Lower Back Hurt All The Time? Two Tips To Help You Feel Better
Posted on: 13 February 2017
If your lower back hurts all the time, the first thing you should do is see a doctor. They can determine why you are having pain, which could be a muscle strain due to injury or sciatica. Fortunately, there are different things that can help you feel better, two of which are listed below.
See a Physical Therapist
A physical therapist can help you with your lower back pain in many ways. One thing that works well is physiotherapy, which helps increase your function and decrease your pain. They also will show you ways you can prevent this problem from happening again.
The first thing a physiotherapist will do is to treat the pain, which is known as passive physiotherapy. The therapist may use heat and ice packs, a TENS unit, ultrasound, and iontophoresis. Heat and ice is commonly used to help with muscle spasms. With a TENS unit, electrodes are attached to your skin and when the unit is turned on electrical impulses go through the electrodes and into your muscles, which overrides the pain signs that are sent to your brain.
With ultrasound, the physical therapist applies sound waves to your skin that penetrate the soft tissues in the lower back.
The physical therapist will also do active therapy. With this they will teach you different exercises and stretches that you can do at home to help strengthen the muscles in your back and stabilize your lumbar region. It is important that you learn how to do these exercises correctly and that you follow your physical therapist's orders in how often and how long you should do them.
Use an Ergonomic Chair
If you sit at a desk all day, your chair may be causing or exacerbating your back pain. Fortunately, you can set up an ergonomically designed work space to help you. There are chairs that are made to support your lower back and make you have good posture. Make sure you can adjust the seat height on the chair that you purchase so your feet are flat on the floor when sitting in it. Make sure the chair is adjustable for your back also. Adjust it until you feel comfortable while sitting up straight. If the chair has armrests, make sure you can adjust them until your shoulders feel relaxed.
Talk with your doctor if you continue to feel pain, as they can give you other tips to help you.
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