Lower back pain (also known as lumbago) is an extremely common musculoskeletal problem that affects approximately 80% of the population at some time in their life. Luckily, it is not something that a sufferer simply needs to learn to live with. There are many treatments to provide lower back pain relief that can be effective depending on the lower back pain causes.

Causes of Lower Back Pain

There are many different causes of lower back pain with varying treatments. Compressed nerves in the spinal column can lead to sciatic nerve pain and even chronic back pain. Stress, injury and muscle tightness are some of the leading causes of low back pain. Other causes of backaches include poor posture, outdated mattresses, poorly chosen shoes, arthritis, pregnancy, lack of exercise, muscle strain, herniated discs, scoliosis and spinal stenosis. Understanding the cause of lower back pain can help when choosing the correct treatment to alleviate the pain.

Exercise

There are a variety of different exercises that can help to alleviate backaches, especially pain in lower back areas. Stretching is one of the best treatments and can help to prevent any further aches and pains. Maintaining physical fitness also helps to keep a person’s posture aligned. Yoga has been found to be especially effective for lower back pain and can even be used for sciatica treatment. Sufferers who have desk jobs can benefit greatly by simply remembering to get up and stretch out the muscles in their backs and necks a few times over the course of the day.

Drug Treatments

There are a number of different medications that can be used to aide with lower back pain. However, these medications usually only create a temporary relief for moderate back pain. Muscle relaxers simply mask the problem instead of actually curing it and should only be used in moderation. These types of medications may also lead to a dependency in sufferers as they seek out the quickest way to dull the pain. Seek the advice of a doctor if drug treatments are being considered, as these will only bring temporary lower back pain relief.

Surgical Options

In the most severe cases, doctors may resort to surgery to help alleviate a sufferer’s lower back pain. This type of lower back pain treatment is only used in the most chronic and severe circumstances after many other treatments have been attempted. Surgery is, of course, extremely invasive, only moderately successful under the best circumstances, `            and very expensive.

Physiotherapy Treatments

Physiotherapists can offer a range of treatments for lower back pain depending upon their certifications. Electro-stimulation can be used over time to stimulate the nerves and muscles causing the pain. Massage therapies and deep tissue massage are also often used at physiotherapy to help provide relief and to break up internal scar tissue that may be causing pain in the area.

Physical Aides

There are a variety of physical aides that can be used to help reduce lower back pain for sufferers. Sales people trained in back pain issues can help guide sufferers towards the best mattress for back pain to ensure that a good sleep is possible. There are a variety of different pillows on the marketplace that can help with backaches as well including water pillows and props that are placed under the legs during sleep. Other aides that sufferers may find useful are heating and cooling pads, orthotics for shoes and back supports.

Alternative Treatments

There is a wide range of holistic, alternative treatments that can be used to treat lower back pain. Reiki, acupuncture, acupressure, crystals, herbal therapies and spiritual treatments have all been used with varying degrees of success to treat ailments including lower back pain. Many of these treatments have been available for hundreds of years. Most of these types of treatments have no known negative side effects.

Back pain can put a serious kink into a person’s plans for life. Chronic back pain is often debilitating and can affect a person’s social life, career and even emotional well-being It’s important to try a variety of different treatment options to find something that works for a sufferer’s individual needs and pains.

Are There Any Quick Fixes for Pain in Lower Back?

As a general rule of thumb the sufferer of lower back pain will continue to feel pain until the area is fully healed, including the nerves. That said, today’s researchers are coming out with many new treatments as well as variants of older ones. Therefore, you should always do plenty of research before committing to something that may prevent you from taking advantage of other options later on.   Needless to say, if you are troubled with lower back pain, you should always discuss the matter with your doctor as soon as possible so that you can get on the road to recovery.