Relieve Back Pain Without Drugs

Are you plagued with back pain? Are you the Weekend Warrior who wakes up on Monday morning with back pain or tightness? Would you rather avoid costly and sometimes dangerous prescription drugs? Try these remedies to help with your back pain courtesy:wikihow.com.







Caution: Make sure your back pain is not from a major injury like a fall or a car crash. Check with your physician to rule out spinal trauma or ruptured disc. These injuries will almost always require rehabilitation.



Start your recovery from back pain--after you are sure that there is no major trauma--with simple basic exercises. The best and most beneficial recovery exercise for any back pain is to get out of bed or off the couch and start walking. Inactivity is clinically proven to make back pain worse! Begin your recovery program (ideally) with 30 minutes of daily walking.



Learn stretching for lower back pain or learn yoga to help align the joints of your body. Incorporating a daily stretching and yoga practice may help to relieve back pain. Stretching and yoga (for people in pain) are best learned from a physical therapist or yoga therapist.



Study tai chi to learn how to protect the spine by keeping it in an neutral position while pushing, pulling and lifting.



Practice relaxation and meditation every day. Numerous medical studies have shown that much back pain is caused by tightness due to mental stress! Practicing meditation allows you to relax the mind and the body and release tension that can tighten the back--causing pain.



Develop a daily resistance training program on a machine (or weight lifting) to improve your core (back and abdominal muscles). Before you begin and unless you are an experienced athlete, seek the advice of a certified personal trainer before you begin your resistance training program. Resistance training allows you to develop weak muscles that can cause your back to be misaligned. Using resistance training is extremely beneficial for the development of a strong torso (body core) and for relieving back pain. One of the best tools in resistance training is using a core ball during your workouts.



Improve your posture ! It really helps to always have your back straight. By this, I don't mean putting your back into uncomfortable or weird positions (this only worsens your back!) but learn how to have good posture all the time--whether you're standing, sitting, or even sleeping!



Change your outlook on life. Many times depression and loneliness can cause tension and back pain. Getting out of your normal daily routine is the trick to relieving back pain. Try volunteering one day a week for your favorite charity to change your routine. Call a local senior citizens home and ask if you can visit a couple of times a month to help out. Get involved with your local community and seek out ways to help the community. Call your local hospital and ask how you can help out. Getting involved and helping other people is a great way to develop friends and get your mind off of your problems.



Get a dog! Getting a pet has two benefits for relieving back pain. First, it has been medically proven that owning a pet can lower blood pressure and relieve tension. Second, having a dog means you might need to get outside and walk Fido. Dog owners tend to spend more time outdoors and receive more exercise. So grab that leash and go for a long walk.



Swim like a fish ! Swimming is one of the best workouts you can do for a bad back. Not only does it open up stiff and sore muscles but your heart gets a great aerobic workout too. Go to your local YMCA or health club and jump in and swim. If you can’t swim sign up for lessons. You will be swimming like a fish in no time!



Get a massage --it can help--but be sure you tell the massage technician about your touchy area of back pain, and what causes it to flare up.



If you have a sedentary job that requires you to sit on the desk for long hours, take breaks through the day to stretch yourself. Raise your hands over your head and stand on your toes. Then allow yourself to fall. Sitting long hours does not allow enough fluid movement in and out of your disc (ever noticed how you are just a bit taller in the mornings than after a long day? The "water" in the discs between your vertebra oozes out by the end of the day. Allow it to be reabsorbed by stretching and extending)



Spot jogging also helps.



Another simple exercise to strengthen your back muscles would be lie on a mattress (not soft), bend your legs at the hips and knees and flatten your back. Hold for a count of 10 and release. Do this 5-8 times.



* Stop immediately if you have any numbness or unexplained weakness and go to your physical therapist or doctor.



* Get a physical therapists or doctors approval before you begin a back pain recovery program.



* Never attempt to do resistance training on your own or without the supervision of a physical therapist or certified personal trainer.

Calm Your Imagination Before Sleep

Having an active and creative imagination is a great gift. However, at night it is sometimes not so great; it can be quite miserable. However, do not despair, as there are ways of dealing with this problem.

In other cases, you may lie awake because you cannot stop thinking about a personal problem, such as trouble at work or an argument you had with a good friend etc..courtesy:wikihow







The most traditional way of dealing with an over-active mind late at night is to count something. Sheep are very popular for this purpose, but most things will do. The logic behind this approach is that it bores you into falling asleep. Thus boring things (such as sheep) are better.



A second method is to focus on one, boring thing, with the purpose of stopping your mind from running so fast. This requires more practice, as your imagination may not be pleased with this. It is particularly useful to focus on something that is far away from your head, such as the tiniest toe on your left foot. Try to feel your toe, and think only about the toe. If you slip up, return to the toe.



Another thing to focus on, is to imagine you are riding a bike. Imagine a particular route in your neighbourhood that you frequently walk, drive, or bike (for example from your house to your work or the city center). Imagine you are biking along this road, and imagine it in exacly the same pace as it would take if you were actually on a bike. While you are "biking", have a look around and imagine all the streets, houses, shops, and other things that you pass along the road. This is a very tiring thing to do for your mind, and you may not get further than a hundred meters the first times you try (because you start thinking about other things or fall asleep). With some practice, you will be able to cover greater distances.



Another great way is to imagine you've won a million dollars, then imagine you're spending it. Calculating how much you'd need to get that boat, dream house, charitable contributions, new wardrobe, etc., can be fun.



It is also possible to try to calm down your mind before going to sleep. Doing a crossword puzzle, sudoku, or reading a little may calm your mind down so that you fall easily asleep. Note: for some people this has the opposite effect, making them more awake, especially if you are reading an extremely exciting book. One of the best choices for this type of bedtime reading is an exciting book that you've read before where you know the ending. The cliff hangers have less impact but the story is just as engaging and just as far from your own worries as it ever was. Trust yourself to know which genre keeps you awake and which one puts you to sleep. Some people read Stephen King to get to sleep well - but it's still often better to enjoy a King reread than to dive into a new one where you don't know how it comes out yet.



Instead of focusing on your mind, you may wish to focus on your body. Doing some exercises (such as running) earlier in the evening, or some yoga right before you go to bed will make your body sleepier. Some people have problems sleeping after running, however.



Take up meditation, and practice before you go to sleep. Meditation calms the mind, and some types of meditation teach you how to clear your mind completely.



Try creating a very detailed story to yourself, something that interests you. You will fall asleep far before you come to the end of the story.



Concentrate on each breath you take. Breathe more slowly, and enjoy each breath, concentrating on how good it feels to be able to breathe. When you slow your breathing, this tends to slow your heart rate as well, which ultimately calms you down.



Clear your head of all thoughts, focus on how good it feels to have your mind completely empty. if a thought comes into your mind, refocus, and just relax



Clear your head by 'throwing away' the thoughts that keep you awake. Imagine a garbage bag. Lift up the predominant thought that keeps you awake from your head, and imagine you put it in the bag. Now that this thought is out of your head, you can notice a previous thought popping up in your head. Throw this in the bag as well. Keep doing this until your head feels clear of thoughts. Then, tie up the bag and throw the bag as far away as you can imagine. You have now let go of the things that keep you awake, and you are ready to start falling asleep.



Eat a small snack and drink some warm milk. Having some food in your stomach can help to keep you from thinking about hunger. This doesn't mean that you should pig out, but eat a banana or some warm bread, but nothing salty. This will make you thirsty and keep you awake.



Keep a water bottle by your bed, and take a sip whenever you are thirsty.



Concentrate on your favorite activity (baseball, a cartoon, eg.) and put yourself "in the game".



Some people have the strange but amazing ability to use a 'backup dream.' What is that? It's a dream that has been repeatedly tested and proven to lull them into sleep. What's yours? Try imagining something like that, where you change one of your flaws using magical powers or something. Don't be afraid to experiment.



Imagine being able to change anything about you (eyes, superpowers, hair etc...) Imagine what you would do if you could do anything.



Go through the alphabet and think of items in a single category, a to z. Animals, Aardvark, Bumble Bee, Crayfish, Dog, etc.



Slowly paralyze yourself starting from your toes, working slowly until you are all the way up to your head. Usually you will be asleep by then. If not, try it again and go slower. If you have an itch, try to ignore it or just start over.