Lower Back Pain? [5] Self-Care Tips You Can Try at Home

Lower back pain is almost frequently common; it may be due to minor or major injuries or resulting from certain diseases. According to the causes, it may be mild low back pain or chronic low back pain.
Mild low back pain is an acute condition and may be relieved within few days, while the case of chronic low back pain is severe which may last for months and need to do surgery.

In this article, we will look at the mild lower back pain, its causes and the self-care methods you can try at home to relieve it.

The causes of lower back pain

You can feel mild pain at lower back just after lifting heavy objects, or sitting at the wrong position, or doing sudden movements, or have an injury at muscles or ligaments. You can manage the mild lower back pain at the first 72 hours by some self-care methods at home. If the pain doesn't relief after 72 hours by the home care and treatment, you should see your physician to diagnosis the condition and decide the treatment plan by physiotherapy, or other alternative methods of treatment such as thermalism hydrotherapy, thalassotherapy, stone therapy, thermal pool, and water massage, or by using medications.

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So, if you wake up in the morning and feel low back pain, don't worry, it is very common and you aren't alone suffering from lower back pain, you can often manage it by yourself and most cases suffering from acute or mild pain at low back are resolved on their own within few days without physician's intervention.
Here are the self-care tips to try at home to manage and improve mild low back pain.

5 Self-care tipss you can try at home to improve mild or acute low back pain

First : Rest!

You should rest on your back at the first 48 hours after you feel the pain in your lower back, but be careful to not rest all the time or for long periodes, that isn't recommended and the pain becomes even worse sometimes. You can lie on the back on the side and bent the knees. You should raise your activity slowly and step by step after resting for 48 hours, these movements can contribute to the treatment of mild low back pain and relieve stiffness.

Second : Cooling

Cooling the lower back by ice can help in relieving the pain. It acts by reducing the volume of blood vessels and thus reducing the flow of the blood to the back area, so minimising the pain feeling. Take care during cooling because it may be painful at first, but it relieves the deep pain at the lower back. For cooling, you can simply use a plastic bag and fill it with ice from the refrigerator or buy ready-made ice then place it on the painful area at your back.

Third : Heating

Heating the lower back is very useful for relieving the pain. It enlarges the volume of blood vessels, increasing the supply of oxygen to the back area, so as to reduce muscle spasm and the pain feeling. The painful area can be heated in several ways, by using a heating pad or one used heat wrap. Heating may be better than cooling, but both cooling and heating can relieve the lower back pain. Also, they are easy to apply at home.

Fourth : Physical Activity!

Physical activity is the way to maintain mobility for people suffering from lower back pain. A moderate exercise program contributes to improve the pain in the back area and protects from developing mild pain to severe pain. In fact, these exercises increase the distance between the vertebrae and thus relieve stress on the nerves. Also, they tight your back muscles and strengthens the abdominal muscles.
Here are some physical activities that can help you in relieving the low back pain:

- Tightening exercises aim to relieve stiffness and increase the range of motion.
- Aerobic exercise is a very good way to improve general fitness.
- Bending to backward exercises such as lifting the feet, may reduce the back pain considerably and prevent may the stretching of back pain to other areas of the body.

If you don't know how to apply physical activity, you can consult your physiotherapist, but you must stop the moderate exercise program when you feel severe lower back pain.

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Fifth : Pain Relievers

You can take pain relievers to improve your lower back pain; the painkillers are effective in relieving the mild condition of low back pain. Also, you can use creams and gels or specific oils that applied externally in the painful area for massage and to reduce low back pain. Don't use these for more than three days. If there isn't any improvement in relieving the mild pain of the lower back, you should stop using the pain relievers and see your doctor for diagnosis and more investigations.
Finally, visiting the doctor is necessary in these cases:
- If you apply the self-care methods and the mild lower back pain doesn't relieve within 72 hours
- If the pain becomes severe and you can't do your daily activities.
- If the pain expands from the lower back to the legs and below the knee.

how to relieve lower back pain

Your physician will decide other ways to relieve the lower back pain according to the condition and the degree of the pain; he may advise you with the best treatment plan and you may be in need to physiotherapy, thermalism hydrotherapy, thalassotherapy, stone therapy, thermal pool, or water massage to improve your low back pain. These therapies should be done by specialists and at treatment centers for lower back disorders and pain. They are effective in reducing and improving lower back pain without medications and surgeries.

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