Whether your back pain is a persistent irritation that distracts you from your daily tasks or a crippling ache that completely immobilizes you, finding relief is probably one of your top priorities. In a few cases, surgery may be the only alternative that will provide the relief you seek, but the vast majority of back pain sufferers can find a solution that doesn't involve invasive and risky surgery.

Medications

For immediate relief, many back pain sufferers reach for pain relievers to manage the aches. Often, inexpensive, over-the-counter medications such as ibuprofen and acetaminophen can make the pain more bearable, allowing people to go about their daily routines. Sometimes, the pain can warrant stronger drugs, including opiods and other medicines that you'll need a prescription to purchase. If you don't wish to use medications, or they simply don't alleviate your pain, there are other options.

Heat and Cold

Quelling back pain can be as simple as applying alternating hot and cold compresses to the problem area. You can calm inflammation with a heating pad or a hot bath and then soothe the muscles with the application of a cold compress. Switching between the two extremes every 20 minutes may yield results.

Alternative Treatments

When typical treatments don't provide the relief you seek, you may want to turn to alternative measures. Although these nontraditional solutions aren't generally accepted within the medical community, some back pain sufferers may find that they are effective in alleviating their pain. One of the more widely known alternative solutions to back pain is acupuncture, the practice of placing thin needles into specific areas of the body. This practice doesn't yet have scientific evidence to back up practitioners' claims of back pain relief, but many swear by it.

Another alternative therapy is transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, or TENS, a method developed to block pain signals carried from the nerves near the affected area of the back to the brain. TENS can be administered by placing electrodes near the site of back pain, and then sending electrical impulses through the nerve fibers to reduce the amount of pain felt and possibly release endorphins from the brain.

What Doesn't Work

If you're aching, it can be very tempting to simply rest in bed until your back pain subsides, but you should resist the temptation to do so. In fact, lying in bed can serve to make your pain even worse. The same can be said for inversion therapy, a treatment that involves hanging upside-down, often with the assistance of a flipping table. Although inversion may provide some short-term relief, it is not a lasting solution, and its many risks can outweigh the benefits. Because being upside-down for more than a few minutes can cause your blood pressure to rise and your heart rate to drop, it is not recommended for people who have high blood pressure, glaucoma, or heart problems because it could aggravate these conditions.

If you want to learn more about the back pain treatment options available to you in Houston, speak with your physician for personalized recommendations.