Back Pain Relief

TIPS AND FACTS about: Back pain, pain in general, and pain relief

Upper Back Pain and Headaches

Muscle spasms in the upper back area can often result in headaches. If pain killers, anti-inflammatories, and muscle-relaxers don’t help – or not enough -, try putting a well frozen icepack on your head. You can wrap the icepack in a thin cloth if it makes it easier to hold. The cold will reduce the inflammation and bring relief. Do this several times a day for a good ten to fifteen minutes. If you can, relax while you do this: lie down or sit in an area with little or no noise, close your eyes and just enjoy the relief.

Exercising your back regularly and strengthening it will ensure a better blood flow to the problem area, hence less muscle spasms over time. This could help the headaches disappear completely.

Stretch Every Day to Relieve Lower Back Pain

Many of my patients who suffer from back pain tell me not to bother showing them stretching exercises, that they either don’t have the time, or will forget to do them… Excuses, excuses! I know how difficult it is to have the discipline to do exercises every day. You want to be like “everyone else” and just go about your business without bothering about having to do exercises. Trust me, I understand. But you also want to be pain free and once you incorporate exercises in your daily routine, you’ll see that it was worth it.

Taking the habit of stretching every day is not time consuming and the benefits after a few weeks could truly surprise you. And, if you’re willing to do stretches twice a day, even better!

If you haven’t done any such stretching in many years, start very slowly. You should not feel pain.

Go to the following link for one great and very simple stretching exercise you can do every day: http://www.espalda.org

Read the “Rules for performance of exercises” on the website before you begin and/or consult your physical therapist.

In and Out of Your Car with Lower Back Pain

Many people with chronic low back pain struggle immensely to get in and out of their cars. Getting in or out is a 3-step operation that needs to be carried out slowly in order to avoid or minimize pain. You need to learn to find support on the objects around you.

Getting in the driver’s seat (2 possibilities – each 3 steps):

1-	Hold on to the top of the open car door with your left hand and to the top of the steering wheel with your right hand.
2-	Really grab the steering wheel with force with your right hand - or with both hands -, lift your right leg, and slide yourself in the seat slowly. Do not try to do the moves in an accelerated manner. By using your steering wheel as support and by moving slowly, you put much less strain on your lower back and you minimize the chances of injuring yourself.
3-	Lift your left leg inside the car. You can still use your steering wheel for support if you need to. Close the door – also slowly. Always use the objects around you which can give you support: car seats, dashboard, handles… Any time you find support, you put less strain on your lower back. (In the same way, you can use walls and cabinets for extra support when you need to bend over to pick up something from the ground.)

OR (if the above solution is still too painful)

1-	First, sit sideways in the car seat, that is, with both legs still outside the car. Try to avoid letting yourself fall into the seat. Instead, try to support yourself with the side of the car, the seat, the wheel… whatever feels comfortable to you to lean on in order to control the entire sitting movement. When you let yourself fall backwards into the seat, you completely lose control over the move. That’s when things can go wrong.
2-	Now grab onto the steering wheel with your right hand -or both hands- and slowly turn your body into the driving position. SLOWLY is the keyword here.
3-	Lift one leg after the other to bring them into the car. You need to decompose the movements, the idea being that you do only one thing at a time. This minimizes the chances of hurting yourself exponentially. As the moves become more mechanical, you will be able to do them faster. Close the door slowly.

Getting out:

1-	First of all keep your hands free. Focus first on getting out of the car pain free. Whatever you need to take with you can wait until you are out of the car. Open the car door slowly. Then grab the steering wheel with the right hand.
2-	Turn your body slowly towards the outside so as to get out of the car while using the steering wheel as anchor point and support. Then get your legs out one by one. Put your left hand on the side of your seat or on the side of the car – or wherever it feels comfortable for you.
3-	Push yourself up using both hands, the right one on the side of the steering wheel and the left one wherever you have decided is the most comfortable point of support for you.

Remember, the idea is to decompose the entire movement and do only one thing at a time. When you move quickly and do several things at the same time (for instance: twist your body and sit with your hands full), you stop controlling your movements. In every instance where you know you’re likely to feel pain it is important that you do those moves slower so as to control the movements. And don’t forget to use objects around you for support.

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