How to Get Permanent Lower Back Pain Relief
A lot of people want to know how they can get lower back pain relief. If you’re like many of the patients I’ve worked with, you feel like you’ve tried everything but are still going through the revolving door of the medical community, trying to find lower back pain relief.
There are a lot of ways to get temporary lower back pain relief. However, to me…temporary relief should not be our goal. After all, research shows that most people will get temporary relief from an acute back pain episode simply by doing nothing. Unfortunately, research also shows that 75% of people have a recurrence of lower back pain within 6-12 months of their initial episode if they do nothing to intervene. Research also shows that each recurring episode of low back pain tends to become more painful and debilitating.
So, I think our focus needs to shift from getting temporary back pain relief…to getting permanent lower back pain relief.
Most Common Causes of Lower Back Pain
Before we discuss how to get permanent lower back pain relief, I want to make sure you understand what causes most cases of back pain. This will give you greater insight as to why many of the so-called back pain cures out there today aren’t successful in giving lasting results.
There are a number of causes of lower back pain, but the majority of cases of back pain are mechanical in nature. That means they are caused from things like muscle imbalances, poor posture and movement patterns, and weak core stabilizers. Since all of these are physical problems, it only makes sense that treating back pain effectively requires an approach that will address each of these areas.
Most Effective Ways to Get Lower Back Pain Relief
Eliminating lower back pain takes a comprehensive approach. You can’t focus on treating the pain itself. Instead, you have to treat the main factors that cause back pain. Here are a few areas that have to be addressed to effectively treat lower back pain.
- Learn to Function in Neutral Spine – Neutral spine is the position where your discs and ligaments are at their most relaxed state and your spine functions best. To have a healthy back, you have to learn to find, hold, and function in your neutral spine during all your daily activities. To learn more about this concept, go to:
- Stretch Regularly – Since one of the main causes of lower back pain is muscle imbalance, participating in regular flexibility exercises is vital for your recovery process. For some key stretches to incorporate into your program, read the article I wrote on this web-site on “Back Pain Stretches.”
- Lumbar Stabilization Exercises – target your “core” stabilizers, which consist of your abdominal muscles, gluteus muscles, and some deep muscle groups in your spine, legs, and hips. To get detailed instruction on which lumbar stabilization exercises to start with, check out Chapter 8 in my book, 7 Secrets to Eliminating Back Pain.
- Postural Retraining – Learning to sit, stand, and move in good posture is a critical component to treating back pain effectively. I’ve written a number of articles and “shot” a number of videos on how to improve your posture. To learn more about proper posture, check out the articles I’ve written on posture in other pages of this web-site.
- Learn to Move Properly – Moving properly throughout your daily activities is vital to decreasing unnecessary stresses on your lower back. Since activities such as bending/lifting with poor body mechanics can increase the stress on your discs by 150%, it is critical you learn to perform all your daily activities in neutral spine with your core stabilizers engaged!
Lower Back Pain Relief Can Be Permanent
Since each of these topics is literally a book in and of itself, I wanted to briefly introduce these to you and get you in the mind set of what needs to be addressed to get lasting lower back pain relief. Treating back pain effectively requires a comprehensive approach. It is not something you treat with a few medications or a miracle rub-on cream!
I want to empower you to begin your recovery process today. Eliminating back pain is not difficult; it just takes a commitment to changing your habits and perseverance to stick with it. At The Back University, you can learn the “secrets” to eliminating back pain safely and effectively, how to get lower back pain relief, and get back to doing the things you love!