If you have come to this web page, it is most likely that you or someone you know is dealing with some form of back pain. Back pain is an extremely common condition and often misunderstood. Back pain can come in many forms including lower back pain, middle back pain, and upper back and neck pain. Acute back pain is back pain that has occurred recently and chronic back pain is back pain that has occurred over a period of time. Both forms of back pain can be reduced if the underlying cause of the back pain is addressed.
Trauma, as you may have guessed, is the number one cause of back pain. Injuries, falls, slips and accidents can injure the back and spine, hence causing pain. However, what you may not be aware of is that muscle imbalances in the body are the second leading cause of back pain.
Think about what you do on a daily basis. If you are like a large portion of the population, you drive to work, sit at a computer all day and drive home. If you do not have an office job, you probably perform some type of activity of movements on a daily basis. When this occurs, our bodies become very accustomed to these repetitive movements and activities. We use certain muscles far more often than others. Some become strong and tight, while others that are not being used as frequently, become weak and stretched out.
Just like a car that has two tires with normal tire pressure and the other side of the car鈥檚 tires are somewhat flat, if you continue to drive that way, uneven wear and tear occurs. The same analogy is true with your back. The body will start to form 鈥減ostural dysfunctions鈥?to compensate for the imbalances that are occurring in the body. So if you want to learn how to reduce back pain, it is essential that you learn about muscle imbalances and postural dysfunctions. You need to get your body back into balance 鈥?strengthen your weak and outstretched muscles and stretch your tight and overworked muscles.
Treatments for How to Reduce Back Pain
The first basic treatment is to apply ice to the painful area of the back. Ice is a natural anti-inflammatory and should be applied for up to 20 minutes at a time. Place the ice on the painful portion of the back for 20 minutes then remove it for 20 minutes. Continue this for up to 24-72 hours. After a few days you can then switch to heat therapy. You may have used traditional electric heating pads, which offer minimal relief. Far infrared heat penetrates deep into the muscles and as deep into the bones. In addition to pain relief, Far infrared heat offers many additional health benefits. You can find out more about Far infrared heat at: http://www.losethebackpain.com/healingheatingpad.html.
Muscle Balance Therapy is an essential treatment program if you want to learn how to reduce back pain. Muscle Balance Therapy addresses muscle imbalances in the body by allowing you to find out which specific 鈥減ostural dysfunction鈥?you may have, and then treat the dysfunction by performing targeted exercises and stretches which will allow your body to resume a balanced state.
Inversion therapy is an additional treatment for back pain that has been utilized for over 2,000 years and has become a well know successful option in back pain reduction.
These are just a few of the many forms of back pain treatments. To see a complete list of treatments please visit our treatments page at: http://www.losethebackpain.com/treatments/.
