Are There Remedies For Back Pain




Back pain is one of the most common conditions known to man. Decreased mobility, poor posture, increased life expectancy and other aspects of modern daily life all contribute to growing numbers of back pain sufferers.

Fortunately, there are many different remedies for back pain that you can try to see if your pain can be alleviated or even eradicated.

Drugs

Many people don't even consider drugs to be real remedies but it is worth mentioning them because many of them are derived from natural sources. For example, many pain relieving salicylate drugs are derived from plant materials like willow bark.

There are really only two types of drugs that you can consider for back pain – analgesic and anti-inflammatory drugs. Mild forms of these drugs are available over the counter e.g. aspirin and ibuprofen. More powerful forms of the drugs such as opioid analgesics (e.g. morphine) can only be obtained with a doctor's prescription.

Acupuncture

Even though most of the principles behind acupuncture (that originate from Chinese medicine) cannot be reconciled with western medicine, the evidence supporting the use of it for back pain is more than anecdotal.

Several wide ranging and long term studies have shown that it is not only better than placebo but is also often better than drugs, physiotherapy or other conventional treatment.

If you can obtain acupuncture for free via your health insurance or with your national healthcare provider then I strongly advise that you pursue this line of treatment, if only to try it and see if it works for you.

Capsaicin

Capsaicin is one of the active ingredients in chilli peppers. Studies have demonstrated that it has many powerful and useful medicinal properties.
The fact that chilli peppers taste hot gives a clue to one of these properties. Somehow, in a way that is still not fully understood, capsaicin is able to interfere with the neurons in the body and deprive them of neurotransmitters and your ability to feel pain.

In practice, you can buy a special capsaicin cream to run into your back for pain relief.

Heat

Heat applied to an area of pain usually results in a reduction of it. An electric blanket can be useful, as can a hot water bottle. When in the shower, direct a powerful stream of hot water onto the area where you experience your pain.

Massage

Massage is a great back pain reliever. Exactly how and why it works is open to argument but it may have something to do with increased circulation and reduced inflammation in the vicinity of the pain.

You should ideally massage with some kind of oil. Eucalyptus oil has long been used for back pain specifically for its anti-inflammatory properties.











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