Solving back pain without painkillers
Back pain is the 5th most common reason for Doctors’ visits globally and affects 80% of people at some point in their lives.
The Cause of back pain includes: biological factors such as stiffness and weakness of the vertebral joints and surrounding muscles, disc bulge or herniation resulting from age related degeneration, weight gain and sedentary lifestyle choices. Psychological factors such as fear avoidance and stress can also predispose people to suffering from back pain.
What does the latest research say?
Avoid painkillers and only use them as a last resort! The new guidelines by the American college of physicians recommends physiotherapy, acupuncture and spinal mobilisations for acute back pain and exercise, pilates, rehabilitation therapy and psycho-social treatments for chronic back pain. They have also found a link between anxiety, depression and back pain and for these cases the most effective treatments include tai chi, yoga and mindfulness therapies.
Helping your back and ending your pain
Simple activities you can do in your work or home environment to prevent back pain include: getting up every half an hour to stretch and move around if you are sitting for an extended period of time, regular exercise sessions which can be as easy as a walk and body weight (callisthenic) exercises and/or weekly exercise classes such as Pilates or Yoga.