SOS Back pain

More than 75% of people worldwide suffer from back pain at some point in their lives. Long periods of sitting, standing, or simply moving in the wrong way can be enough to send a shooting pain through the spine.

Back pain can sometimes appear suddenly, which is when we should act quickly.  For some helpful tips, keep reading!

Quick relief for back pain

Back pain that starts suddenly can have a real impact on daily life. In the worst of cases, the pain might keep you off work, or you may have to cancel the plans you had for the weekend.

But not to worry!  We’re here to offer advice on how to deal with acute back pain. Keep in mind though, that everyone’s different – what works for some may not always work for others.

Important:

When considering the following tips, it’s important to consult a medical professional if you suffer from chronic pain or other health conditions.

As a general rule, if pain is having a serious impact on your quality of life and if the problem persists, it’s best to seek medical attention.

When we refer to acute back pain,  it’s pain that occurs for the first time or that’s reoccurring after at least 6 months without pain. Acute pain lasts no more than 6 weeks.

Chronic back pain, on the other hand, is pain that lasts for more than 12 weeks. This kind of pain comes and goes and may be more or less severe at different times.

The duration of pain between acute and chronic is referred to as ‘subacute’.

Dealing with acute back pain

Heat

Heat can help alleviate muscle tension. It improves circulation in the affected area, allowing the muscles to relax faster.

Place a hot water bottle, heat pad, or heat plaster on the affected area. To avoid burns, avoid applying heat directly to the skin. Be sure to pay attention to how your body reacts to the heat – it can also aggravate the inflammation that’s causing the pain, which will actually make things worse.

Soaking in a warm bath is also helpful.

Cold

The type of inflammation that occurs with conditions like herniated discs or lumbago (the limited functioning of the back muscles) can be treated with cold. Cold can alleviate acute discomfort, because it interrupts the transmission of pain.

Wrap a cold pack in a tea towel and place it on the affected area. Avoid placing cold packs directly on the skin to avoid irritation. When used to reduce swelling, be careful not to apply the cold pack to too large an area as this can also slow down the healing process.

With damaged tissue, the cells known as macrophages release a hormone (IGF-1) that promotes healing. With the cold, the release of IGF-1 in the body is impacted.

Massage

A back massage improves circulation within the muscle tissue and helps relieve tension. Do avoid applying too much pressure and never directly massage the spine or other bony structures.

For women who are pregnant or for those with severe acute back pain, be sure to see a professional massage therapist.

Nobody around to offer you a massage? Use a foam ball to apply pressure in a circular motion or a roller to roll out those knotted areas and hard to reach spots.

Remember to be extra careful with injuries, muscle tears and sprains – avoid using a roller and treat the area gently.

Alleviating back strain

Finding the right position

When experiencing severe pain, finding a comfortable position can provide much needed temporary relief:

Lying down with your legs raised, rest the lower legs on a support that allows both upper and lower legs to form a 90° angle. Make sure to keep your head and back straight.

This position relaxes the sciatic nerve and the muscles in your lumbar spine. Keep in mind that as a form of temporary relief, this position won’t heal your injury. Be sure to get help from a medical professional  if the pain doesn’t improve within a few weeks, gets worse, or stops you from doing everyday activities.

In the meantime, you can also try lying on the opposite side of the affected area. For more stability, bend slightly at the knees and hips, allowing your muscles to relax.

Place a cushion between the knees to avoid twisting your hips in a way that could put more pressure on the spine. Rest your head on your arm or a cushion so that the upper part of the spine remains straight.

Cushions or rolled up towels support the spine and alleviate pressure.

Aim for prevention

Leading a healthy lifestyle

When treating symptoms, it’s usually already too late. A more sustainable way to keep fit and healthy is to know what’s causing the pain in the first place.

Is it your mattress? Are you sitting for too long at work? Or maybe it’s all that heavy lifting and carrying? Stress, lack of exercise and an imbalanced diet weakens the body and makes you more susceptible to back pain. Making the right choices to take care of your body is the best way to avoid pain and injury over the long term.

Consider your mental health

Back pain can also develop as a result of psychological and emotional stress, including certain patterns of thinking and behaviour that can promote or make back pain worse.

Non-specific back pain (where we don’t know the cause) is often a result of internal distress. Learn to recognise what situations or experiences may be weighting on you and take the steps to get the support you need.

Keep moving

It was a commonly held belief that rest was the best way to recover from back pain, but we now know that exercise can actually speed up the process as it improves circulation and helps to relieve muscle tension.

Exercise doesn’t only help with acute pain. It’s also been proven that certain exercises can effectively prevent recurring problems. Integrating a good amount of exercise and active breaks into our daily routine is essential for our health.

Remember to avoid exercises that put all the strain on one side of the body and don’t forget to work on those core muscles!

Back-friendly sports

To enjoy your physical mobility for as long as possible, choose activities that are fun and pleasant. Exercises that are back-friendly are just as important – especially if you suffer from back pain.

These include:

• (Nordic) walking
• Swimming (backstroke and front crawl)
• Cycling
• Yoga
• And, for the sake of your spine, do your best to avoid abrupt changes in direction.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many ways to deal with acute back pain. Test things out to see what works for you!

More importantly, recognize what may be causing your pain so you can make the necessary changes  to prevent it in the future. Focusing on prevention can reduce pain and over time, increase your overall wellbeing.

As with so many other things, a healthy lifestyle makes all the difference.