When faced with back pain, you might think about getting corrective surgery; however, you don’t have to go for surgery when you have chronic pain. The pain expert you choose should guide you on the best way to manage chronic pain. For instance, if you choose one specializing in Progressive Spine & Sports Medicine, they will guide you on the treatment options at your disposal.
Maintain a Healthy Weight
Extra weight that comes from obesity and being overweight exerts pressure on the backbone, leading to strain on the spinal cord’s muscles, vertebrae, and tendons. Intentional weight loss can be difficult to achieve unless you commit to an effective exercise and diet routine, when you lose weight, you prevent health conditions from getting worse. It might prevent the need for pain medication and reduce the possibility of undergoing surgery in the long run. If you are obese, a physician can help develop an exercise program that helps you lose weight healthily. You can start with low-intensity physical activities and increase the intensity once your body gets used to the exercise routine. You can benefit from the physical activities as they restrain your posture, tests your pain tolerance limit, stretches and improves flexibility, and builds core strength.
Practice Meditation
Although much of chronic pain is attributed to physical straining, it can be caused by emotional strain. To deal with the chronic pain associated with emotional strain, you can opt for rehabilitation and meditation. Cognitive relaxation strategies like tai chi and yoga can keep your mind distracted from chronic pain.
Dietary Changes
Food, especially trans-fats, could cause chronic back pain as they are likely to cause inflammation. It is wise to stay away from food with trans-fats, those with highly refined sugar, and refined food. You can ask for recommendations on dietary changes and inform your doctor about the food you eat to isolate those that contribute to the pain.
Lifestyle Modification
Your body has physical limitations, and the faster you accept these limitations, the faster you cure chronic back pain. At the onset of pain, you can avoid strenuous activities such as making several trips carrying heavy groceries and operating heavy machinery. Isolating the activities that cause pain can take some time to monitor your pain from undertaking regular activities over time.
Choose Nerve Blocking Injections
Instead of going for pain-relieving surgery, you can opt for injection treatments such as epidural, administered directly on the painful area. An epidural injection works well if you know the cause of the pain, helping to reduce the pain. However, you should not make it a long-term solution as it can result in muscle deterioration, talk with a spine specialist before opting for an epidural.
The Bottom Line
Although there is the temptation to surgically reduce chronic back pain, it should not be the first solution to your health issue. First, you can opt for non-surgical means of back pain relief such as weight loss, physical therapy, and epidural injections. These pain-relief methods have the least amount of side effects and can improve posture, range of movement, and improve the quality of your life.
