Back pain is just that, a pain. Back pain can be uncomfortable, painful, and often times leads to missing work, social engagements, or delays in your normal daily routine. The good news is that it’s not a hopeless situation and surgery is rarely needed. Whether you want to try stretching at home, physical therapy, or look for a local urgent care facility, there are many treatment options available for mild to moderate chronic back pain.
Before you consider invasive surgery or prescription painkillers, here are some other back pain treatments to try first:
Alternate Between Hot and Cold
Many back pain sufferers will tell you that hot and cold is the way to go. An ice pack or even a bag of frozen veggies will work best after the initial back pain has set in. The cold compress will help with swelling or inflammation, but should only be used for 20 minute increments. After a couple of days it is recommended to incorporate heat too. The heating pad or hot bath/shower will help loosen up your muscles and help get rid of that tight uncomfortable feeling you may have.
Don’t Take it TOO Easy
You do want to rest your back and definitely avoid strenuous activities or lifting. Having said that, you do not want to be bedridden for days. It is important to get up and stretch, go for a leisurely walk, yoga, or just make sure you stand periodically.
Urgent Care?
If your back is causing you a lot of pain or preventing you from going to work, you definitely should go to an urgent care clinic. Back pain can stem from a multitude of reasons (muscle spasms, a bulging disk, sciatica, arthritis, etc.) and you might find it best to find out exactly where it’s coming from and why. Rather than wait for an appointment with your doctor and risk straining yourself even more, get into urgent care right away and be on the road to better back health faster.
Back pain shouldn’t cause you to put your life on hold when there are options out there to alleviate the pain and get the help you need. In short, you may want to try some home remedies first, but if you find the pain persisting or becoming unbearable, then you may want to seek medical attention.