There are many methods that help reduce and manage back pain. Many of them rely on some sort of medication, which can be expensive and lead to unpleasant side effects. On top of that, medication does not always treat your back, but rather it treats the symptoms. Other people may require therapy and a change to a healthy lifestyle to see an improvement in their spinal health.
This can look daunting at first because it can be a lengthy process, and it’s difficult to know whether the changes you are making are the right ones for your back. However, it’s not impossible to find the right solution to fix back pain once and for all. With the proper guidance and tools, you can achieve it.
Causes of Back Pain
Most of the time, back pain is caused by deformity in one or more of your back sections. The human spine is unique in shape and when a deformity strikes it leads to misalignment and spinal disorders which cause back pain.
The spine is divided into three regions:
- Cervical (upper) spine
- Thoracic (middle) back and
- Lumbar (lower) spine.
The lumbar region is the most affected by pain. There are several disorders that can affect this section of the spine in particular, but the most common among them are generalised lower back pain (as well as chronic low back pain), sciatica, lordosis, hip pain, short leg syndrome.
Some disorders that are unique to the thoracic spine are various types of thoracic kyphosis, including Scheuermann’s Kyphosis.
The cervical spine can be affected by neck pain, headaches and shoulder pain.
Additionally, all regions of the spine can be affected by issues such as:
- Arthritis of the spine.
- Disc herniation, bulge or degeneration.
- Facet joint degeneration.
- Muscular issues such as strains, spasms, or muscle tension and stiffness.
- Poor posture.
- Spinal stenosis.
- Trapped nerve roots.
Most importantly, and often overlooked, is spinal compression as an underlying cause of pain and various spinal deformities.
Risk Factors
There are several risk factors associated with developing back or neck problems and suffering from either one can lead to pain.
- Age: Back pain gets more common as a person ages. Regular exercise and a healthy lifestyle are needed to combat back pain.
- Lack of Exercise: With a lack of activity the back and abdomen muscles might become weak over time and do not have sufficient strength to support the upper body. As such, this increases one’s risk to develop muscle strains.
- Obesity: Excess body weight puts more pressure on the back and causes the person to slouch more. This leads to bad posture which can further complicate things as bad posture is a problem on its own.
- Smoking: It has been observed that smoking may lead to back pain.
Treatment Options
In many cases, back pain has the potential to go away on its own, as it is oftentimes caused by something temporary. However, there are various options to reduce back pain quicker, or to make it go away if it’s caused by a deformity of the spine. These solutions include a mix of self-help, home remedies, and alternative treatment options to relieve pain. That being said, some pain relief options include:
- Using the RICE method, which stands for rest, ice, compression and elevation. Resting allows your back to heal, while applying ice helps reduce inflammation.
- Using muscle relaxants to ease back pain that is caused by muscle spasms.
- Getting physical therapy to ease stiffness in the back and improve range of motion.
- Keeping active to maintain back muscle strength and promote blood flow.
- Using a spinal decompression device to stretch out your spine and restore its original, natural shape.
The Backrack is an innovative device to help treat back pain naturally!
Why Decompression Therapy with the Backrack is Ideal for Natural Pain Relief and Prevention
The Backrack provides long-term pain relief through easy exercises that use only your own body weight to decompress your spine. Spinal decompression therapy itself is an alternative treatment modality that removes the effects of compression on the spine, lengthening it in the process, without making the pain worse.
When your spine becomes compressed, in essence, the backbone and other structures that comprise the back become squashed, or pressed down. Spinal nerve roots are often affected, and when they become compressed, they trigger pain signals and are responsible for making us feel pain.
By decompressing your spine, you can restore the natural space along the spine, so that no nerve roots are trapped, and no spinal discs are pressed down on, avoiding pain triggers in the first place. More than that, the Backrack is also a great tool for preventing the return of spinal compression, and ultimately the return of pain.
Please note: if your symptoms do not improve after a considerable amount of time, if they get worse, or they have a debilitating effect on your everyday life, talk to your doctor and seek medical advice as well as a diagnosis to correctly pinpoint the cause of your symptoms and to rule out potentially life-threatening underlying conditions.
Author: Spinal Backrack