Posts Tagged ‘treat low back pain’

Lower Back Pain Rehab

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Lower back pain is a condition that affects nearly everyone at some point or another in their lifetime.  Low back pain will interfere with work, daily activities or hobbies and recreation.

 Interestingly money in the U.S. tops 50 billion dollars a year to diagnose and treat lower back pain.    Back pain is the second most common neurological condition in the U.S. and is the most common cause of job related disability and leading contributor to missed work.

Lower back pain comes as an acute problem which is short term and lasts only a few days to a few weeks or chronic pain, which is measured as lasting more than 3 months and can be progressive.

The treatment for low back pain usually incorporates the use of non-invasive recommendations and usually doesn’t involve surgery.  Rehabilitation with a physical therapy will involve the use of analgesics or pain medications, protocols to help reduce inflammation, restore proper function and strength.  Most patients will recover without any residual functional loss.

There are several things that a patient can do at home to start caring for their back.  The first is NOT to stay in bed all day.  Bed rest used to be the treatment of choice but now physicians and physical therapists understand that by resting the back completely patients are allowing the muscles to stiffen which makes the pain even worse.

Using ice or heat, although never scientifically proven to quickly resolve low back injury, may help to reduce inflammation or swelling.  As soon as possible after an injury an individual should use ice pack over the area.  This can be a bag of ice or frozen vegetables wrapped in a towel.  Use ice for 20 minutes several times a day for 2 to 3 days.  The ice will help to reduce the inflammation.

If the pain and discomfort isn’t reduced after 72 hours you should consult with a physician for treatment protocols that will help to rehabilitate the area so that there is no functional loss in the mobility of the back.

Using warm baths or hot packs after 3 or 4 days will help to relax the muscles and increase the blood flow to the area.  Individuals should never sleep with a heating pad which can result in burns and other tissue damage.

Believe it or not exercise is an important aspect of rehabilitation of the lower back muscles, even within one week of the injury.  Now, this doesn’t mean Olympian efforts but rather slowly building muscle strength and flexibility.  A routine of back-healthy activities should be included each week that will keep the muscles moving and speed the recovery process.  These activities will include stretching, swimming, walking and movement therapy to improve coordination.

Yoga is another method of incorporating stretching and strengthening into your exercise routine.  At the start of exercising there may be some mild discomfort but this should disappear as the muscles grow stronger and more flexible.  If the pain is more than mild or persists for longer than 15 minutes during the exercises then you should stop the activity.

Rehabilitation specialists will also incorporate over the counter medications to help alleviate pain and relax muscles.  Sometimes doctors will also use anti-convulsant  (anti-seizure)  to treat certain kinds of nerve pain.  Antidepressants are also used to relieve pain and help with sleep.  Opioids are used to treat severe pain but should only be used for short periods of time because they are addictive.

Acupuncture may be used to help relieve pain by inserting thin needles to trigger the release of naturally occurring painkilling molecules.   There are current clinical studies being done to measure the effectiveness of this method compared to other more conventional methods that involve the use of chemicals and drugs.

Other treatment modalities may include biofeedback, interventional therapy (injections to block pain), traction, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and ultrasound.   All initial treatment modalities attempted are minimally invasive to reduce the risk of unnecessary surgery.  But when the most serious cases don’t respond to conventional and alternative therapies then surgery may be considered.

It’s important for the individual to keep doing the exercises even after the pain has resolved.  Back pain, although acute the first time, can become chronic if the patient doesn’t take good care of their back.

Published by Relief For Back Pain 

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