If you research what is the best treatment for back pain, you’ll find a lot of resources offering advice like “improve your posture”, “exercise more”, and “spend time stretching”.
While all of these are excellent advice, you’re probably looking for something a bit more immediate to help combat a flare-up of pain, either chronic from a long-term back problem or acute pain caused by an injury.
Below, we’re going to take a look at what is the best treatment for back pain using some of the most commonly available pain-relieving devices.
We’ll take a deep dive into each product, see what it does, and answer the question, “Will it actually help me?”
By the time you get to the end of this page, you’ll know which products are a good option to help soothe your back pain!
What is the Best Treatment for Back Pain?
When you think of treating back pain, it’s likely you’re thinking of two primary objectives:
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Reduce existing pain. This is where a painkiller or NSAID (like ibuprofen or aspirin) comes in handy.
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Treat the underlying problem. You may visit a chiropractor or speak with your GP to figure out the best means of treating whatever is causing the pain.
There are surgical options for treating back pain, but you’ve got quite a few simpler at-home solutions to try. Here are some of the best we’ve found:
Foam Rollers – Foam rollers are used to apply specific pressure to painful areas to release the fascia, the tough, fibrous tissue that surrounds your muscles and organs. The fascia keeps muscles separate from each other, as well as from organs, bones, and connective tissue. Tension in the fascia can lead to the formation of knots, which encourages the build-up of lactic acid that can cause aches, pains, and soreness.
Myofascial release techniques are intended to target the fascia and release the knots and tension, allowing lactic acid to drain from the muscles and thereby eliminating pain. If your back pain is caused by problems with your lower back muscles (not a spinal column issue), using a foam roller to massage your back muscles can be a good way to start counteracting the pain.
Massage Balls – These work similar to foam rollers, but they’re smaller and designed for more precise targeted massage and pain relief. They can be small enough to target just about any muscle, including some of the deep spinal muscles that would require deep tissue massage to relax. Some balls even come with a vibration feature that increases the massage provided, making them an effective alternative to foam rollers.
Massage Canes – These look like hook-shaped devices that you can use to massage a specific area on your back, especially those hard-to-reach areas you’ll never be able to get at with your hands. They have special ball points that can dig into tight, knotted muscles and, with a few minutes of massage, loosen up the tension. You’ll be able to get better leverage for a more powerful massage, particularly in areas like your upper pelvis, lower back, and between your shoulder blades.
Percussion Massager – These massage tools are incredibly effective at targeting specific “trouble spots” around your spine. They’re typically battery-powered and hand-held, making them very easy for anyone to use. All you have to do is locate the trouble spot, press the rounded tip against the knotted muscle, and pull the trigger to let the percussion massage do the work for you.
A lot of chiropractors actually use these percussion massagers because they provide targeted, powerful massage that can un-knot tense and painful muscles or loosen up stiff joints. The multiple attachments and varying intensity/speed settings gives you total control over the massage.
TENS Unit – TENS stands for “transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation”. TENS Units are battery powered devices that send electrical currents through electrodes connected to your skin, flooding your nervous system and reducing the pain signals sent from your injury or trouble spot to your brain. It also triggers the release of feel-good endorphins that counteract pain and can encourage muscle relaxation.
TENS Units are specifically intended for pain relief, but they won’t do anything to treat the injury or loosen up knotted muscles. They’ll just make it harder for your brain to receive pain signals from the injury location. If you’ve been dealing with chronic back pain, it’s a useful device to help reduce pain intensity and provide some relief.
Inversion Table – An inversion table is designed to flip you upside down and keep you there for a few minutes at a time. Inverting your body helps to decompress your spine, increasing the space between your vertebrae and taking the pressure off your joints. It can help to restore spinal alignment and decrease back pain.
Be warned: there are some medical conditions that make it unsafe to invert. However, if you’re not at risk, you’ll find that an inversion table can both improve circulation and reduce pain caused by spinal problems.
What is the Best Treatment for Back Pain? Learn More With Back on Track
If you’re sick and tired of dealing with back pain, it’s time you take back control of your life.
Back on Track is our solution to help you manage and eradicate back pain the natural way. In this program, you’ll learn about the dangerous sleeper syndrome that is behind and contributes to so many different forms of back pain. We’ll also walk you through the simple yet highly effective treatment course involving techniques you can put into practice every day.
Eradicate back pain and get your life back on track with this amazing course! It’s our answer to the question, “What is the best treatment for back pain?”
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