Lower back pain can take a high toll on your quality of life. After exhausting every over-the-counter pain relief option, feeling like you’re still in the same amount of pain can be defeating and demotivating for future plans.
Pills, creams, and other drugstore treatments are expected to provide fast-acting, temporary relief, but there are long-lasting treatment plans that can make healing feel like a progressing journey again instead of an endless game of tug-of-war.
Seeing a pain specialist like a member of the Optimum Health team can make all the difference. Your Woodstock lumbar pain specialist can introduce you to treatments, including mobilization techniques, low-velocity manipulations, and manual adjustments.
Because pain is so unique, your treatment will be, too, and that’s why our care team offers such a wide variety of services and treatments. We seek to target the underlying cause of pain to bring you lasting relief.
At Optimum in Woodstock, we have specialized care providers that can guide you through your lower back pain treatment. From assessing your spine’s condition and putting together a course of action, your lower back pain specialist will be there for it all.
To schedule an initial consultation, speak with a trusted member of our team when you call (770) 516-7477 or contact us online today!
Find Relief With Optimum’s Lower Back Pain Treatment
The lumbar region is an easily inflamed section of the back that begins just below the rib cage and extends down to the sacral spine (coccyx). This sensitive area is prone to aches and pain because of how heavily the human body relies on its lower back for support.
Lumbar pain is the leading cause of disability in the world, affecting 619 million people on average at any given time.
Even though lower back pain is often persistent and intense, it likely has an underlying cause that can be addressed. Most lumbar pain is due to overworking the muscles and tendons in the area or bad posture that compresses the vertebrae.
Thankfully, these conditions are reversible with the right treatment, like physical rehabilitation and chiropractic care. Working with a pain specialist at Optimum Health can help you find long-lasting relief because our care providers aim to tackle the root of the problem instead of solving the symptoms.
At Optimum Health, our specialists can provide comprehensive treatment with a wide range of services including:
- Chiropractic care: Some lower back pain issues are caused or intensified by tension along the spine. This is especially true in cases of injury or overuse. Manual adjustments can restore proper alignment and address underlying imbalances that contribute to pain, stiffness, and lack of mobility.
- Physical Rehabilitative Therapy: A physical rehabilitation plan can be very important for addressing some of the root causes of back pain while preventing further issues in the future. Stretching and light exercise introduce blood flow to the affected region while strengthening supporting muscle groups and often correcting issues like misaligned posture.
- Trigger point injections: A trigger point refers to tense myofascial tissue, and in cases where the tight, knotted area cannot be simply massaged away, trigger point injections can help release tension. A local anesthetic combined with a steroid medicine can ‘trigger’ muscles to relax and release tightness.
- Regenerative therapy: Treatment methods like Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) injections work by extracting plasma from the patient’s own blood and injecting that into a targeted pain point.
How to Quickly Relieve Back Pain?
Lower back pain can feel different to everyone, but the common denominator is how debilitating it is when a spurt of pain develops. Sometimes, a temporary solution is what you need to get through your day, and many are easily accessible.
However, it is important to remember that fast-acting pain relief methods will not work forever, and most people grow a tolerance to topical treatments after just a few weeks. In some cases, you may simply introduce correct posture over an extended period to provide quick pain relief.
The lumbar region is incredibly sensitive because of how much pressure is applied to the area when sitting, standing, or doing practically any activity. Keeping a conscious tab on how you treat the area can make a significant difference.
As lumbar pain suddenly develops, keep these tips in mind to promote temporary quick relief:
- Move around: Staying in the same position for too long can compress the vertebrae in your spine and tighten muscles. While putting pressure on an aching body part may seem backward, getting your body moving can do wonders for mild to moderate lumbar pain. Stretching the area, light walks, and even classes like yoga can promote strength and mobility in the lumbar region.
- Hot and cold treatments: A hot or cold compress can help soothe lower back pain, depending on what kind of discomfort you are feeling. Pain created by overworking the area can be treated with a hot compress, shower, or soak. This works by releasing tension in the muscles. Cold compresses are beneficial for injury-related pain, as the cold will stop swelling and inflammation.
- Pain-relief products: From pills to gels to patches, your local drugstore should have a wide array of options for temporary pain relief. If you prefer topical products like lidocaine patches and muscle-relaxing creams, these products should be used sparingly because sufferers tend to grow a tolerance fast. Pain pills have the same problem but can be used to aid with inflammation all over the body instead of focusing on a targeted area.
- Keep lumbar region supported: Sitting with poor posture can negatively affect the lumbar region and cause compression in the vertebrae. In order to prevent long-lasting lower back pain, sit with the lumbar region supported by a cushion or soft desk chair.
Note that these forms of relief may not provide the needed long-term solution to the root causes of your back pain. Further, intense back pain should be investigated by a medical professional, as it may be the result of referred pain from organs like kidneys or direct damage to the spinal cord.
What Is Causing My Ongoing Lower Back Pain?
Back pain can feel almost unavoidable, especially when roughly 85% of people will experience this type of pain at one point. In some cases, lower back pain is brought on by lifestyle choices or genetics, but it can also be related to simple factors like age.
- While there are an endless number of causes for ongoing back pain, some are more commonly reported and treated than others. Some of the most common risk factors for persistent lower back pain include:
- Age: People over 60 have an increased risk of lower back pain. Degenerative conditions like types of arthritis become more common with age, and one of the top areas for degenerative pain is the lower back because of the changes to the spine. As humans age, the space between each vertebra shrinks, and with deteriorating discs to cushion said space, tightness, and pain can quickly develop.
- Weight: Carrying extra weight can put additional pressure on the sacral spine, compressing the vertebrae, stiffening muscles, and even restricting proper blood flow. Daily exercise and maintaining a proper weight for your height and build can help prevent early-onset lumbar pain.
- Career field: Many jobs are physically demanding and require heavy lifting, repeated movements, or other support from the lower back in order to complete tasks. These movements wear down the cushioning discs that lubricate the space between each vertebrae, causing compression and muscle tension. Those in physically demanding careers should spend a few minutes before and after work on stretches and static positions that help their spine and back muscles decompress.
- Lifestyle habits: Smoking, drinking, and avoiding physical activity are all bad habits that can affect your spine, leading to intense lower back pain. Smoking and drinking are linked to restricted blood flow and degenerative conditions. A sedentary lifestyle is not what the body expects, and a lack of physical activity can hurt the body just as badly as too much physical activity.
- Family history: Many degenerative conditions can be genetic, so ask your older family members about where they experience the most pain for reference. Taking this step at a young age can help you get ahead when you utilize preventative care measures.
- Mental illness: Depression and anxiety are linked to back pain because of how mental state can create physical strain by virtue of reduced activity, slumped posture, poor nutrition, and other factors. Certain mental conditions can even block pain, which may be why a person only experiences intense pain at some points throughout the day.
Work With Optimum Health Rehabilitation For Comprehensive Lower Back Pain Treatment
Managing the long-lasting impacts of lumbar pain can be exhausting and inhibiting for the sufferer, making simple everyday activities difficult. Instead of conforming to the pain, you can get your life back with chiropractic rehabilitation.
Your Woodstock lower back pain specialist is standing by to personalize a treatment plan for your unique pain. The team at Optimum Health is committed to the wellness of each and every patient that we work with, utilizing top-of-the-line pain relief methods that actively target the cause of your pain — instead of simply dulling the symptoms.
To get in touch with a member of our team, call (770) 516-7477 or contact us online today!