- Physical rehabilitation and at-home workout regimen
Exercise is the key to managing chronic back pain. You should attempt it as one of your initial therapies, with the advice of your doctor and a spine physical therapist. But according to Van, not everyone responds well to the same set of workouts. Exercise plans should be tailored to your individual symptoms, level of comfort, and health. Even more crucial than the work you perform in physical therapy is continuing your exercise regimen at home; a regular schedule is essential to preserving the strength and stability of your spine.
For persistent back pain, physical treatment may consist of:
bolstering the core
Exercises for flexibility and stretches
adjusting one’s posture
Extending one’s capacity to tolerate discomfort
Aerobic exercises at a reasonable pace
- Mindfulness and Meditation
Prolonged back pain can be physically and psychologically taxing. In order to address the psychological side effects of managing chronic pain, such as depression, impatience, and frustration, you may be referred to a rehabilitation psychologist. Tai chi, yoga, meditation, and other cognitive and relaxation practices may be recommended by this expert to help you gain more conscious control over your nervous system and how it responds to stimuli.
- Modification of Diet
Some diets are quite inflammatory, especially those high in processed foods, trans fats, and refined carbohydrates. See your doctor to find out how you might modify your diet and whether it’s a factor in your persistent back pain. Back pain may be lessened by maintaining a healthy weight since it puts less strain on your spine. Referring someone to a nutrition consultant is the greatest way to get personalized advice on how to acquire more balanced foods and create eating habits that support your health goals.
- Modifications to Lifestyle
Before you ever contemplate pills or operations, there are many strategies to modify and adjust your behavior and activities that can greatly reduce chronic back pain.
Van advises, “Learn to pace yourself and listen to your body.” When performing laborious tasks, take breaks; when carrying large or many items, like groceries, make multiple trips or ask for assistance. Make a note of the things you do that make your discomfort worse and try to avoid them. while spending more time doing things you enjoy and find comfortable. This may not only relieve the pain in your back but also stop the underlying disease from getting worse. Reducing bad habits like smoking, which has been shown to exacerbate pain and impede healing, is also crucial. Before making another lifestyle adjustment, concentrate on one reasonable objective that you can do with ease and on a regular basis.
- Treatments Based on Injections
For persistent back pain, there are several injection-based treatment options available, including
trigger point injections, epidural steroid injections, nerve blocks, and nerve ablations. When the cause of the pain is identified, these treatments are taken into consideration. If a treatment does not work, they occasionally assist in ruling out specific causes. While injections can temporarily cease or diminish pain, they shouldn’t be used as a stand-alone treatment and aren’t meant to be permanent fixes. Enhancing your ability to manage pain and maximizing your engagement in consistent, low-impact activities like physical therapy and at-home workouts are the objectives of injection-based treatments.
- Alternative Medical Interventions
Nonsurgical spine therapies include electrical nerve stimulation, laser therapy, biofeedback therapy, massage, and acupuncture may be useful for treating chronic back pain. All things considered, the potential benefits of these strategies much outweigh any potential risks, making them worth looking into. Speak with your spine specialist about any possible complementary treatments.
- Medication-Based Therapies
A wide range of pharmaceuticals, including muscle relaxants, antidepressants, anti-inflammatory drugs, and oral and injectable treatments, are used to treat persistent back pain. Any drug, though, may have unfavorable side effects. Consult your physician about drug options that target the source of your pain, if known. To reduce side effects, find the lowest effective dose and only take medication for as long as it is beneficial and well-tolerated.
According to Van, “the first line of treatment for chronic back pain is not opioid medications.” Because they function to temporarily block pain signaling without addressing a pain’s underlying cause, such as inflammation, they are most beneficial in the short term for acute pain, such as that which follows a traumatic accident or surgery. In order to ensure long-term pain control, opioids should be gradually reduced after the anticipated healing period and nonopioid drugs should be optimized. Because long-term opioid usage invariably results in drug tolerance, increasing to riskier and higher dosages, physical dependency, and habit formation, it is highly stigmatized.
Only after first- and second-line painkillers have been tried and failed to provide relief should opioids be administered. It might be time to obtain a second view if you find yourself depending on opioids to get through the day and you haven’t been given many options.