Unfortunately, aging can sometimes be a cause for back pain. Perhaps you’ve got chronic back pain, which might be due to a bad mattress, poor posture, a job that keeps you on your feet, or just being out of shape. You might even have suffered some sort of event that caused you to slip a disc, have a herniated disc, or a pulled muscle. Whether your back pain is new to you or a chronic condition, first of all, see your doctor. If you have a serious condition, know that exercises and stretches and home remedy devices may only exacerbate a condition that should be treated surgically or with professional therapy sessions. You’ll undergo a series of x-rays and perhaps an MRI, and your doctor may recommend exercise and stretching for pain relief, in addition to perhaps medication or surgery. Before you get to that point, check with your physician and you might wish to try some pain relief remedies yourself, at home.
There are a number of products sold on TV for relief of back pain. There are a variety of shoes available that purport to relieve pain, including orthopedic shoe insoles. These provide instep support and pad the heel of the foot; they’re ideal for people who spend a lot of time on their feet. Other popular remedies offered include creams or ointments. There’s a copper cream that says it works on the joints between individual vertebrae, neutralizing free radicals and stimulating natural healing. There are orthotic pelvic devices and back supports for your chair or car. They correct your posture to relieve pressure on discs and your lumbar area. Other companies offer heating pads that are more technologically advanced than the ones you might be used to, with water heating and more evenly spaced heating coils than conventional heating pads.
You might consider any number of videos sold on TV for stretching or exercise therapy for back pain relief. Get a recommendation from a friend who uses one, or from your doctor or physical therapist. Then get a mat, a big bottle of water, some comfortable exercise clothing, and follow along with your new video to get some old-fashioned pain relief from sensible stretching.
Some companies offer more heavy-duty options, including inversion therapy tables, where you lie at an incline with your head lower than your feet, stretching your spinal column and muscles to relieve pain. They claim to decompress the spine allowing fluid to more naturally move among discs and relieving pressure. There are devices too, that offer a way to decompress the spine without hanging upside down. They claim to be less straining on the body that inversion therapy tables, able to be used by anyone.
As with anything that might be harmful, check with your doctor before embarking on any therapy you might see advertised on TV. Make sure the product you choose is exactly the right one for you, and that you don’t do more harm than good.
Jesse is the co-founder and visionary CEO of The Healthy Back Institute®, the world-leading source of natural back pain solutions. His mission as a former back pain sufferer is to help others live pain free without surgery and pharmaceuticals.
