How to Help Lower Back Pain

Posted on May 14th, 2009 by Carmelia

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Anyone can be a victim of back pain. Back pain happens for various reasons such as sitting in an improper sitting or standing positions in long periods of time, strain when carrying something heavy or being overweight.

Identifying Lower Back Pain

Before treating lower back pain, you have to be sure that you’ve identified the cause of your discomfort correctly. The symptoms of lower back pain are:

Sharp pain in a localized area
General ache in the buttocks and lower back area
Sciatica or pain that jolts and radiates from the buttocks down to the leg, accompanied by tingling and sometimes numbness.

If you have any of these symptoms, you may be suffering from lower back pain. If you’re suffering from lower back pain, here are some things you can do to help ease the pain.

Position of Relief

You may notice that the pain is the worst after waking up or sitting in the same position the whole day in the office. To relieve those pains or avoid it altogether, you must take the position of relief intermittently throughout the day.

When sleeping, put a pillow behind your head and a pillow that supports your upper thighs to your lower calves. This position takes the weight off your buttocks and prevents lower back pain after waking up.

After sitting in a fixed position for several hours, relieve lower back pain by getting a chair and putting a pillow on the seat. Lie down on the ground and putting a pillow behind your head. Put your feet up to the chair so that your thighs are in a right angle to the floor, and your lower legs are in a right angle to your thighs. Lie there for several minutes to relieve pain and to take the weight off your lower back.

Pain Medication

The most immediate way to treat and help with lower back pain is by taking pain medication. For less sever lower back pains, you can use over-the-counter medication such as aspirin, Tylenol, ibuprofen or ketoprofen. For more severe lower back pain, consult a doctor before taking anything stronger than nonprescription medicine.

Hot or Cold Compress

You can use hot or cold compress to help with the pain and the muscle spasms in your lower back. Use hot compress from 20 to 30 minutes at a time, while cold compress can be used more intermittently.

Sit Properly

Improper sitting posture contributes and may even be the origin of lower back pain. To make sure that you are sitting properly, your knees should be positioned a bit higher than your hips. If you are a short person, you can use a smaller stool to achieve this posture. Make it a point to stand up and walk around from time to time.The ideal seats are those with straight backs with a lower back support.

When you are driving, make sure that you are sitting straight with your seat forward enough so that you do not have to reach in to drive properly.

Stand Properly

Standing for prolonged periods of time can bring about lower back pain. To bring relief and prevent undue stress, get a short stool and rest one foot on top for five to 15 minutes at a time. Once the time is up, switch to the other foot.

Minimize Aggravating Movements

When you have to pick something up, don’t bend at your waist. Instead, bend your knees to get to your needed height.
When you need to move heavy objects, push, don’t pull.
Wear flats or rubber shoes that provide support.

Exercise

Being overweight is one big factor when it comes to lower back pain. Having regular exercise and shedding pounds helps lessen the stress placed on your lower back.