Four Simple Steps for Reducing Lower Back Pain

Back pain is something all of us will face at some point in our lives. The level of pain can come on suddenly, or it can get so bad that it affects your ability to carry out daily activities. When lower back pain strikes, it is important to remain active and to seek medical attention if you don’t notice any improvement after a couple of weeks or if your mobility is significantly affected.

In many cases, lower back pain usually gets better with conservative treatments, but for those who have chronic pain, treatment can be a long and frustrating process. Whatever level of pain you have, there are several steps for reducing lower back pain and getting on with your daily life pain-free.

Reasons for Lower Back Pain

Our modern lifestyles can put a severe strain on our bodies, and there are many reasons why we may suffer from lower back pain at some point.

• Poor posture: sitting at a desk or in front of the television for long periods of time
• Being overweight: not exercising and eating a diet rich in fat and sugar
• Stress: can create tension in the muscles of the back
• Medical conditions: slipped disks due to wear and tear
• Strains: it is possible to injure your back while playing sports

Stay Active

The worst thing you can do for your back is to remain inactive when you have back pain. Walking is a good thing to do regardless of your overall level of fitness, as it is a low-impact activity that helps to get your back muscles working.

Other activities that are great for strengthening your back muscles and improving mobility include yoga, swimming, and Pilates.

Help Yourself at Home

Try to stay active at home and avoid long periods sitting on the sofa or at the computer desk. Try to move and take a walk about every thirty minutes or so.

If you are in pain, try using hot and cold compresses to relieve your aching muscles and improve the blood flow to the area. You can also take anti-inflammatory medicines to help as well, but remember to keep active!

Get Some Help

When your lower back pain starts to affect your daily life, then it is time to get some support. There are many different treatments out there that can target the affected area, and many of them complement each other.

Acupuncture, osteopathy, and physiotherapy all help to reduce lower back pain and improve overall mobility. If your pain is sports-related, a sports massage therapist will be able to assist you.

For people working in a high-pressure work environment or who are stressed out at home may benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which helps to reduce stress and anxiety, both of which are major causes of lower back pain.

Treat Yourself

If your lower back pain is due to stress, treat yourself to a day at the spa or a massage. This approach will help you relax your aching muscles and spine and reduce the tension in your body.

A Quick and Painless Guide: What Is Tendonitis and How Is It Treated?

You may have heard of the medical terms tennis elbow, jumper’s knee, or swimmer’s shoulder. You may also assume that they only happen to athletes. However, these are all just different names for a single condition called tendonitis.

While tendonitis is most common in athletes, it can actually affect anyone at any stage of life. In this post, we will answer two questions. What is tendonitis, and how is it treated?

What Is Tendonitis?

This painful condition occurs when the tendons in a joint become inflamed or irritated. Tendons help attach muscles to bones and play an essential function in the mobility of various joints. Therefore, people suffering from tendonitis will have a limited range of movement or feel pain when using the affected joint.

Tendonitis most commonly affects the tendons in the elbows, shoulders, wrists, knees, and heels.

Symptoms

Pain from tendonitis can come on suddenly or slowly build up over time. Patients displaying symptoms will usually:

• Feel pain when moving the affected joint
• Have tenderness or swelling
• The skin around the area can also be red or warm to the touch

The severity of the symptoms varies from patient to patient, so get a checkup if you notice any stiffness, tenderness, or pain that doesn’t go away after a few days.

Who Is at Risk?

Tendonitis often occurs because of overuse or a structural imbalance in the affected joint. In most cases, the patients do repetitive actions such as lifting, typing, and swinging, all of which can put a strain on the tendons. Some examples of jobs and activities with high-risk factors include:

• Jobs with lots of typing
• Gardening
• Construction work
• Production line Work
• Playing sports like tennis and golf
• Wearing poorly fitting shoes

How Is It Treated?

The good news is that tendonitis can be easily treated at home, and you should be able to resume your normal activities after treatment. The best thing to do is to stop doing the activity that caused the injury. You will only cause more damage if you try to work through the pain.

After the diagnosis, your doctor will recommend a period of rest and may apply a brace or splint to immobilize the affected joint. You should use regular ice packs and take anti-inflammatory medicine to help reduce any swelling.

Your doctor may even recommend physical therapy to help you release any stiffness and to regain your full range of movement.

It is imperative to get treatment for tendonitis because if it is left untreated, it can lead to chronic pain and ruptures. In these cases, surgery will be required to repair the damage.

What Next?

During your initial visit, your doctor will provide you with a treatment plan, but it is important to realize that this is only a guideline. Your recovery will take much longer if you resume full activities too soon.

To avoid a reoccurrence of your symptoms, it is vital that you stretch regularly and take regular breaks from repetitive activities. You should also follow any exercises your doctor gives you to build up strength in the muscles and tendons.