What to Do When Your Back Hurts

Many patients visit their doctors because back pain is diminishing their quality of life. If you’re one of millions of people whose back often hurts, you have more options than just living with it or depending on over-the-counter pain relief.

Why Your Back Hurts

The 5 most common causes of back pain are:

1. Muscle Strains

A muscle strain could be the reason your back hurts. Oftentimes, you might not even know what caused the strain or spasm. You may twist wrong in your desk or wake up with the pain. Either way, muscle strains can severely impact your quality of life.

2. Herniated Disc

A herniated disc often results from trauma such as a car accident or a physical strain such as lifting a too-heavy object. Bulging discs can cause pain, muscle weakness, tingling, muscle spasms, and shooting or radiating pain.

3. Arthritis

Joint swelling around the neck, spine, and hip area could be another reason your back hurts. Symptoms of arthritic back pain include back pain that comes and goes, limited range of motion, numbness or tingling in the back, and stiffness upon waking.

4. Sciatica

A pinched sciatic nerve can cause chronic back pain. The most common symptom associated with sciatica, however, is pain in one leg. The pain can be a combination of shooting, numbing, and tingling. Discomfort in the buttock and hip area is also experienced. A sharp, searing pain in the hip, buttock, and leg that comes and goes indicates sciatica. 

5. Spinal Stenosis

Spinal stenosis occurs as a person ages and the discs begin to become drier and start to bulge. This disease can be caused by a herniated disc, a congenital defect, bone disease, or injury to the nerve roots.

What to Do When Your Back Hurts

1. Stretch

One of the easiest ways to treat chronic back pain is by continuing to keep your body limber through stretching exercises. Each day, make a point to gently stretch muscle group while breathing deeply through your nose. Yoga is a type of moving meditation that can help improve your muscle strength, mobility, and circulation.

2. Bathe

Soaking in a hot bath filled with one or two cups of Epsom salts and lavender oil can do wonders for back pain. Epsom salts are magnesium sulfate and they work to draw out the lactic acid that builds up in sore, overworked muscles.

Note: If you are pregnant, diabetic, or allergic to sulfur, do not use Epsom salt except under the advice of a physician.

3. Massage

Massage therapy is a wonderful natural way to treat your chronic back pain. Regular massage improves your circulation and helps release toxins in your body. Massage also helps boost those feel-good chemicals called serotonin while reducing the stress hormone, cortisol.

4. Eat

You really can eat your way to less back pain. The more processed food you eat, the worse your chronic inflammation. So load up on organic vegetables, fruits, whole grains, meat, poultry, and wild-caught fish such as Alaskan salmon. Good fats like coconut oil, butter, olive oil, and avocado lubricate the joints and ease swelling and pain.

5. Supplement

Adding natural supplements to your diet can also help limit the amount of times your back hurts.

The best supplements for back pain include:

• Boswellia

Boswellia is a natural herb that works similarly to NSAID pain relievers but without the side effects. Boswellia works by reducing a substance called matrix metalloproteinase-3, which breaks down cartilage. For maximum absorption, take it with a meal that includes healthy fats.

• Krill Oil

Krill oil is an essential fatty acid that helps reduce pro-inflammatory chemicals and ease joint pain and chronic inflammation. This sustainable fish oil also helps reduce feelings of anxiety and restlessness associated with chronic pain.

• Arnica

Arnica is a perennial herb in the daisy family. It can be taken sublingually as a homeopathic remedy for back pain or used as a cream. When your back hurts, try running arnica gel at the site of the pain. Arnica reduces inflammation, repairs damaged tissue, and reduces swelling.

• Magnesium

According to statistics, millions of people are deficient in this vital mineral. One of the primary symptoms of magnesium deficiency is chronic pain and inflammation. Adding a chelated magnesium supplement to your diet not only reduces pain but improves quality of sleep, which is vital when dealing with any kind of chronic pain condition.

NSAID pain relievers and prescription steroids can cause serious side effects. The next time your back hurts, consider your natural options. You’ll be amazed at how much better you’ll feel. 

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