9 Strategies for Lower Back Pain Relief

Back pain, including lower back pain, can have a wide variety of causes in adults, from strains and sprains while working in the house or garden to old sports injuries or chronic conditions. For the majority of people, symptoms usually improve within several days, with lower back pain treatments including rest, over the counter medications and at-home strategies – often in combination.

Sudden or severe back pain should be checked by a healthcare provider, as should pain that persists and becomes chronic. However, you may find lower back pain relief with these simple strategies.

Home Remedies

Healthcare providers may first recommend that you try at-home lower back pain treatments:

Heat or Ice

Ice is regularly used for recent or acute injuries, helping to minimize pain and inflammation. Try applying ice to your lower back three times a day. Heat is recommended for treating older injuries or chronic pain, helping to relax muscles and increase circulation. Moist heat in particular, such as baths, showers and heat packs are thought to work well.

Medication

There are two primary forms of over-the-counter medication used to provide lower back pain relief: nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and acetaminophen. Both may be effective at relieving back pain in minor instances, although NSAIDs will specifically target the inflammation that causes swelling. Other forms of medication may also be recommended, such as prescription pain relievers, muscle relaxants, narcotics/opioids or even antidepressants.

Medicated Creams

Skin creams, salves or patches may assist with lower back pain relief when your muscles are tense or sore. They typically include ingredients that cool, heat or numb the affected area, such as camphor, menthol or lidocaine. Super Patch’s Freedom Patch works differently, interacting with the nervous system to influence pain signals sent to the brain. You can learn more about how these patches work.

Treatments

If home remedies aren’t effectively providing lower back pain relief, you may try a number of medical lower back pain treatments:

Physical Therapy

Working with a physical therapist is advised if you have been unsuccessful at relieving back pain in over 4-6 weeks. Here are a number of techniques they may utilize to address your symptoms.

Massage

Studies have found that both relaxation as well as structural massages, which involve soft-tissue techniques for muscles and bones, may provide lower back pain relief within a number of weeks. This type of therapy requires multiple treatments.

Complementary Therapy

There are several types of complementary therapies that may help provide lower back pain relief. These may include acupuncture, where hair-thin sterilized needles are inserted into precise points in the body to release blocked energy, and movement therapies such as yoga and tai chi, to help stretch and strengthen back muscles. Complementary therapies are thought to work best when used in conjunction with other lower back pain relief strategies.

General Healthy Habits to Reduce Risk of Lower Back Pain

Staying Active & Stretching

While you may be tentative to keep moving after an injury, staying active is highly recommended for both supplying lower back pain relief and from stopping existing pain from getting worse. Low-impact exercise promotes healing and increases blood flow, while a lack of movement can cause the muscles around your spine to weaken or stiffen.

Practice gentle stretching too. Tight hamstrings are particularly notorious for contributing to lower back pain; try to carefully stretch your hamstrings at least twice a day, holding for 15-30 seconds at a time.

Stick to your normal activity levels where possible, aiming to get moving at least three times a week. This also helps you to maintain a healthy weight, which reduces the risk of back pain by lightening the load on your lower back. Stop activity that increases pain, but don’t avoid moving due to fear of pain.

Explore Supplements

If we don’t manage to get enough of the nutrients we need from our daily diet, supplements can help. Many individuals don’t meet their daily vitamin D requirements, which are important for bone health, particularly in women. A lack of magnesium can also lead to muscle cramps and weakness. Carefully adding important nutrients into your diet through supplementation can strengthen and protect your joints, bones and muscles. This in turn can assist with preventing and relieving lower back pain.

Maintain Good Posture

Practicing correct posture helps ease the pressure placed on the lower back. A few simple adjustments can help improve posture:

• Engage your abdominal muscles
• Try keep your head stacked over the pelvis, avoiding straining the neck forward
• Roll your shoulders down the back and away from your ears
• When sitting, keep your feet on the ground and avoid crossing your legs
• When standing, keep your feet shoulder-width apart, with your weight distributed evenly across both your feet

While the following are less likely, more serious strategies for lower back pain relief include cortisone injections to help decrease inflammation and temporary relieve pain, radiofrequency ablation, which interferes with pain signals sent to the brain, implanted nerve stimulators and surgery.