Lower Back Pain

Lower Back Pain Treatment: What are Your Options?

Lower back pain is an ailment that affects a large number of people at some point in their lives. The pain is due to a number of things including overuse, traumatic injury, degeneration, obesity and more. The cause of the pain is often helpful in determining the best treatment.
Acute or Chronic?

Pain lasting less than 3 months is usually categorized as acute. This is easier to treat and easier to get rid of. As soon as you feel the pain, you should consider low back pain treatment. For acute instances, this would include heat before activity and ice afterwards. The use of over the counter pain and anti-inflammatory medications would be appropriate. There are a number of ways to protect your back from further pain. Be aware of your body at all times. Self-massaging the area with a tennis ball can be helpful. Lower back pain treatment can often be done from the comfort of your home.

Staying active through the pain is important. Take it easy, but don’t stop all activity, as this can cause the pain to worsen. Your muscles still need to move to help the body heal itself. If the pain persists, seeing a doctor would be the next step.

Once the pain reaches the chronic stage, you will need to find more aggressive with your treatment. If you make a visit to the doctor, you will most likely get an X-ray to determine if there are any problems with the bones in your back. If this is inconclusive an MRI may be ordered. The MRI uses magnets to take a better picture of what is going on. From here, the doctor will be able to determine your ailment and will prescribe lower back pain treatment. Depending on what they doctor determines, this may include physical therapy, prescription medication or modifying activity. If obesity is a factor in your pain, the doctor may tell you to lose weight.
What’s Best For You?

If you are struggling with pain, you may want to seek out lower back pain treatment. In the acute phases of low back pain, most of the treatment can be done at home, but if these options fail, you may need to visit a doctor. The doctor will use a few devices in an attempt to diagnose your pain. After the doctor determines the cause he will prescribe a lower back pain treatment plan for you to follow