Back pain is a tricky thing. Because the back and its attendant muscles make up so much of the body and does so much to support and carry everything else, pain that initiates in the back can manifest almost anywhere in the body, thus making the actual cause difficult to diagnose.
We've all seen at least one of the innumerable exercise commercials on TV telling you how you need to work your "core." Granted, most of these are trying to sell you a product that forces you into a really odd position in order to get six-pack abs, but the thing is, keeping that area strong is important, because your back is part of it.
Your back supports your entire body. When you think about it for a moment, everything is attached to and therefore radiates out from the back. Just as the body is a system, with all the organs, muscles, nerves etc. working to support one another, so is pain systemic. The converse of this is that if your back is strong and healthy, the rest of your body will experience substantially less pain.
Keeping the back muscles strong is one of the easiest ways to avoid chronic pain. You do not need to buy expensive equipment or even go to the gym to do this. There are many simple and natural ways to strengthen your back and reduce or prevent pain.
The thing you don't want to do if at all possible is take narcotic painkillers. There are several reasons for this. The first is that they are addictive and if you are dealing with any form of chronic pain, addiction is a real risk.
The second is that they generally only mask the pain rather than doing anything to alleviate the symptoms. This is not to say that you should eschew such things completely. Right after an injury, for example, they may serve to get you moving when nothing else will, and as movement is vital to back function, that is important. However, be careful that use does not turn into dependence or abuse. That helps neither your back nor you.
If you have severe or debilitating pain, you will want to consult with your chiropractor and other medical professionals about how much you want to do and how often, but the best prevention and cure for back pain is walking. That's right. Putting one foot in front of the other.
Depending on your condition of course, walking may at first hurt more than not walking. This should not discourage you. Any kind of physical therapy always hurts more at the beginning. It's counterintuitive, but it's the way it is.
Walking is also an excellent preventative. Most of us sit all day and our bodies are not really geared for that. Walking helps to realign things.
Walking is also a good exercise and one of the things outside of injury that contributes to back pain and retards healing is weight. The less weight you are carrying, the easier your body has it. Walking helps there too.
Walking is not the only solution. There are other exercises you can do or that your practitioner can work you through to ease the pain.
