9 Tips to Improve Your Back Pain

9 Tips to Improve Your Back Pain Although the name implies it, back pain does not only affect the back. The pain will initially start in a portion of the back, such as the lower back or upper back, but over time, if left untreated, the pain spreads to other areas of the back and even to areas, such as, the arms and legs. If you would like to prevent this from happening to you, read the following DIY pain management tips from the Dallas pain relief experts at Pegasus Pain Management.

If your pain persists, call us today at (214) 702-5855 or log on to www.PegasusPain.com.

1. Don't ignore the pain. If you know a particular activity is going to exacerbate your pain, then don't do that activity. Ignoring it will not make it go away faster. In fact, pushing through the pain will probably result in further injury, making the pain last even longer.

2. Do not lift any boxes before you know what is contained inside! The contents may be heavy, and may cause an unexpected strain on your back. Do not let your judgment of the box size cause you to hurt your back.

3. To help relieve back pain resulting from strained or injured back muscles, give your back plenty of rest. Strained back muscles need rest and recovery, which speeds up the healing process. Try lying on your back or on your side, whichever is most comfortable for you. Keep your spine properly aligned in its normal position. Some people find that lying on firm surfaces, like a firm mattress or a carpeted floor, helps immensely.

4. In order to minimize back pain cause by injured or strained muscles, apply ice to the injured area. Although heat may feel better on the skin, it does nothing to reduce the inflammation, which is what is causing the back pain. Ice, however, will help reduce the swelling and inflammation. Reducing the inflammation relieves back pain.

5. To prevent hurting your back while working out, always warm up before and cool down after your workout. Many people only schedule enough time to do their actual workout.

Nevertheless, asking your back to lift and strain without first stretching it out is a sure way to injure it. A couple of minutes for back stretching exercises are all it takes to transition safely in and out of your workout.

6. Back pain responds best to basic treatments. Sometimes, even just a few days of rest can help to ease the problem. Pain medications that reduce inflammation can cut the pain while your back stops spasming. Additionally, try alternating cold and hot treatments to stimulate blood circulation and loosen back muscles.

7. If you suffer from back pain and you smoke, you need to quit as soon as possible. One of the nasty side effects of smoking is the intake of nicotine. Nicotine reduces blood flow throughout your body, including to your spine, and that increases your risk of back pain.

8. To avoid back pain when reading documents, hold the documents in a fashion whereby you can read with your eyes parallel with the document. Looking and reading documents sideways or up and downward will place a lot of strain on the upper back muscles causing you to have back pain.

9. Men that suffer with back pain, should discontinue carrying a wallet in their hip pocket. Try putting the wallet in a front pocket instead, or at least remove it from your back pocket when sitting for long periods of time. A wallet, especially a thick one, can cause a lot of back pain. It can throw the hips out of alignment also.