What is Back Pain?

Acute or short-term low back pain generally lasts from a few days to a few weeks. Most acute back pain is the result of trauma to the lower back or a disorder such as arthritis. Pain from trauma may be caused by a sports injury, work around the house or in the garden, or a sudden jolt such as a car accident or other stress on spinal bones and tissues. Symptoms may range from muscle ache to shooting or stabbing pain, limited flexibility and range of motion, or an inability to stand straight. Chronic back pain is pain that persists for more than 3 months. It is often progressive and the cause can be difficult to determine.

Currently, researchers are examining the use of different drugs to effectively treat back pain, in particular, chronic pain that has lasted at least 6 months. Other studies are comparing different health care approaches to the management of acute low back pain (standard care versus chiropractic, acupuncture, or massage therapy). These studies are measuring symptom relief, restoration of function, and patient satisfaction.

Exercise at Home to Stop Back Pain

Researchers have begun to believe that the answer to back pain is what you do during that pain. There have been studies that have concluded that the best way to treat back pain is with an immediate exercise program that mixes stretching with general light exercising. The feeling here is that when a back pain sufferer stretches, and so extends their muscles, that they are giving the back instantaneous relief because they are taking the pressure off of the things that may be hurting. These things can include a compressed disc or pinched nerve.

If a person is dealing with non-chronic pain, then the exercise should be done every couple of hours. This gives the stretching the chance to really help the back. Some simple bending forward exercises should also be mixed in. These are not to be considered by those seniors who are experiencing osteoarthritis or lumbar stenosis as the stretching is actually detrimental. Sitting is easier while stretching is definitely a pain trigger.

These same researchers suggest considering some low impact aerobics to both alleviate the pain and strengthen the back. This means that once your back is better continuing these low impact aerobics could also be a good preventive for future back pain episodes. Walking is a highly recommended exercise. It is low impact and very helpful for back pain sufferers. A couple of miles a couple of times a week is highly recommended. If you find walking painful then an alternative is to use a stationary bicycle in your home or at the gym. It will give you similar benefits; will be less tiring and for most people you don't have to leave home to enjoy it.

Another exercise program worth considering for your back is water therapy. When doing exercises in the water you will find that you are taking the weight away from the areas that hurt. By doing this you are taking the stress off your back and may be able to do a water exercise program that your pain keeps you from doing under regular circumstances. If this is the case you should continue a program like that and then slowly make the changeover to doing exercises on land. This type of exercise is especially useful for older back pain sufferers.

When looking to see if there are particular parts of the back that should be stretched one should look at the hamstrings. These muscles have been studied and it was found that they are often quite unyielding when a person has bad back pain. They can interfere with full motion when they are like that. So, if exercises are done to stretch these muscles it will be beneficial. Stretching these muscles can also help to lengthen the hamstrings and so to life the strain in the muscle. One of the easiest exercises to do for this problem is to bend over and touch your toes. There are many hamstring stretching exercises available. Choose the one that causes you the least pain.

Written by: Scott Parat