Learning to Live and Cope with Chronic Back Pain
Chronic back pain is a severely debilitating illness affecting millions of people. Many people will at first ignore the signs, but over time they find themselves complaining about the pain and missing more and more work. So what happens? Just ask any major employer. Disability may come into play, which translates into loss on income for both employee and the employer.
Like many people, you may think the first signs of back pain are more of an annoyance and don’t require a medical visit. You have probably just tried to cure your back pain with bed rest and keeping immobile. Now, in some cases rest and time are effective in treating back pain. But if the pain doesn’t go away within a few weeks then something more serious could be happening with your back. In this case, don’t hesitate to go to a doctor and get it checked out.
Now the doctor may at first just suggest some simple remedies and that may be all that is needed in your case. Some of these simple remedies may include getting a different mattress. If you’ve ever slept on a strange mattress before and had a sore back you know how important a good mattress is. Alternating hot and cold to the affected area of the back is another treatment the doctor may recommend. In more serious cases, you may be required to undergo physical therapy. This is a great way to treat chronic back pain. The therapy will treat the injury and you will be taught how to avoid further back pain by learning how to lift correctly and using stretching to keep the back resistant to injury. Spine surgery in Austin tx also suggests that stretching is an effective physical activity that will help you to cope with chronic back pain.
The bottom line is, when it comes to chronic back pain, learning how to avoid injury in the first place is the best treatment. Because once injury happens the road to recovery can be a long one. Avoiding back injury involves much of what the physical therapist should have taught you. Proper lifting technique is a major way to keep the back healthy. You should always lift with your legs and not your lower back. Don’t bend over to pick something up. Bend your legs at the knee and lift while keeping your back straight. This will help avoid injury.
You should also find a mattress that lets you sleep and wake up without any back discomfort. People vary in how hard or soft they need a mattress to be so you will have to experiment. But getting this right can solve your chronic back pain problems. You should also do some simple stretches everyday. Stretching goes a long way to keeping the back healthy and fit.
