Having chronic back pain is not a walk in the park. It can mess with your day, negatively affect your productivity levels, and cause strain on your mental health and relationships. If you suffer from inexplicable chronic back pain, don’t just immediately reach for over-the-counter painkillers. Here are some remedies for alleviating back pain throughout your day.
Explore ointments and counter irritants
Go to your local drug store and go to the topical ointments and cream section. Buy a tube of Bengay or other brands or products that were made to relieve minor muscle, arthritis, joint, and back pains. Just make sure to check the ingredients list to ensure that you’re not allergic to any of the ingredients they use for the formulation.
Re-think your bed and sleeping setup
How we sleep contributes greatly to the condition of our spine and backs. An ill-fitting mattress and the habit of sleeping on your sides can cause muscle pain and imbalance because sleeping on just one side can suspend the center part of your body between your shoulders and hips.
If your mattress has not been replaced in years, consider investing in a new one that’s engineered specifically to help prevent upper and lower back pain. Look into an electric heating pad, too, since heat therapy is a beneficial, effective remedy for people suffering from back pain.
Do some stretching
One of the best things you can do for your health, regardless of whether you have back pain or not, is creating a productive morning routine. After you wake up, take a few minutes to do some stretching to start your day right, and do it every few hours as well.
Just be sure to treat your body with as much gentleness and caution as possible whenever you stretch, especially if you’ve been having these back pains for a while. If the pain won’t seem to go away or gets worse, take a day off from stretching and start again tomorrow.
Observe proper office ergonomics
Ergonomics is simply the art, science, and discipline of fixing your surroundings to ensure that they are positioned to keep your body from straining too much and prevent body pain or injury. If you’re working from home, here are some key pointers to making sure your home office promotes spinal health:
- The top of your monitors or screen should be eye level. If you’re using two monitors, make sure that your eyes go in the middle of those two screens. If you use a laptop, invest in a laptop stand so that the screen is at its proper height.
- Your wrists should be straight and neutral, while your elbows should be 90 to 110 degrees.
- Your neck and back must be straight at all times. There are plenty of entry-level adjustable office chairs that allow this.
- Your feet should be flat on the floor. You can use big books to keep your feet flat.
- Everything you regularly use—like your phone, pens, and other items—should be within reach and shouldn’t be far enough that you have to strain your body to get hold of them.
Observing proper ergonomics may feel like too much work, but this set-up can help protect your body (not to mention your eyes) from unhealthy positions throughout many hours of your workday.
Consider chiropractic therapy
There are plenty of benefits to seeking help from a chiropractor. For one, chiropractors are trained to treat and alleviate acute pain. For another, they can help identify the root of your back pain issues and address it immediately. Chiropractic care is all about relieving pain now, but it can also help with long-term maintenance and ensuring that your back pain does not come back.
Consult with your primary care provider
You can do all the remedies in the world, but nothing will take the place of consulting with your primary care provider. If you feel like you’ve done all that you can and nothing seems to help, don’t hesitate to ask for help from your doctor. They will be able to do some tests to figure out if there are more serious concerns that are causing your back pains, and they can help provide you with treatments to help address them immediately.
Having any discomfort in our bodies can make our days more difficult and painful than they need to be. If you’re experiencing pains of any kind, don’t wait until it gets worse. Take action to address it immediately. You deserve all the help and healing you need.
