3 Ways to Start Healing Your Back Pain

Whether you sit too much, stand too much, lift too much or move too much, overexertion of any kind on your spine can cause major strain (and therefore pain) to your back. If you, like many, experience back pain consistently, here are a few things you can try to alleviate the discomfort and even heal the issue altogether.

Stretch Out Your Muscles

As you stretch your muscles, the fibers and tendons within that muscle are lengthened, becoming looser and more flexible. Performing various types of stretches can target areas of your spine and loosen them, allowing them to relax. The more frequent and effective the stretch, the greater the relief. Aerobic exercises are great ways to get your heart rate up and stretch out muscles for an endured period. These include things like swimming, yoga, Pilates, and cycling. Slow stretches held for a set number of seconds should not be painful. That is exactly the kind of stretching that can heal injured muscles and even calm stress levels.  

Adjust Your Bones

Joints and bones can become misaligned, requiring your muscles to pick up the slack, so to speak, and work harder to move your body as it is used to moving. The tension in your spine increases, the bones continue to misalign, and the pain increases. Chiropractors are trained to target specific areas of discomfort throughout your head, neck, spine, and even down to your hips, realigning those areas that are out of place. A readjustment from a chiropractor can provide a temporary solution, but you may need more for the bones to stay in their proper positions. Therefore, continuous visits to the chiropractor can help with back pain relief.

Ice and Heat

One of the most accessible and straightforward solutions to back pain is to alternate heat and ice on the painful area. For acute pain in the back, apply a cold compress to the area to reduce swelling or inflammation, calming the muscles down with a near-numbing effect. Once the muscles are numb, apply heat, loosening the muscle fibers and stimulating blood flow to promote healing of the injury. When that blood flow turns into swelling once again, revert to the cold and repeat the process a few times. For more widespread pain, use a larger heat source (including hot showers) to relax the larger area of muscles.

Back pain is more common than you may think. This means, however, that there are several proven ways to relieve that pain. Stretch, consider seeing a professional, and use heat and cold to help your back relax and heal.

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