There once was a time where the doctor would “prescribe” bed rest for low back pain. The school of thought was if you allowed your back to rest, it would heal. There is truth to “resting” your back, aka not stressing it by sitting too long, standing too long, laying down too long or working it too much. But, true bed rest will actually do more harm than good.

In small doses, bed rest can give you a break when standing or sitting causes severe pain. Too much may make back pain worse and cause stiffness. Limit the time you are lying down to a few hours at a time and for no longer than a day or two. While your back may feel a little better in the short term, too much time in bed can trigger other problems. Muscles lose conditioning and tone, and you can even develop digestive issues such as constipation. Depression and an increased sense of physical weakness is common among people confined to bed.

What to do for low back pain?

Low back pain is one of the most common reasons for someone to go to the doctor. There is an estimated 31 million people that have low back pain at any given time. For every pound you lift you puts 10 pounds of pressure on your low back. So imagine lifting a 10 pound bag of sugar and twisting, you are putting 100 pounds of pressure along with a rotational force on your low back.

1. Make sure you are not putting rotation or twisting in your back when you should be moving your legs and feet! Twisting is usually when people notice the back pain start.
2. Use ice!! 30 minutes every hour. The idea is to decrease inflammation in the low back. When you have swelling and inflammation, you have pain.
3. Motion. Motion in a joint is a good thing! Staying still will make you stiff and cause muscle pain.
4. Don’t lift by bending over. Instead, bend your hips and knees and then squat to pick up the object. Keep your back straight, and hold the object close to your body.
5. Push, rather than pull, when you must move heavy objects. 
6. Wear flat shoes or shoes with low heels.
7. Exercise and stretch regularly. An inactive lifestyle contributes to lower-back pain.
8. Get adjusted! Chiropractors are very effective at treating low back pain (along with many many other issues).

Won’t it go away on its own?

Until recently, researchers believed that back pain will “heal” on its own, however, that is not true. A recent study showed that when back pain is not treated, it may go away temporarily, most likely will return. The study demonstrated that in more than 33% of the people who experience low-back pain, the pain lasts for more than 30 days. Only 9% of the people who had low-back pain for more than 30 days were pain free 5 years later.

Another study looked at all of the available research on the natural history of low-back pain. The results showed that when it is ignored, back pain does not go away on its own. Back pain may lessen over time, but often will return worse the next time it appears. Typically the next time you experience low back pain it will also involve radiation to other parts of the body (typically lower back, butt and legs).

Chiropractic

Chiropractic helps both muscle and bones. Ask your chiropractor which stretches or exercises they feel is best to suit your condition. Depending on how long you have had the condition will determine how long it will take to recover.

Remember chiropractic isn’t a one visit fix. NOTHING is. If the medical doctor gives you a muscle relaxer or pain pill, don’t you take one (or multiple) every day? Chiropractic helps fix the problem, not put a bandaid over the problem.

For questions if chiropractic can help you, give us or a chiropractor near you a call! Chiropractic can help alleviate pain as well as help you from future injury and disease.

~Dr. Lacey~
Carder Chiropractic Clinic, INC.
El Reno, OK 73036