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Lower Back Pain, affects both those unaccustomed to physical activity and regular exercisers.

The first step to understanding the various causes of low back pain is learning about the normal design anatomy of the tissues of this area. Important structures of the low back that can be related to symptoms there include the bony lumbar spine vertebrae, discs between the vertebrae, ligaments around the spine and discs, spinal cord and nerves, muscles of the low back, internal organs of the pelvis and abdomen, and the skin covering the lumbar area. Many muscle groups that are responsible for flexing, extending, and rotating the waist, as well as moving the lower extremities, attach to the lumbar spine through tendon insertions.

Fortunately, most occurrences of low back pain go away within a few days. Acute or short-term low back pain generally lasts from a few days to a few weeks. Low back pain may reflect nerve or muscle irritation or bone lesions. Most low back pain follows injury or trauma to the back, but pain may also be caused by degenerative conditions such as arthritis or disc disease, osteoporosis or other bone diseases, viral infections, irritation to joints and discs, or congenital abnormalities in the spine. Obesity, smoking, weight gain during pregnancy, stress, poor physical condition, posture inappropriate for the activity being performed, and poor sleeping position also may contribute to low back pain. Occasionally, low back pain may indicate a more serious medical problem.

Nearly everyone has low back pain sometime. The risk of experiencing low back pain from disc disease or spinal degeneration increases with age. Low back pain unrelated to injury or other known cause is unusual in pre-teen children.

A variety of diagnostic methods are available to confirm the cause of low back pain:. Discography involves the injection of a special contrast dye into a spinal disc thought to be causing low back pain. Computerized tomography CT is a quick and painless process used when disc rupture, spinal stenosis, or damage to vertebrae is suspected as a cause of low back pain. Most low back pain can be treated without surgery. Exercise may be the most effective way to speed recovery from low back pain and help strengthen back and abdominal muscles. Medications are often used to treat acute and chronic low back pain. Musculoskeletal pain syndromes that produce low back pain include myofascial pain syndromes and fibromyalgia. Other skeletal causes of low back pain include osteomyelitis orsacroiliitis infections of the bones of the spine.

Most low back pain is triggered by some combination of overuse, muscle strain, and injury to the muscles, ligaments, and discs that support the spine. When low back pain strikes, we become acutely aware of just how much we rely on a flexible, strong back. The causes of low back pain tend to be interrelated. Most people have at least one episode of recurrent low back pain. The term “low back pain” is used to describe a spectrum of symptoms. Depending on the cause, low back pain may be dull, burning, or sharp, covering a broad area or confined to a single point. Leg symptoms can be caused by lower spine problems that place pressure on a nerve to the leg; they can occur on their own or along with low back pain. Your health professional can assess acute low back pain by talking to you about your medical history and your work and physical activities, and doing a simple physical examination. However, some episodes of low back pain are signs of more serious conditions. Low back pain can result from something simple, like cleaning house or lifting a heavy box, or it can be caused by a diagnosable spine condition like a herniated disc or degenerative disc disease.

Effective pain relief may involve a combination of prescription drugs and over-the-counter remedies including BioFreeze. Some type of Lumbar Support is also important for constant support for low back pain. Wonder-Roll which is a self inflating lumbar support pillow is a good solution that you can take anywhere with you.

The vast majority of lower back pain conditions will get better with time and can be addressed with non-surgical treatments, such as osteopathic or chiropractic manipulation, physical therapy, pain medications, etc.. Low back pain responds very well to appropriate conservative treatment such as physical therapy and proper medication which can be prescribed by your physician.

Author: Donna Nocero

You can really eliminate pain with hypnosis. The saying “no pain, no gain” is really not true. Do you remember all of the times pain has hindered you from taking part in activities that you enjoy? Partaking in sports and even sitting can be unbearable when you are in pain.

However, to say that “pain is all in your head” can really be true. If that is the case then the cure should be all in your head too! With help of self-hypnosis, pain can completely disappear. Despite what most people think, hypnosis is simply a mental state where messages can connect with the unconscious easier. The state of hypnosis is characterized by very deep relaxation. With regular practice of a hypnosis pain elimination regimen, you will feel more peaceful over all.

Pain signals that something in your body is amiss so pain is technically a good thing. Make sure a doctor check you out to ensure that the pain is not indicating a harmful condition. Then it’s time to manage and even eliminate the pain.

There is really no danger in a self-hypnosis pain relief program. It is not true that you can “get stuck” in a hypnotic state. The worst that might happen when you use hypnosis for upper pain reduction is that you could fall into a natural state of sleep for half an hour. Compare to all of the nights that discomfort has prevented you from sleep!

One can’t say that a hypnosis pain management system is the same as sleep though. That is probably the biggest misconception about hypnosis. When you are asleep, you are unconscious, and if you are unconscious you cannot hear anything. If you can’t hear anything, the hypnotist cannot help you. On the contrary, hypnosis is actually a state of keen awareness.

Being consciously aware of everything, a hypnosis pain management program can help both physical and mental causes and lead to many successful avenues to do away with pain. As you know, medications merely block the reception of the physical symptoms of pain on a temporary basis. Hypnosis pain regimens can in fact lessen the amount and strength of pain signals that you perceive. You can actually reprogram your body to send less pain-inducing chemicals to your receptors. This means that you can use fewer pain killing drugs, often no medications at all.

You have probably heard of endorphins, the opiate-like chemicals that are generated in our brains. Endorphins are the chemicals that cause people who train to get a high when they workout hard. Using hypnosis, you can also learn how to program your brain to create pain-relieving endorphins on demand! And send them to the painful part of your body where they are required.

With help of endorphins, the brain is capable of inducing analgesia, which is a mild anesthesia, as well as full anesthesia (numbness). Medical journals are full of accounts both in modern times, as well as in pre-anesthesia days, when invasive surgery has been done under hypnoanesthesia.

Hypnosis can also work to program the mind to direct your attention away from pain. In this way you will perceive far less discomfort. Also, hypnosis pain management programs can help our mind realize and understand that the pain is there, but not to let us suffer from it. A certified hypnotherapist will be familiar with how to fully address additional hypnotic suggestions that will aid in your recovery.

A really effective hypnosis pain remedy lies in neuro linguistic programming, NLP. No doubt that after living with chronic pain or left side pain, you may be cynical that a hypnosis pain program will help. In many cases, NLP methods really work far better for modern thinkers than traditional hypnosis does. It was actually developed for people like you who are brought up to analyze and question everything. Analyzing can mean that we tend to put up barriers to the acceptance of hypnotic suggestions.

For some reason, every time i try doing an ab exercise, I always get back pains. It only occurs while i do the exercise. I am only 16 years old. The only thing that does not give me back pain is when i lay on a ball and do crunches. Does anyone know how to get rid of my back pain?

I wake up every morning with lower back pain which it goes away by mid day. Its been more then a week. I had this problem in the past, but it went away, now is back. How do I know if its my mattress? My husband doesn’t get any pain from sleeping in the mattress.
What should I do? I went to see a Chiropractor and all he did was to pop my back.

I stand on a hard floor for 8 hours a day (everyday) at work. By the time I go home my back is hurting so bad I find it hard to stand up-right and walk. Back belts are not allowed. Is there anything I can do to ease the pain while I’m working?

I had on period that was 3 weeks late. Then my next two were a couple days early. In between my last period and this one (around the middle of my cycle) I had two different days, about a week apart from each other that I had bad cramping and back pain. No bleeding. Then my period came 3 days late. I have never been regular, but this pain in between is not normal for me. What could be causing this? I’m not pregnant.

Back pain is reported to be the most common cause of missed work, right after flu and colds. In fact, back pain is so common that many people consider it inevitable, especially with increasing age.

But it may be possible to avoid some types of back pain by better understanding its causes and avoiding or preventing them in the first place.

And while over-the-counter pain relief medications can help lessen back pain once it occurs, exercise, improved posture, and good furniture can strengthen and heal your back and even prevent back pain from occurring in the first place.

This article will guide you in both ways: how to avoid back pain and how to find back relief.

Back Pain Causes

The back is a powerful structure comprising bone, muscle, and elastic discs. This marvel of efficiency allows you to bend, twist, and carry weight. However, its flexibility makes it susceptible to injury and pain. Not surprisingly, back pain often results from neglect or other lifestyle factors such as:

* Bad posture – A normal adult spine resembles a double ‘S’. When you slouch, the pelvis and the stomach thrust forward, the knees bend, and the back muscles are strained. This strain can easily lead to back pain.

* Sedentary lifestyle and stress – Lack of exercise tends to weaken the muscles in the body. At the same time, stress can lead to muscle tension, causing the unprepared muscles to spasm.

* Weak abdominal muscles – Back pain is often related to weak stomach muscles, which can place added stress on the back.

* Obesity – Overweight people may find it difficult to maintain proper posture, and the burden of additional weight puts pressure on the back.

* High heels – They push the body’s center of gravity forward. To offset this, people tend to bend their knees and move their torsos forward. This can exaggerate the spine’s inward curve, leading to back pain.

People can also experience back pain as a result of specific health conditions:

* Spondylosis – Arthritis of the spine occurs due to degenerative spinal changes, and is often characterized by back pain.

* Spondylolisthesis – This occurs when one spinal vertebra slips forward on top of another one, causing back pain.

* Spinal stenosis – When the space around the spinal column and nerve roots is reduced, nerves are pinched or pressed, resulting in back pain. Arthritis and bone overgrowth trigger this condition.

* Herniated disc – One of the most common causes of back pain, this condition occurs when a spinal disc presses on a nerve. It’s also referred to as slipped disc.

* Sciatica – Sharp, shooting pain that radiates through the lower back or buttocks to the back of the leg when a herniated disc presses the sciatic nerve.

* Spinal infection – When this occurs, back pain is often accompanied by fever and tenderness.

Back Pain Relief Options

Not every type of back pain is a condition you have to put up with. In addition to medication and home therapies, there are a variety of complementary and alternative therapies that can provide back pain relief.

Bed rest may help relieve acute, temporary back pain. But this may not work for chronic back pain, which may require long-term treatment.

Here are just some of the methods you can try to get back pain relief:

* Heat and ice treatment – For lower back pain relief, use an ice pack first to sooth the sore muscles. You can use a cold compress several times a day for up to 20 minutes per treatment. A warm compress or a heating pad loosens the muscles and increases blood flow, which can provide some back pain relief.

* Chiropractic care – Some research on pain relief has shown that chiropractic manipulation may be as effective as pain relief medication for certain patients.

* Acupuncture – In this alternative medicine procedure, the practitioner inserts sterilized stainless steel needles at specific points on the body. This may stimulate the brain to release natural endorphins, which can provide some level of back pain relief.

* Electrical stimulation – Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) often works for acute back pain. In this procedure, weak electrical pulses sent to nerve pathways through specific points prevent pain signals from reaching the brain. This back pain relief procedure may be appropriate for those who prefer to avoid medication.

* Over-the-counter medication – Drugs such as aspirin and ibuprofen can help reduce inflammation and relieve back pain, while acetaminophen controls pain without addressing inflammation.

* Prescription medication – When over-the-counter drugs fail to provide pain relief, doctors may prescribe a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (other than aspirin or ibuprofen), a muscle relaxant, or other medication.

* Epidural injections – When other measures fail to relieve back pain, doctors may prescribe epidural injections of anti-inflammatory medication such as cortisone to provide pain relief.

Back Pain Don’ts

* Do not exercise while suffering from severe back pain.

* Do not sit for long periods when suffering from back pain. Sitting exerts more pressure on your nerves than standing or lying down. This can exacerbate back pain.

* Do not slouch or overarch your back, as this increases pressure on the lower back and may cause back pain to become more intense.

How To Avoid Back Pain

Many people who suffer from chronic back pain have found that a few lifestyle changes and healthy work habits can help them avoid recurrences of back pain:

* Exercise – Exercise not only helps to maintain proper weight, but also helps build and maintain strong muscles. However, if you already suffer from back pain, consult your doctor before starting an exercise routine.

* Good posture – A balanced posture allows the body to relax while maintaining an erect position. If you stand for long hours, avoid back pain by placing one foot on a stool or a box to avoid stressing the pelvis. While sitting, make sure that your lower back is supported and that your feet stay flat on the floor.

* Bend and lift properly – Improper bending is a common cause of back pain. When bending down, bend your knees, separate your feet about shoulder width apart, and keep your back straight. When lifting things, let your legs bear your weight, keep objects close to your body, and ask for help if the load is too heavy.

* Sleeping position – Sleep on your side, with your knees bent towards the chest. Place a pillow between the knees to reduce pressure on the back.

* Heel inserts – To reduce the risk of back pain, some doctors recommend heel inserts to alleviate stress on the lower back and provide shock absorption.

* Medium-firm mattresses – Sleep on a mattress that is firm enough to support your body but does not distort the body’s natural curves.

* Car seating position – Tilt your car seat back slightly, so that your knees are higher than your hips. Place the seat close enough to the wheel to let your arms bend.

Treating your back with respect is one key to avoiding back pain. However, if you already do have back pain, a variety of pain relief medications and treatments are available.

The health of your back depends to a great extent on your posture and body movements, your ability to cope with stress, and your exercise regime.

Many types of back pain can be blamed on weak abdominal and back muscles. That’s why most doctors oppose prolonged bed rest for back pain and instead recommend light physical activity along with pain relief medication and other proactive treatments.

Physical activity may not only provide pain relief, but it can also prevent future back pain. Along with pain relief medication, many doctors and physio-therapists tailor individualized exercise routines to treat patients who suffer from various types of back pain.

A typical exercise program for back pain may involve stretching and strengthening exercises, flexing, and endurance training. A variety of exercises and techniques are available for back pain relief; your doctor can help you choose an appropriate routine, taking into account the cause and severity of your back pain.

Advantages of Exercise for Back Pain Patients

Along with a healthy diet, doctors recommend exercise as an important component of a healthy lifestyle for most people, not only those who suffer from back pain.

The potential benefits of an exercise program for back pain may include: * Immediate, short-term pain relief * Stretching of tight, contracted muscles * Strengthening of weak muscles, which can contribute to back pain * Reducing mechanical stress on the back * Stabilizing the back * Increasing the ease and efficiency of body movements * Improving posture, which can guard against future back pain * Minimizing the frequency and magnitude of chronic back pain * Increasing the likelihood of quicker recovery from back pain in the future * Improving fitness to prevent future injuries

A Basic Exercise Program for Back Pain Relief

A basic exercise program for dealing with back pain involves strengthening the back and supporting muscles. If you have injured your back or have other health problems such as osteoporosis, start the exercises only after consulting with a doctor.
You can start on a gentle stretching and strengthening routine if you have no serious spinal problems.

Exercise #1 For Back Pain Relief:
Abdominal contractions gently stretch the back muscles: 1. Lie on your back. Bend your knees and place your hands below the ribs. 2. Tighten your stomach muscles to squeeze the ribs toward the back. Do not hold your breath. 3. Keep your muscles contracted for five seconds and then release. 4. Repeat ten times.
Exercise #2 To Prevent Back Pain:
Even when you no longer have back pain, doctors often recommend that you continue exercising to strengthen the back. Choose exercises that help align your body correctly and improve your posture to prevent back pain from recurring. For example, curling against the wall can help improve your standing posture. 1. Stand with your back against the wall, with your feet approximately six inches away from the wall. 2. Bend your knees and drop your head and shoulders. 3. Pull your stomach in and slowly roll up one vertebra at a time against the wall.
Exercise #3 To Prevent Back Pain
Strong abdominal muscles prevent many types of back pain so exercises that involve those muscles are often part of physical therapy programs designed to avoid back pain. For example, diagonal crunches not only strengthen the stomach muscles, but also keep the tummy from sagging. 1. Lie on your back. Place your hands behind your head. Bring your knees to your chest at right angles to the waist and cross your feet at the ankles. 2. Exhale slowly while raising your trunk, and move your right elbow as much as you can to the left knee. Slowly lower your trunk. 3. Repeat with the left elbow and the right knee. 4. Repeat ten times.
To improve fitness, you may wish to include stamina-building exercises such as aerobics. As these exercises are more rigorous, start them slowly and only after checking with your physician.
Always warm up before the physical activity and cool down afterward. Walking or light jogging, bicycling, and swimming are some exercises that can provide excellent aerobic conditioning.
Alternative Exercise Therapy Options for Back Pain Relief and Recovery A variety of alternative exercise therapies and programs are available to help alleviate, cure and prevent future back pain. Some of the more popular programs are:

* Tai Chi Chuan: This gentle martial art form provides exercise for the body, while helping the mind to concentrate. The movements relax the muscles, free the joints, and ease tension. Some people suffering from back pain use this technique along with pain relief medication.

* Yoga: This ancient Indian tradition involves a wide range of mind-body exercises including postural and breathing exercises, deep relaxation, and meditation. Many yoga postures focus on increasing spinal strength and flexibility, which can provide back pain relief. According to researchers, regular yoga practice may also prevent some types of chronic back pain.

* Chi Kung: Also known as Qigong, this ancient Chinese system of exercise focuses on breathing and posture while teaching the mind to concentrate. Chi Kung therapists claim that this system may be used effectively for back pain relief.

* Feldenkrais Method: This exercise technique aims to increase the ease and efficiency of body movements. Therapists try to increase your awareness of body movements, while teaching you to recognize and correct muscle tension.

* Buteyko Breathing Technique: This Russian therapy involves exercises in slow breathing and holding the breath. Therapists claim that this technique reduces muscle tension and can provide back pain relief.

Note: When you perform any type of exercise, it is imperative to distinguish between pain and the feeling of exertion. Pain is a signal from the nerves that a certain activity is wrong for you. If you experience pain while exercising, including back pain, you should instead start with mild exercises that feel comfortable.

Treating AND Preventing Your Back Pain

Exercise can be an important part of an effective treatment program for back pain. Customizing an exercise program that’s suitable for you can help you safely strengthen your back, improve your stamina and fitness, and prevent future back pain.

For more information on back pain and effective pain relief options, consult the online knowledge base at eDrugstore.md. To order prescription pain relief medications at discount prices, visit eDrugstore.md home page and look for the pain relief section.

More people call out sick from work because of chronic pain than call out sick because of the common cold. Chances are you or someone you know suffers from chronic pain. Pain is a necessary part of life. It alerts us when something is wrong with our bodies. It’s normal to experience pain with an illness or injury. Normally, this pain fades as the injury heals or the sickness goes away. This is referred to as acute pain.

Pain becomes chronic when it continues after the healing time of the injury. This pain can hang on for months or even years and often causes depression in its sufferers. Chronic pain can also occur as the result of an ongoing condition, like fibromyalgia, arthritis, or cancer. Back injuries, carpal tunnel syndrome, and migraine headaches are some other examples of conditions that cause chronic pain. Some pain can result from injury to the nerves causing them send false signals to the brain. How massage affects your pain is partly dependent on its source.

If your pain is caused by a muscle injury massage can not only help ease the pain but also help speed the healing process. Acute or chronic – these are the two words that describe pain. Acute goes away easily and rarely lasts long. Chronic is its exact opposite. Chronic pain can last for six months and is expected to recur at anytime. The main cause of it is very hard to pinpoint. And it doesn’t help if doctors were more interested in addressing the pains rather than knowing what is actually causing it. As such, chronic pain relief can be elusive to patients.

But then again, there are certain medicines and therapies that are deemed effective for chronic pain. There are also a lot of medicines sold over-the-counter, which can truly help. While chronic pain is a major problem, patients do have options to treat it. Doctors normally prescribe medicines, antidepressants, and anticonvulsants, to address chronic pain. Chronic pain relief is also possible with physical therapy. Physical therapy corresponds to the low-impact exercises like swimming, walking, and stretching. If done regularly, these simple exercises can help your body a lot. It can help lower the intensity of the pain you’re going through.

However, these exercises are best performed along a trained physical therapist. Both occupational and behavioral therapies could also help. In occupational therapy, patients are thought how to pace and condition themselves when doing everyday tasks. Don’t get discouraged if you are one of the chronic pain sufferers for which a cause cannot be found. An unknown source doesn’t make the pain any less real. Fibromyalgia, for example, causes widespread pain in muscles and joints.

Yet, a person with fibromyalgia may not know the cause of the pain A healthcare provider may be able to link fibromyalgia to an injury or virus; but in other cases, a specific cause may go unidentified. Irritable bowel syndrome is another example of chronic pain for which the specific cause may not be known. Chronic pain may be related to changes in your nerve signals after a healed injury. Chronic pain may also be related to heightened pain sensitivity when your body produces lower than normal levels of painkilling endorphins. If you suffer from chronic pain do not ignore the warning signals. If you try to tough it out, the disease, illness, or injury may get worse. Left untreated, chronic pain can also mentally wear you down. Making massage therapy part of your treatment routine could help ease your pain and lessen your dependence on pain killing drugs. In the long run this will lead to less drug side effects and better health.

My boyfriend works from 11PM – 7AM. He complains of back pain and we’ve been putting Biofreeze on it and it seems to be helping for the rest of the day. Then when he comes home he says his back hurts again. He says he has a job where he does nothing but stand so it makes his back hurt and we aren’t able to make a chiropractor appointment. Are there any other methods to relieve his back pain but for a longer amount of time?
Its not a chronic pain but it does annoy him.