg toward you for 20 seconds to stretch your piriformis muscle. Repeat on the opposite side.
    • Kneel on a pillow or an exercise mat. Bring your right knee forward until your shin is straight, at a 90 degree angle to the floor. Move your right foot forward several inches. Lean forward, placing your hands lightly on your right thigh. You should feel a stretch in your inner hip, called the hip flexor. Hold for 20 seconds, and then switch sides.
    • Stand up with your hands on a wall or chair. Grab your right foot with your right hand. Place your thighs side by side. Pull your right foot up slightly and toward the back of your right thigh. Hold for 20 seconds while you stretch your quad. Repeat on the opposite side.
  4. Do core strengthening exercises. Get a list of prescribed exercises from your doctor or go to a pilates mat class several times each week.
    • The pelvic tilt is an excellent exercise to build back strength. Lay on the floor with your feet bent. Find your neutral pelvic position. Place a hand underneath the curve in your back. Press down into the hand with your lower back for a count of 3. Release and repeat 10 times.
    • Do a kneeling plank. Turn over onto your hands and knees. Do this when you are facing a mirror sideways, so you can ensure you keep the proper form. Lean forward until your knees are behind your hips and your back is in a straight plank between your buttocks and your shoulders. Keep your hands directly below your shoulders. Keep the plank for 10 seconds to 1 minute. As you grow stronger, do a full plank with your body in a push-up position.
    • Do the swimming exercise. Lay on your stomach. Reach your arms above your head at shoulder height. Pick up right arm and lower it, then pick up your left arm and lower it. Hold for 1 to 2 seconds while it is in the air. Switch your arms up and down for 20 seconds. Repeat with your legs. When you grow stronger, lift your left leg and right arm at the same time, lower them, and lift your right leg and left arm. Switch back and forth for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Improve Posture

  1. Test your standing posture to see if it is contributing to your back pain.
    • Stand with your back right in front of a wall. Back up slowly until your buttocks touch the wall. Assess your posture. If your shoulders, upper back and the back of your head do not touch the wall, you have forward posture, which increases stress on the lower back.
    • Squeeze your shoulder blades together slightly and touch them to the wall. Lower your chin so your head feels taller and touches the wall. Keep your legs hip width apart. Breathe into your chest and pull your stomach inward. Keep this posture. Return to the wall to test it every day until you start to make the necessary posture changes.
  2. Improve your sitting posture and office ergonomics. Sitting up straight with lumbar support will reduce back pain.
    • Keep your legs at a 90 degree bend when you sit in a chair. Place your feet flat on the ground.
    • Ensure your wrists rest lightly on a hand rest in front of the keyboard.
    • Make sure that the computer screen is 18 inches (45cm) away from your face. It should be at or just below eye-level.

Sleeping Postures

  1. Never sleep on your stomach. This increases tension in the back, when your back pain should be easing.
  2. Try sleeping on your side. Place a pillow between your knees and raise them up slightly.
    • Keep your back and neck straight while you sleep. Use a pillow that keeps your head at the same level as your spine, so that you do not increase tension in the back.
  3. Sleep on your back with a pillow under your knees, if you are not comfortable on your side.

Professional Diagnosis

  1. Make an appointment with your doctor if an increase in activity, core strength, good posture and stretching have not eased back pain within 6 weeks.
    • Doctors may prescribe other treatments, such as muscle relaxers, steroid injections or more physical therapy if these treatments do not work. In serious cases, surgery may be required.

Tips

  • Add stress-relieving activities to your day. If your back pain increases with your stress level, then you need to relax to get rid of it. Try a restorative yoga class, meditation, warm baths, a sauna, a massage or acupuncture.

Things You'll Need

  • Walking shoes
  • Ice pack
  • Chair
  • Pillows
  • NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatories)
  • Pedometer
  • Physical therapist
  • Leg/back stretches
  • Core exercises/pilates
  • Swimming
  • Sit/stand desk
  • Walking
  • Floor mat
  • Doctor

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Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/07/24/back.pain.therapies/
  2. ↑ http://www.webmd.com/back-pain/features/manage-low-back-pain-home

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