The lower back, or lumbar region, starts below the ribcage and extends all the way down to the sacral spine (coccyx). Most people spend a lot of time relying on their lower back for support, which can create uncomfortable and consistent pain in the lumbar region.
Not only is it one of the most common reasons for missed work, but back pain is also one of the most common reasons why people visit a doctor in the United States. A study from 2020 found that lower back pain is statistically the most common reason to see a medical professional around the globe, too.
Most of the time, lower back pain is caused due to injury or overworking muscles in the area. This is why many people say lower back pain is less serious than it feels because, with the right adjustments and some rest, your back can feel as good as new in rapid time. However, lower back pain can sometimes indicate more-serious issues, including nerve impedance, untreated injury, and spinal issues. Often, many conventional treatment methods like painkillers only work temporarily and fail to tackle the root of the pain.
When you work with a back pain specialist at Optimum, you gain a skilled team of professional advocates whose main objective is to help you minimize symptoms and feel fully pain-free again. Take control of your health with the resources available from our local team of chiropractors and health experts. To speak with a trusted member of our team, contact us online or call (678) 714-3053.
How to Relieve Back Pain Fast
Lower back pain can come on suddenly, and have a wide range of sensations. Pain ascribed to the lumbar region is typically dull, sharp, aching, or shooting. Regardless of how you’d word it, when back pain develops, you want to know how to relieve it quickly. Not everyone will react the same way to at-home treatments, but working with your body to find the right combination of self-soothing methods can alleviate pain.
As lower back pain develops, you can try the following quick-relief treatments for temporary aid:
- Get your muscles moving: It may seem counterproductive to do something that pokes at the pain, but stretching and light exercise can make a big difference in the intensity of your lumbar pain.
- Hot and cold treatments: Depending on what your back pain feels like, a hot or cold treatment can be one of the fastest ways to feel temporary relief. If you would describe your pain as shooting or sharp, a heating pad or hot shower could help. For spastic pain that is dull and sore, an ice bath or cold compress may be productive at-home treatments.
- Pain-relief products: When you visit your local drug store, you can find a wide variety of pain relief creams and gels, and patches that act as a diluted version of the prescribed medication. For example, you may see over-the-counter lidocaine patches at your local drugstore, which have a smaller amount of lidocaine than prescriptions. Many people also find relief in other alternative treatments like CBD cream, which can also be purchased without a prescription. In Georgia, while delta-9 THC remains illegal, hemp-derived CBD and delta-8 THC products are legal.
- Anti-inflammatory foods: Supporting your body from the inside out could be just as productive as quick-relief creams or hot/cold compresses. While it won’t be instant relief, eating anti-inflammatory foods could have longer-lasting relieving effects on the body. Try foods like whole grains, leafy greens, fiber-rich ingredients, olive oil, and spices like turmeric and ginger, as well as walnuts, salmon, green tea, and yogurt for their anti-inflammatory effects.
- Keep lumbar region supported: When your back starts to feel overwhelmed with tension and pressure, getting off your feet and reclining back with the region supported by a comfortable pillow or cushion can prevent the pain from worsening and, potentially giving your back time to calm spasming muscles down.
Buford Lower Back Pain Treatment
After a while, temporary aids for lower back pain get exhausting to keep up with and may decrease in relieving benefits as time goes on. Unfortunately, many common lower back pain treatments like pills, creams, and compresses only focus on the symptoms of the pain and not the underlying cause.
Buford lower back pain treatment from Optimum Health targets the root problem and utilizes professional therapies and manual adjustments that provide long-term relief instead of surface-level, temporary comfort. Everyone is different, so one of the licensed chiropractors and care experts will work with you to build an efficient course of action to hit your unique pain points. A chiropractor can use many treatment plans like mobilization techniques, low-velocity manipulations, or adjustments to help resolve the pain.
When you visit Optimum Health, your treating care professional will begin with a comprehensive evaluation and may run some other tests like x-rays to better understand the problem. You will have time to share your concerns and goals for chiropractic therapy, as well as ask any pressing questions that you may be eager to have answered.
Back Pain Specialist Recommendations for Preventing Lower Back Pain
If you want to avoid back pain altogether, there are some lifestyle changes that most people can make to preserve a healthy, agile back as long as possible.
While back pain isn’t always avoidable, these steps may help you minimize the pain as you age:
- Stay active: Keeping your body moving and maintaining a healthy weight can significantly impact the functionality of the discs in your spine.
- Strengthen abdominal muscles: Certain exercise programs can help you strengthen your core muscles, specifically the muscles that support the spine, and with consistency, this can leave you with a strong back that is less prone to stiffness and tension.
- Make sure to keep proper posture when you lift: If you work in a physically demanding career field, remember to lift and carry things with proper posture. Keep weight shifted off your lower back and lift with your knees as you pick up heavy items.
Common Factors That Contribute to Lower Back Pain
More than 80% of people will experience back pain at one point or another. Sometimes, this pain can feel unavoidable or can be brought on by perpetuating habits that lead to muscle strain. There are some general risk factors that a person can compare to their current life to understand how common their back pain is.
When you look at the following list of common factors, many of them are so general they apply to everyone or almost everyone. As 4 out of 5 people experience back pain within their lifetimes, many of the common factors will be universal.
Age
Everyone has discs in their back that cushion the bones in the spine, and these discs wear down with age. When these discs wear down, pain and stiffness will occur. The natural degeneration process can be hastened by injury, repetitive stress, and overuse. People over the age of 30 tend to have age-related lower back pain.
Career Field
Some jobs have physically demanding tasks that can take an extreme toll on your back. Repeating strenuous tasks over and over can wear down the discs in your back even quicker. If your job requires heavy lifting or bending, you may want to invest a few minutes of your time before and after work to stretch and decompress exercises that can release tension from your back.
Lifestyle Choices
Smoking tobacco, drinking, or living a sedentary lifestyle can have extremely negative effects on the physical well-being of your whole body, but specifically your lower back. Smoking tobacco is linked to degenerative disc disease because it inhibits the discs from absorbing what nutrients they need from your blood.
Weight
Someone who is overweight may experience more lower back pain because of excess pressure put on joints and discs. It is especially important to put proper support on your lower back when you sit or lay down to alleviate the pressure put on your joints during the day.
Family History
Many painful medical conditions like osteoarthritis can run in a family line, making a person more likely to experience lower back pain as they age. It can be productive to talk with older members of your close family, like parents and grandparents, to learn about what conditions your family may struggle with most commonly.
Mental Illness
Back pain is linked to depression and anxiety, as the mental strain can present itself in physical symptoms. Someone with depression is more likely to remain in states of prolonged rest rather than a state of motion, for example, which could create some stiffness and tension in the back. Depression and anxiety can also mask physical pain in spurts, so a person suffering from depression or anxiety-related back pain may only notice their pain at random times.
If your back pain has a more serious underlying condition, screenings like X-rays and MRIs can help a medical professional better understand what kind of treatment would be most beneficial for you. Common injuries include strains, sprains, and fractures, but other causes for lower back pain include disc problems like misalignment, structural problems like spinal stenosis, and arthritis.
Work With Optimum Health Rehab to Find Relief for Your Lower Back Pain
The licensed professionals at Optimum Health Rehab have years of experience helping patients with lumbar pain like yours. Meet with one of our skilled chiropractors and personalized care providers to get your healing journey started.
During your consultation, we will assess the details of your pain and develop a personalized course of action that tackles the base of the pain. Our staff is committed to helping each patient find their own relief in chiropractic therapy. To get in touch with a trusted member of our team, contact us online or call (678) 714-3053.