Back pain can happen at any time, for any reason and statistics show almost every one will experience back pain sometime in their life. Back pain can be the result of many seemingly innocent activities; picking up a child for example or just getting up from a chair. Other more strenuous activities like a full day gardening, playing sports or lifting heavy objects for long periods of time will also cause back pain.

The pain can range from a slight annoyance to a knee dropping, tear-producing pain. Either way, pay attention to it and take immediate action to alleviate the pain. Pain is your body telling you to STOP! Don't ignore it.

Back pain occurs when muscles or ligaments are overstretched which produces a strain or sprain, but either way, it's painful! In most cases back pain is severe right after an injury but can also appear gradually over a few hours or even days.

Providing you don't have any underlying medical conditions, most back pain can be treated at home or in some cases conservatively by a physician. With proper attention and care you'll be able to continue with your daily activities within two to six weeks.

Okay I've hurt my back... now what?
First, how severe is the pain? Call a physician immediately if:

You have numbness in your extremities
Develop a fever
Develop a headache
You have chest pain or pain in your left arm
Pain persists after 72 hours
Is there anything I can do for home treatment?

If you don't have any of the above symptoms, there are a few steps you can take at home to treat your aching back pain:

Alternating hot and cold compresses can bring immediate relief to aching muscles. Always cold first - always! Use a wrapped ice pack or a bag of frozen vegetables and place it on the area for 20-25 minutes several times a day. Ice will slow the inflammation and swelling that occurs while at the same time numbing the tissue. This slows the nerve impulses to the injured area which is what causes the pain.
After 48 hours of cold compresses you can begin to apply heat by taking a warm bath or using a heating pad or heat pack. But remember cold first!

How can I avoid re-injury?

First be certain your initial injury is healed. It's most important to remember to recognize the pain, alleviate it and avoid the pit falls of re-injury, which is easy to do, if you don't take care of the initial problem. Don't rush the healing process. To avoid injuring yourself again, remember it's important to build and maintain muscle strength and keep the ligaments that support those muscles flexible. Always stretch before doing any type of physical activity to wake up and loosen up those muscles. It takes ten minutes to properly stretch out your muscles and it's ten minutes well spent to avoid re-injury!