Chronic lower back pain is a widespread problem that affects many people around the world. People who experience chronic lower back pain often have difficulty carrying out day-to-day tasks or regular physical activity.
In this article, we cover the types of treatments available to sufferers, as well as their pros and cons. We will also provide tips for how to find the proper treatment for your needs and how to avoid common mistakes when investing in these therapies so that you can see serious improvements in your condition as soon as possible.
Table of Contents
What is chronic lower back pain?
Chronic lower back pain is a medical condition caused by a problem with the soft tissues of the lower back. This refers to muscles, ligaments, and bones that support and protect your vital organs and allow you to move and function. The most common cause of this condition is an injury or movement which has affected the motion of these soft tissue structures, often as a result of trauma due to osteoarthritis, sprains, strains, and even everyday activities such as gardening. It is also common for people to develop chronic lower back pain as they get older as their bodies lose some flexibility and strength with age.
Types of treatments
There are a wide variety of treatments for this condition, all of which aim to promote the health and well-being of your muscles, ligaments, and bones. The most common types in this category include:
- Exercises. These exercises promote flexibility and, in some cases, even increase the strength of your lower back. It is best to ensure that you do not perform these exercises too forcefully if you have been diagnosed with osteoarthritis in the lower back, as this can worsen symptoms.
- Physical therapy. Physical therapy involves several different soft tissue therapies designed to alleviate pain and stiffness in the chronic lower back pain sufferer. These include stretching exercises, massage, trigger point therapy, and hot/cold therapy.
- Medications. Many medications and treatments can be used to help control pain and inflammation in the lower back. These include analgesics, anti-inflammatories, and anti-spasm medication.
- Surgery. If pain and discomfort persist despite the recommended treatments, it may be possible for your condition to improve by undergoing surgery. This is most likely if you suffer from osteoarthritis of the lower back as this requires taking some healthy tissue from elsewhere on your body.
- Acupuncture. Acupuncture is also available for chronic lower back pain, although it is not usually recommended as a first-choice treatment over other therapies on the market. Acupuncture works by stimulating the flow of energy in the meridians of your body which plays a role in relieving pain and inflammation. In some cases, acupuncture can be as effective as other therapies on the market as it may even improve on some of those therapies.
What you need to know about finding a suitable treatment
To find the proper treatment for your condition, you first need to establish what is causing your pain. When trying to identify the root cause of your lower back pain problem, you must examine several different factors, including:
- Your lifestyle. It is essential to examine how you live your day-to-day life and identify any activities contributing to the onset of your lower back pain. If you have a very sedentary job, for example, it may be worth trying to do some exercise during your lunch break if possible.
- Your diet. Some sufferers of chronic lower back pain find that modifying their diets can significantly impact their symptoms. In particular, if you consume a lot of acidic or processed foods, these can cause inflammation in the body and worsen the condition over time.
- Your blood flow. It is essential to examine the flow of blood to your lower back, as some people may have poor blood flow, leading to inflammation of the soft tissues of your lower back.
- Your work environment. Many people experience chronic lower back pain sufferers because they spend long periods working in an environment not conducive to their health. You must become aware of this problem and evaluate the best things you can do to improve your physical well-being at work.
The proper treatment for someone with chronic lower back pain will help you relieve most or all of these symptoms. In some cases, you may even see a complete elimination of symptoms, as it is possible for these types of problems to become much less severe if you take the proper steps.
Usage of medical devices
Today’s medical devices are manufactured to be safe, effective, and simple to use. A lumbar motion medical device from Premia Spine, for example, is a fantastic therapy for lower back pain relief. Premia Spine is a medical device company, which manufactures lumbar motion devices or LMDs. LMDs are used to provide pain relief and also ease stiffness of the lower back.
Also, another device is used for back pain relief, and it’s called the Dynamizer. The Dynamizer is used to provide pain relief for both internal and external injuries or conditions that are related to the lower back, including herniated discs, sciatica, facet syndrome, slipped disc, degenerative disc disease, and osteoporosis.
The use of medical devices, in general, has been on the rise over recent years, according to research conducted by independent bodies within the field. Due to this information, it has become clear that more people are turning to these devices as alternative therapy instead of using drugs or other traditional treatments.
Conclusion
There is now a wide range of treatments available for lower back pain, including those that do not involve medication. You must know as much as possible about these alternative therapies to help decide which would suit your needs best. Some of these therapies may include medications, but these are used to control symptoms rather than attacking the problem head-on, like surgery or other treatments. Other treatments include exercises or acupuncture, which are aimed at improving muscle tone and therefore reducing the effort required to carry out day-to-day activities.
