Home Remedies For Low Back Pain

People are looking for home remedies for low back pain because 4 out of 5 Americans suffer from low back pain. 

My name is Dr. Danny Masters, and I am a Physical Therapist at Core Therapy and Pilates.

Today I am going to discuss and review the article put out by the Harvard Medical School and Harvard Health Publishing on Home Remedies for low back pain . This is not a prescription or substitute for medical diagnosis.

How prevalent is low back pain in America?

As discussed in the article, 80% or 4/5 Americans will experience low back pain at some point throughout their life. This can occur more predominantly as we age due to changes in our bones and joints

What are the most common causes of low back pain?

This can be due to degeneration of the discs, which help support and provide cushion for the vertebrae, or they can protrude and compress nerves running from the spinal column causing pain down the Leg. When this affects the sciatic nerve, it may causes symptoms in your buttocks and leg called Sciatica.

As mentioned by the article, the more common reason for back pain is a sprain, which affects the joints, or a strain, which affects the muscles. This can be caused by overuse, increased activity you are not used to doing, excessive lifting or an accident.

Normally, the best solution is to wait and see if the pain subsides on its own, but if it lasts more than three to four days then it is time to seek professional treatment from a physical therapist.

Start with these home remedies for low back pain.

Per the article, here are some simple home remedies you can use to help alleviate the pain. Once again, if these are not effective or with certain diagnoses, expert help may be needed.

Ice and heat: 

Ice is effective in the first 48 hours to help reduce pain and decrease inflammation. Then, after 48 hours, heat can be used to increase blood flow to the area and relax the muscles. This is only effective in the first week of the injury.

Limit Bed rest: 

As discussed, this was a popular treatment for a long time, but has since been shown by research to not be effective and can increase the time it takes to heal. The recommendation is to relatively rest, meaning to remain active and continue to move without increasing pain. Using bed rest can be helpful for severe back pain, particularly with sitting or standing, but limit it to only a few hours per day.

Physical Activity: 

Exercise is great for treating injuries and helping to prevent injuries in the future and improve your ability to function in everyday life. Who can seek a health professional, such as a PT, who can develop a specific treatment protocol and program to address your specific needs to further improve your aerobic capacity, strength and endurance of your muscles, and increase your flexibility.

Complimentary therapies to help low back pain.

The Article also mentions other complementary therapies that can assist as well:

Acupuncture: which uses a thin needle to at precise locations in the body to improve energy flow in the body or another technique done by PT called dry needling which can assist in relaxing the muscles with use of a needle in precise points in the muscle.

Spinal manipulation or mobilizations, which can be done by PTs or chiropractors to assist in improve spinal alignment and joint movement or mobility.

Therapeutic massage by a PT or massage therapist to relaxing aching and tight muscles

And movement therapies such as yoga, tai chi, or what we perform at CORE with Pilates to help strengthen and stretch your back and core muscles.

Per the article, the evidence on these remedies is mixed, but usually the best outcome is to use a combination of this home treatments and to seek professional help if the symptoms are unchanged or continue to persist.

How to book a physical therapy evaluation in Westlake Hills, Austin, Texas.

Call 512.215.4227 to schedule a physical therapy appointment with one of our back pain physical therapy specialist at CORE Therapy & Pilates in Westlake Hills | Austin, Texas.

Check out this blog on cleaning the house without back pain.

Learn more about low back pain HERE.