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Health and Fitness > Medicine > Chronic Low Back Pain, Cost Effective Back Pain Relief, and Emergency Back Pain Relief
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Article rating : 0.00, 0 votes. Author : Stephen M. Seabrook
Classifications of chronic low back pain. Chronic! I really hate that word. It implies that something is going to last forever, doesn't it? Well, not really when you are talking about back pain, it just seems like forever.
Lower back pain is classified as:
* Acute: This means the pain has just started and hasn't been present for more than 6 weeks.
* Sub-Acute: This means the pain has been around for 6-12 weeks, but no longer than 12 weeks.
* Chronic: This means the pain has been there for more than 12 weeks.
Six weeks of back pain can certainly seem like a lifetime of pain; yet, 12 weeks seems like several lifetimes of pain. When your lower back hurts you pretty much hurt all over and you are certainly limited in your activities. Simple activities that you have always done like sitting down, getting up, walking across a room, and tying your own shoelaces are now events that you barely accomplish and never complete without experiencing excruciating pain.
Chronic lower back pain will likely require not only manipulation by a chiropractor; but, also rehabilitation that will include massage as well as active and passive exercises to rebuild muscles. Pain just naturally causes us to quit using the muscles that cause the pain to happen. So, you simply avoid it almost without thinking about it.
When muscles are not used for a period of 12 weeks or more, they begin to atrophy (lose strength and flexibility). The muscles will need exercise and help to recover strength as the pain is relieved. Lower back pain is a very unpleasant experience. Chronic lower back pain is an even worse experience. The best thing to do when you begin to have back pain is to seek treatment as soon as possible and not wait for the pain to become chronic.
Cost-Effective Back Pain Relief
Let's face it. All of us just simply do not have the financial resources to run all over looking for relief. Money IS an object for many people who suffer from back pain.
Most back pain is caused by muscle strain. Not all back pain is caused by muscle strain, but most of it is. The body will simply take care of the problem given the opportunity and once the muscle that has been strained has healed, the pain goes away all by itself.
But the time between the muscle strain happening and the muscle healing can be a few days of pure misery. The things that you can do to relieve the misery of back pain don't have to be expensive.
1. Take an over-the-counter analgesic like aspirin or Tylenol. The free version is to peel some bark off the white willow tree, boil it, strain it, and drink the tea.
2. Rub a topical analgesic on your back. The free way is to alternate heat and cold on the pain. First, use ice to help reduce swelling for about five minutes. Then use heat to promote blood circulation for about five minutes.
3. Take a bath in warm water that has had a cup or two of Epson salt added to it. There isn't a free version, but Epson salt is very inexpensive. Your body will absorb magnesium from the Epson salt and magnesium is a natural muscle relaxant.
4. This one is absolutely free. Lie on your back and lift one leg toward your chest. Catch your leg underneath the knee and draw it as far toward your chest as you can. Repeat the exercise with the other leg and alternate between legs, repeating about 10 times for each leg.
Emergency Back Pain Relief
Are you a sports fan? Do you watch football, baseball, or basketball on the tube?
When a player gets injured during a game whether it's a knee, an ankle or a back injury, what is the very first thing that the trainers do for the player? In a single word...ICE! They apply ice to the injury as quickly as possible.
Do you know why trainers want to get ice on an injury so quickly? It's because ice prevents swelling. Swelling only adds to the problem and the more swelling that can be prevented the quicker the injury will heal.
Back strains happen. They can happen anywhere, anytime, and to anybody. A back strain can happen when a person leans over to pick up a small object off of the floor or when they bend from the waist and lift a heavier object. The first measure that should be taken when a back strain happens is that ice should be applied as soon as possible after the strain occurs.
Another thing that you see when players are injured while playing sports is the trainers helping them to stretch on the sidelines. Many of these professional sports trainers are chiropractors. They know how to stretch muscles to provide immediate pain relief. You should never try to use stretching techniques on an injured person yourself. The best thing to do is to get them to a chiropractor as soon as possible.
Here we are only talking about minor back injuries, of course. We aren't talking about serious injuries like those that could be sustained in diving accidents. These kinds of injuries require immediate professional care. You should never attempt to administer any kind of first aid unless you are trained to do so when injuries are serious and life-threatening. You could well do more harm than good.
Stephen M. Seabrook, MBA
President, Nice Specialty Gifts, L.L.C.
http://www.nicespecialtygifts4u.com
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