Nearly everyone had suffered from some type of back pain and stiffness at some point in their lives. The pain and stiffness in the back could be because of a muscle pull or spasm, any arthritic condition or maybe just because of bad posture. Whatever may be the reason there are few simple and easy methods you can adopt in your daily routine life to ease the pain and get rid of stiffness.
6 easy tips to follow:
1. Cold therapy:
Cold therapy is most effective when it is applied within first 24 to 48 hours of injury causing back pain. Cold packs/Ice massage helps in slowing down the inflammation and swelling that occurs after injury. Most back pain is accompanied by some type of inflammation, and addressing the inflammation through ice/cold pack helps reduce the back pain. If you don’t have a cold pack, a pack of frozen peas kept in your freezer can be your savior. Application of pain relieving spray or gel after the cold therapy has been proved to give wonderful pain relief.
2. Heat therapy:
Heat therapy is the oldest and most prevalent method to reduce pain. However, hot packs should not be given immediately after the injury. It should be used after 72 hours of injury or for chronic pains. Heat stimulates blood flow, which brings healing nutrients to the affected area of the low back and inhibits the pain messages being sent to the brain. It also helps in decreasing the stiffness by soothing the muscles. One may also try to alternate heat and cold therapy which gives good results in case of chronic pains. Applying pain relief gel after the heat therapy has been seen to be very effective.
3. Medications:
When in a hurry, popping a painkiller seems to be quick and an easy way to get rid of that annoying pain. For immediate pain relief for a muscle pull or spasm, one should use muscle relaxant spray and gel applied directly to the pain site.
4. Stretching:
Too much tightness of muscles can also cause back pain. By doing regular stretching one can relax and reduce the occurrence of tight muscles.
Back stretching: Bend your back forward while keeping the knees straight and maintain this position for 10 seconds. Similarly, you may stretch your back by bending backward, sideways and turning around. One of the key stretching exercises would be stretching Hamstring muscles( back of thigh muscle): Sit on the edge of the bed with one leg extended and the other one on the floor. Lean forward towards your leg maintaining your back in a neutral position.
These stretching exercises help in releasing muscle stiffness and help you start your day actively.
5. Posture correction:
Sitting posture: Sitting for long hours at the office can take a toll on your back. Make sure you are always seated properly in the chair. While sitting, your back should always be against the backrest of the chair, no gap should be there between lower back and backrest(you may use a small pillow to fill in) and the feet should fall flat on the ground.
Standing posture: Few of us while standing tend to stand with a protruding tummy position or stand with giving more weight on one leg. These bad postures can lead to back pain. One should always stand tall keeping the spine straight, and tummy tucked in position and simultaneously stand with weight distributed equally on both the legs.
6. Sleep properly:
Sleeping in a good position is equally important as is having adequate sleep.
With a back pain one has to keep in mind few things while you plan to doze off:
a)If you sleep on your back, it is always advisable to place a pillow beneath your knees.This helps ease the stress being created in the lower back.
b)If you sleep on your side, one should place pillows between the knees to maintain neutral spine position.
c)Sleeping on your tummy creates a pressure on the neck and back. One should avoid sleeping on the tummy if you have a back pain.
d)The mattress you sleep on should neither be too hard nor be too soft.
These health tips can help you get on the way toward feeling better and more active. Stay active, Stay Healthy.
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