It’s one of those pains you dread as soon as you feel it! When it does happen, the only thing you can do is ice, heat, and keep your fingers crossed that the pain will be gone by the morning.

Back pain is no joke and it can be as minor as a tweak or as serious as micro fractures, herniated discs, or even degenerative discs. Most people that have back injuries allow their backs to go untreated for weeks. By the time they decide to treat the injury, who knows what damage could have been prevented?

A good amount of back injuries can be treated without surgery. That said, you should still take every back pain seriously. At the onset of a back injury/pain, you should begin with some icing. Even though the National Institute of Health states there is no scientific research to back icing, they too recommend icing the injury/pain several times a day.

The icing actually promotes new blood flow to the site, and with this new blood comes fresh oxygen and nutrients that will expedite the healing process. After about a week of icing, if the pain still persists, use a warm heating pad.

The heating pad will aid in muscle relaxation and increase blood flow to that area. During this time, you do not want bed rest for any longer than two days. The best advice is to maintain some form of movement. Studies have actually shown people who continue to move instead of bed rest tend to have more flexibility.

Back injuries sometimes can be prevented while other times it’s a fluke occurrence. Some preventative measures that can be taken are the use of proper techniques when lifting. Taking that extra time when lifting an object is worth preventing pain in the end.

Also, try to minimize any jolting or quick movements. These are very easy ways to incur a back injury. To keep that back healthy and strong, you should never slouch. This can cause rounding of the back. In addition, make sure when you sleep it’s on your side; it will prevent any curvatures of the back. Lastly, if you smoke, stop!! Smoking can cause disc degeneration.

KEEP THAT BACK HEALTHY! Until next time….

-Phil