Home remedies for lower back pain are being favored more often by people who prefer the more natural method of pain relief, often through a holistic approach using a natural diet and herbal remedies, exercise, relaxation and massage therapy. There are many causes for lower back pain such as ruptured discs, strained muscles, injuries due to car accidents and sports injuries. Other common causes are obesity, arthritis, poor posture and stress.
Many lower back pain remedies begin with preventing the pain before it even begins. This includes eating a healthy diet that supports the spine. The bones, discs, muscles and other structures of the spine will benefit from the proper use of vitamins and nutrients, which nourish this complex area. Vitamin A helps to repair tissue and building bone structure while vitamin B12 is required to provide healthy bone marrow for the spine to function and grow normally. Vitamin C is needed to develop more collagen for healing properties that are needed for injuries to the spine. Vitamin D is a helper vitamin for the absorption of calcium, which is of the utmost importance in preventing osteoporosis, a deterioration of the bones causing them to become weak and brittle. Vitamin K is another helper vitamin in the absorption of calcium properly. Iron is needed to aid in the production of myoglobin for the muscle support and magnesium for the relaxing and contraction of the muscles while helping to maintain muscle tone and density.
Other home remedies for lower back pain is to maintain a healthy weight to prevent stress on the lower back. Make sure you continue with a modified activity schedule while suffering from low back pain. Depending on whether you are dealing with an acute pain or a chronic pain will determine how modified your activity level should be. It is important that you maintain some level of activity though for a quicker healing period. Make sure you are sleeping on a medium firm mattress for support, maintaining a proper posture and if you smoke, make sure you quit since it impairs blood flow, which is vitally needed in the spinal tissue.
If you suffer an acute pain due to strain or injury, the lower back should be iced for the first 48 hours. Apply ice packs to the area for 20 minutes at a time about every hour or two. This helps to reduce inflammation and numb the area for a short period. Make sure you have gel packs or ice wrapped in a towel to use as a cold compress to prevent back spasms. After 48 hours, you can then switch to heat pads, which will increase circulation in your back muscles. Spending time in a hot tub or a hot bath for at least 20 minutes will do wonders for relaxing all the muscles in your body.
Other lower back pain remedies include the use of herbs. Many people do not realize that stress can bring on low back pain due to tension and the muscles contracting. A cup of chamomile tea is a great stress buster. Another herb is ginger root tea, which is great for that low back pain. Mint and eucalyptus oils are very effective when they are massaged into the lower back, while another preparation for massaging the back is to heat three or four cloves of garlic with two teaspoons of sesame oil, mustard or coconut. Warm this until the garlic turns brown. After the oil cools enough, strain it and use the liquid for rubbing into the back. Aspirin is derived from the white willow bark because it contains salicylic acid, which is the same compound as aspirin. Therefore, the use of this bark will produce pain relieving qualities as well as anti-inflammatory elements. Devil's claw is another well-known herbal medicine known to work very well as a pain reliever for arthritis. Muscle spasms are alleviated greatly while using this natural remedy. Capsaicin is the substance that is found in chili peppers and is widely understood to relieve arthritis and muscular pains by blocking the pain signals being sent to the brain.
If your symptoms do not improve or become worse, you should seek the help of a doctor.
