Medical treatments for back pain…

Although this book is focused on natural treatments for back problems, it should be obvious from the range of medical conditions that can cause back pain that natural treatments are not capable of curing every problem that might cause such pain.

For example, anti-inflammatory drugs (more commonly known as non¬specific anti-inflammatory drugs) can sometimes be useful for reducing the pain in your back, and also bringing down any associated inflammation. However, like all pharmaceutical drugs, even NSAIDs can have side-effects such as an increased risk of gastro-intestinal bleeding. Thus, they are not ideal for everyone who suffers from a back pain problem, and they should be taken for as short a period of time as possible.

In addition, there are narcotic pain killers that will reduce the pain symptoms, but they can also be used only for a limited period of time with any degree of safety. Drug based muscle relaxants might also be prescribed by your medical attendant if the primary cause of your back pain problems is muscle spasms. In this case, however, muscle relaxants (such as Valium) are likely to make you drowsy, so once again, great care has to be applied if you intend to take such drugs.

If you are suffering from inflammation around the spinal nerves, your medical practitioner may recommend an epidural steroid injection that will reduce both the pain and the inflammation around the nerves at the same time. Steroids are another pharmaceutical drug that you should only take for a limited period of time, and most people who have had an epidural will tell you that it is no walk in the park!

The final solution is spinal surgery, but this actually only happens in a small number of cases. Spinal surgery only becomes necessary after trying all other treatments without success, hence it is most commonly used as a treatment of last resort.

Spinal surgery is only really effective for a limited number of conditions listed in the previous section such as spondylolisthesis, spinal stenosis or to remove a ruptured disc should that become necessary (which is unusual).

Most physicians will only consider surgery when they believe that the risk of not undertaking surgery is greater than the risk of doing so. For example, if after a considerable period of non-invasive treatment, a slipped or ruptured disc is not getting any better, it can quite easily start to get worse. In this situation, it is possible that spinal surgery will be considered.

Balanced against this, there is always a risk involved in such surgical procedures, specifically the risk of paralysis, because this is surgery undertaken in very close proximity to the individual patient’s spinal cord. Surgery is generally only considered when all else has failed and the situation is clearly deteriorating.

Beyond this short list of recognized medical treatments for various causes of back pain and associated problems, there are many natural treatments that you can apply to reduce the severity of your back pain, and to treat your condition at the same time.

Before starting to look at these natural treatments in greater detail, however, let me first set out what I would consider to be a sensible approach to consulting a qualified member of the medical profession about your back pain problem.

When to consider seeking medical attention…

As suggested, the majority of back problems that most people suffer from are likely to be caused by muscle strains of one form or another. In this situation, it is unlikely that there will be any need for serious medical attention or treatment.

While not belittling the fact that back muscle strains can be very painful indeed, there is very little that your medical practitioner can do to help you in this situation other than prescribing painkillers and relieving creams or ointments. Unless you know that these are 100% natural, you may not want to take or use them in any event.

If you have a new case of back pain that you cannot explain, you may want to contact your medical practitioner for an evaluation. However, there are certain situations where you should definitely seek medical attention for your back pain, because it may be that it is a symptom or an indication of something that might be more serious. In particular, make sure that you contact your doctor if:

• The pain lasts more than a week or so, and does not seem to be decreasing in severity;
• You have a back pain that is accompanied with an inability to properly control your bladder or bowels;
• You have chills, fevers. sweating, trembling or find that you feel alternately hot and cold. In this case, you have a fever as well as back pain, which clearly needs checking at the soonest opportunity;
• You notice any other unusual additional symptoms that would not normally be associated with a muscle strain or ligament sprain.

The difficulty with back problems…

If you were to be in a position to ask any suitably qualified member of the medical profession, you would probably be reliably informed that understanding and diagnosing back problems is one of the most frustrating and difficult tasks any member of the medical profession will ever face.

The problem that they face is that unless there is a clear clinical, medical condition (such as osteoporosis) which can give them a clue as to the root cause of your back problems, it can be very difficult for any medical practitioner to come up with a categorical explanation of your back problems.
If you are a person who very rarely has a back problem, or you are in a position to pinpoint a particular activity that has probably strained your back, the medical professional who you consult is not likely to have much of a problem diagnosing and/or treating your problem.

On the other hand, if you have a long-term or persistent back pain problem, then you should adopt a different approach if you choose to consult a medical professional (and there is absolutely no harm at all in seeking professional opinion).

In this case, expecting an informed medical opinion the very first time you consult with a new medical adviser is simply not realistic. Given that diagnosing back problems is notoriously difficult, if you expect an answer immediately, you are likely to make a mistake that many back pain sufferers make. This is the error of ‘jumping’ from one medical professional to another on an almost never-ending basis in the desperate hope that someone is going to come up with a miracle diagnosis for your problem.
This is not the way it works in the real world. What you need to do is to find a medical practitioner with whom you are comfortable – an orthopedist, osteopath or general medical practitioner – and work with them for a period of at least several weeks, and ideally several months.

By doing things in this way, you give them a realistic chance of discovering what your real problem is. This enables them to treat your condition in the most appropriate manner, although you should not expect an instant, miracle cure, because it may well be that no such thing exists even after they have discovered the root cause of your problem. Only if you have given them sufficient time and you still find that they can come up with no satisfactory answer should you consider moving on to seek someone else’s opinion.

A rest is as good as a cure…

Perhaps surprisingly, one of the most obvious natural treatments for back pain is also one of the most effective. Even if you are suffering from something as apparently serious as a slipped disc, it is quite likely that your medical practitioner will recommend flat bed rest as the first cause of treatment.
It is also likely that he or she will also prescribe inflammatory drugs and painkillers as well, but, as previously suggested, you probably don’t want to take these if you are looking for a natural cure for your back pain problems. Moreover, the fact the bed rest is considered to be a practical treatment for such an apparently serious condition should give you some indication of how highly rated rest is as a back pain treatment, and there could be nothing more natural than rest.

Even if you have nothing more than a muscle strain, bed rest is a great way of reducing the severity of the pain, but you should not stay in bed for more than two or three days, because doing so can actually make the pain worse rather than better.

Knowing this, the next thing that you must know is that your choice of bed is an absolutely critical factor in how much back pain relief you will get from flat bed rest. However, this does not necessarily mean that you should invest in a bed that is described as having any particular medical properties, or as an orthopedic bed or mattress.

In fact, according to research in the UK, the majority of orthopedic mattresses are too hard, and as a result, only 6% of experts would recommend an orthopedic mattress to back pain sufferers.
What you are looking for is a bed mattress that is firm and supportive, as opposed to being hard. Furthermore, if you are a regular back pain sufferer, you should also consider changing your bed more frequently, because older beds and mattresses are less likely to give you the support and comfort that you need to alleviate or perhaps even get rid of your back condition.

There would also be an argument here for spending as much money as you can afford on your next bed if you are a constant back pain sufferer, because it does seem from all available research that sleeping in or on a high-quality bed can make a significant difference to your back pain problems.

Obviously, everyone who suffers a back pain condition has a slightly different problem and therefore there is not one ideal sleeping solution that covers every back pain sufferer. For this reason, you must be willing to do a little research when you buy your next bed. That bed could be the difference between your continuing to suffer back problems for as long as you sleep in it, or solving your problems in a matter of weeks.

No matter where you live, your local bed store will offer dozens of choices, but do not be persuaded by a sales person to take the bed that they believe is best for your back problems (‘but everyone who has a back problem buys the Super-ABC bed!’).

Find beds that seem to have the appropriate degree of firmness and support, and test every one for at least 10 minutes in your normal sleeping position. Do this and your back will very soon tell you whether you are looking at the right bed or not! Is the bed the right height for you to get in and out without any back pain or discomfort? If it is so low or so high that entry and exit are likely to exacerbate your back problems, you should move on to the next option immediately.

Buy as big a bed as you can afford, particularly if there are two people going to share it. This ensures that you or both of you have plenty of room to move, which should help with a good night’s sleep.
Finally, do take time to consider the pillows that you use, and how many of them you generally sleep with. If your pillows are too high, they could significantly alter the shape and angle of your body during sleep, and if your shape is not good, this could offset the benefits that you hope to gain by getting a new bed in the first place.

Also, think about your individual sleeping position, and try to find one that appears to put the least strain on your back.