If you have back pain like the rest of the 80%, then you understand it can be a pretty big nusance at best, and downright debilitating at its worst.  What I want to share with you here are 5 of the very best tricks & strategies that I have used in my clinic to help patients who are suffering from low back pain.  These are things I have used for years to consistently get great results with my patients.

First things first, one of the most common questions is regarding taking a prescription for low back pain.  While in a few extreme cases some prescription pain medications can be a necessary tool that can be used to assist in the recovery process, medications in and of themselves do nothing to correct the problems associated with back pain.  This is because the vast majority of back pain problems are mechanical in nature and therefore, require a mechanical intervention.  So, if you find yourself in this situation, first try the suggestions listed below before reaching for prescription drugs (or even over the counter pain relievers).

Like I stated above, the vast majority of back pain causes are mechanical in nature and as such, a mechanically based solution is almost always going to be the fastest way to eliminating pain. So, one of the very first things I do with my patients is to find out if they have any directional preferences and if so what they are.  What I mean by directional preference is whether or not there is a direction or directions in which they can move that don't hurt, or even better that actually help relieve pain.  Once I have found out what these directional preferences are I usually prescribe these as a simple, but yet very effective home exercise routine.  I have found the more consistent patients are with these, the better/faster results they get with their back pain.

So, for instance, lets say you have back pain and it hurts to lean to the left and bend forward.  Lets say that leaning to the right doesn't hurt and extending your back actually feels good and helps a little bit with the back pain (again, these are just hypotheticals here, it can honestly be any combination of movements).  So you would then use right leaning and extension as your exercises.  I would have the patient move to that position and usually hold it for around 5-10 seconds.  I typically prescribe a routine of doing these for 5-10 minutes 4-5 times a day or more.  The more often patients do these they better results they usually get.  The primary reason again is because if the problem is mechanical as we mentioned before, then movement is KEY!  Our spine was designed to move and anytime we get any type of mechanical dysfunction that prevents proper movement, we have problems.  So, the spine almost always responds very favorably to a movement based intervention.

One of the most common questions I get with people in pain is "should I use ice or heat?"  While this is a great question, it often comes with a lot of controversy.  Most of the experts can't seem to agree upon any sort of general consensus.  So, let me tell you what I do and my rationale behind it.  I suggest as a general rule of thumb (not always a hard-fast rule mind you) if the issue you are dealing with is an acute problem (an injury or problem that is recent) then ice typcially tends to be a better way to go.  I almost always instruct my patients to ice down for 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off after their first few treatments with me.  The thinking behind ice is that it is supposed to help control inflammation.  With most acute injuries/problems inflammation is generally the primary pain generator.  If you can help control/reduce inflammation you can often help reduce the pain.  On the flipside, if the issue you are dealing with is more chronic in nature then heat may be a better option.  Heat tends to help increase circulation which can often help with more chronic problems.

I am always surprised as to how many people are unaware of magnesium's role as a natural, effective muscle relaxer.  When I see patients who present with tight, sore muscles, it is almost always a sign that they are deficient in magnesium.  By simply taking high doses of magnesium you can dramatically help reduce muscle spasms, cramping and general muscle soreness.  I usually recommend taking magnesium citrate or chelate.  The dosing I suggest is starting at around 100mg per day and increasing every day by 100mg until you have a loose bowel movement, this means you are getting more than enough and I will suggest that at point you taper off until your bowel movements normalize.  That will usually get you to an optimal range of magnesium.  I have seen magnesium act as a very powerful tool for helping with back pain.

Proteolytic enzymes are a specific type of enzymes that are effective at naturally reducing inflammation throughout the body.  As such, they are a great alternative to NSAIDs (Ibuprofin, Aleive, etc.).  Proteolytic enzymes are pretty amazing.  They actually have been shown to travel to the site of injury/problem and literally eat away/digest (hence the term proteo-meaning protein, lytic-meaning to digest or break down) at the various inflammatory cells causing pain, swelling, and stiffness.

Chiropractic care is safe, effective, and powerful for helping with back pain.

If you are suffering from back pain, try using some of these strategies and see for yourself just how effective they are. If you need to get in to my clinic just call or walk in!