These Holistic Solutions for Living with Back Pain Work

The best holistic solutions for living with back pain are in reach if you seek a simple, integrative approach. Today, medical and lifestyle changes can be tailored to your specific needs to achieve your goals.

However, discovering which strategies will best suit your situation requires consulting a pain management expert. Your spine needs to be examined from top to bottom by professionals who work in cervical, thoracic, and lumbar treatment.

Patients don’t realize there are more ways to enhance their spinal system’s functionality and wellness than just through pain relief. Targeted exercises, better nutrition, and optimized posture can address underlying spinal health issues.

According to a recent article in Medical News Today, “Home remedies can help relieve back pain.” This includes stretching, applying heat and cold packs, changing footwear, massages, and using arnica cream. Active movement helps nearly everyone who is suffering. Highly targeted exercises may also aid in minimizing the risk of pain, such as torso-muscle strengthening.

“A person can make lifestyle changes to reduce back pain, such as switching shoes and changing their workstation,” the article states. “Eating a healthy diet and getting enough sleep may also help reduce lower back pain.”

Maintaining good spinal health also means maintaining a healthy weight and leading an active lifestyle when you’re not exercising. Minimizing any stress placed on your back muscles, whether working or not, is also key. In general, adhering to healthy tried-and-true practices that are supported by science is essential.

Correct Your Posture Using Holistic Solutions for Living with Back Pain

Integrating holistic solutions for living with back pain is all about taking care of your spine, hip, and joints. By following some easy tips, you can prevent fatigue and stress on all three areas.

For desk workers, consider using a standing desk to avoid excessive sitting. Sitting for long periods of time increases pressure on your spinal discs. To relieve this strain, get up every hour and walk around, or take a 15-minute stroll outside.

You can also prevent pain by checking your posture every hour and aligning your neck, shoulders, and back. When your spine isn’t supported properly, poor posture causes and exacerbates other problems and interconnected areas.

“No matter how comfortable you are at your desk, prolonged posture is not good,” states research from UCLA Health. “Moving and stretching on a regular basis throughout the day will help keep your joints, ligaments, muscles, and tendons loose.” This, in turn, helps you feel more comfortable, relaxed, and productive.

Avoid fatigue by rotating your work or chore activities so you don’t overuse the same muscles and joints. Consider switching to an activity that allows you to sit down if you’ve been standing and working for a while. Following a rest period, you can get back to standing.

When you aren’t working, consider incorporating less-active duties in your day when symptoms flare up, such as reading. For many patients, their minds are diverted from pain, and their backs can rest.

What About Acupuncture Treatment and Massage Therapy?

Acupuncture treatment and massage therapies also rank within today’s top holistic solutions for living with back pain. By inserting needles along pathways in your body, acupuncture releases blocked energy and clears clogged corridors. Besides releasing natural hormones, acupuncture also sends soothing signals to the nervous system.

To customize your acupuncture treatment, these thin needles are inserted into your skin at very specific points. Each point represents a different area of your body, an organ, or physical sensations. For many patients, there’s no other treatment that can reach these areas like acupuncture can.

When it comes to natural hormones, acupuncture rebalances the organic chemicals throughout your body, including endorphins. Endorphins are your body’s natural painkillers and neurotransmitters. As a result of stimulating your nervous system, norepinephrine and enkephalin are released into your muscles, spinal cord, and brain. These chemicals promote physical and emotional wellbeing.

There are many types of acupuncture therapy, each with its own philosophy and approach. Traditional Chinese acupuncture is the most common type since it balances your qi.

“Acupuncture was more effective than no treatment in improving pain and function,” according to the National Institutes of Health. “Trials showed the therapy may improve function immediately after sessions, as well as physical quality of life.”

In addition to acupuncture, massage therapy helps with chronic or non-specific back pain brought on by overexertion. A cost-effective treatment, massages can reduce anxiety levels, depression, and lower psychological effects associated with pain. Physical therapy and manual manipulation are often combined with massage techniques in treatments to reduce pain and increase mobility.

Massages can also reduce stiffness, stimulating blood vessels, collagen fibers, muscle tissue and tendons. They enhance tissue elasticity, increase joint motion, decrease inflammation, and reduce soft tissue swelling. Improved blood flow enhances nutrient exchange and removes toxins, which decreases your pain.

More Holistic Solutions for Living with Back Pain: Foods, Sleep, and Exercise

Holistic solutions for living with back pain wouldn’t be complete without mentioning that chronic pain is often caused by inflammation. But what contributes to your inflammation?

For starters, foods that are high in sugar, refined carbohydrates, and processed foods. Sugar and flour are problematic carbohydrates. Whenever possible, stay away from cakes, pies, candies, pasta, and bread. You should try avoiding the typical American diet, which is high in calories but low in micronutrients.

Instead, take advantage of a diet rich in vitamins, minerals, and plant-based phytonutrients. Vegetables should dominate your plate nearly every time you eat. Don’t overdo it when it comes to consuming protein. Moderation is important. Replace red meat with fish and skinless chicken. If possible, increase your intake of plant-based proteins, such as soy.

Try avoiding dairy products such as eggs, cheese, and milk-based foods. Consume healthy fats instead, which are found in salmon, olive oil, nuts, seeds, avocados, and olives.

The importance of a good night’s sleep cannot be overstated. When you’re sleep deprived, your body releases more stress hormones, lowering your pain tolerance. A lack of sleep can complicate other health issues such as diabetes, which can be exacerbated. Keep your internal clock regular by going to bed at the same time every evening.

Exercise reduces pain and should be part of your daily routine. You can move from a less-active lifestyle to a more active one by taking part in activities you enjoy. Try chair yoga, walking, biking, or slow swimming if you have trouble moving. Your overall health can get a boost through the smallest increase in daily activity.

Chiropractic Care Offers Several Successful Techniques and Methods

Chiropractic care shouldn’t be ignored when looking into holistic solutions for living with back pain. Chiropractors use spinal manipulation to restore mobility and repair joints. Through controlled force, a chiropractor reduces strain, pain, and inflammation in spinal joints that have been injured or inhibited. Tightness is relieved, and your body is healed.

More than 100 chiropractor techniques are recognized professionally around the world. One technique is to apply quick movements and low displacements to a specific joint in the spine. A targeted pop will realign your joint.

You can also restore your motion with smooth, mild, and precise pressure placements. Sometimes forceful adjustments are not suitable for patients who are sensitive.

Another method applies rapid-but-low impulses to your spine with a spring-loaded instrument. It’s comfortable, and it is also suitable for sensitive skin.

Some additional techniques get interesting. A chiropractor can use thrusts to restore proper alignment after stretching the spine and creating space between your vertebrae. This benefits patients with pinched nerves or disk herniations. You can also lie on a sectionally divided drop-table that tilts to provide an optimal environment for hyper-targeted spinal adjustments.

Patients tend to be extremely satisfied with chiropractors, especially when unnecessary tests, hospitalizations, and prescriptions are minimized. Chiropractors have a great reputation for using diversified techniques and methods that remain effective in reducing pain and restoring mobility.

Maxim Health

Through its groundbreaking approaches in holistic solutions for living with back pain, Maxim Health is a beacon of innovation. Our comprehensive focus brings together luminaries in spine surgery for an unparalleled experience in care, expertise, and attention. With an extensive track record of successful and intricate procedures, Maxim is also at the forefront of surgical solutions. We help patients regain control of their lives, from non-invasive interventions to the latest advancements in pain relief.

Book an appointment with us today and see what options there are for you.