Back pains are part of our lives. Be it from your working posture, lifting heavy weights or simply stretching to pick up a fallen object, these activities can result in back injury. Many a time, this pain will be persistent for a short while and disappear on its own. However, if you experience chronic back pain, you may consider changing your lifestyle. Adapting healthy habits and working body posture will help avert back pain and prevent future complicated back problems from developing.
Mostly, back pain will be easier to relieve before you go to sleep. However, without a certified back pain relief strategy, it is more often than not a process of trial and error. After trying, you finally find a remedy for your back pain. The following tips will help you relieve back pain before you sleep.
Take a hot bath. Take a hot bath before sleeping. Hot baths help soothe back muscles and ease back aches and pains. Bathing relaxes the muscles and helps you exercise. A long bath, preferably two or three hours before you sleep will enable you to fall asleep in a short while after you go to bed. For maxed relaxation, incorporate a bath cushion in your bathroom tub. This will support your back while you bathe.
Take a walk. After a long day seated at your desk in the office, you should take a walk. Contrary to what you may think, resting will only worsen your back pain. Walking will relieve your back pain by increasing the stability of the spin. It will also increase the range of your motions thus protecting you from future back pain. This should, however, be limited to 5 minutes for beginners thus don’t push yourself too hard.
Use heat therapy. This is a tried and tested method of relieving back pain. There are two types of heat therapy: cold and warm therapy. Cold therapy should be applied as the first treatment when you suffer a back injury. The cold therapy uses ice and is applied in the first 24-72 hours after the injury. Cold therapy minimizes back swells and inflammation thus reducing back pain. Ice will also numb sore tissues and decrease tissue damage. The warm therapy uses application of heat to stimulate blood circulation in your back. Heat to be used in this procedure should not be hot to burn. You should be comfortable with it Warm therapy is applied after cold therapy has cured swelling and inflammation. Maintain a comfortable posture. Back pain may result from simple weight lifting. This can be accelerated by a bad posture to a chronic back pain.
Maintaining a good posture when carrying out your day to day activities will reduce back pain even if an injury has been sustained. The right curvature in the back is therefore vital in relieving back pain. Improve your flexibility. Too much tension in your body can increase chances of back injuries. Increasing flexibility in your body will distribute loading equally through your body. Before you sleep, sit on the bed edge with one foot extended and the other one on the floor. You can then stretch your hamstrings by leaning forward and maintaining your back in a neutral position. This exercise will help you relieve back pain.
Change your sleeping style. Before you sleep, you can adjust your bed in case you have an adjustable one This will help you sleep in a reclining position which reduces stress on your paining back. Soft mattresses are also known to push your back out of alignment as you sleep. Ditch that soft mattress and choose a medium or firm one for your back pain relief.
With the above tips, you can live a healthy backache free life. These will also help you avert complications such as chronic back pain. Try these tips before you sleep and be assured of back pain relief.