Natural pain relief comes in many forms. Some of it are acupuncture, relaxation techniques, hypnosis, massage, reflexology, chiropractic manipulations and a lot more. These methods are quite well loved nowadays as they have proven to be effective and have less side effects compared to medicines with chemicals and other unknown artificial ingredients.  Some of the more widely known natural and herbal remedies for pain relief include varying dosages and combinations of Devil’s Claw, Willow Bark, the ayurvedic compound Boswellia, Chamomile, Bromelain, St. John’s Wort, Horsetail, and numerous other plant-based cures. While these herbs and alternative natural substances may have indeed possessed some therapeutic anti-inflammatory and pain relief qualities, they could not kill the pain sufficiently enough on their own. A recent research was done by the VA Medical Center at the Lovelace Medical Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, regarding one kind of a natural back pain relief that can supposedly improve muscle flexibility. The research acknowledged that heat therapy application can help relieve pain from the muscle spasm and related tightness in the lower back.  Many episodes of lower back pain result from strains and over-exertions, making tension in the muscles and soft tissues around the lower spine. As a result, this restricts proper circulation and sends pain signals to the brain. Muscle spasm in the lower back can make sensations that may range from mild discomfort to excruciating lower back pain. Heat therapy facilitates stretching the soft tissues around the spine, including muscles, connective tissue, and adhesions. Consequently, with heat therapy, there will be a decrease in stiffness as well as injury, with an increase in flexibility and overall feeling of comfort. Flexibility is very vital for a healthy back. This application can help provide lower back pain relief through several mechanisms. Heat therapy dilates the blood vessels of the muscles surrounding the lumbar spine. This process increases the flow of oxygen and nutrients to the muscles, helping to heal the hurt tissue.

Heat also stimulates the sensory receptors in the skin, which means that applying heat to the lower back will decrease transmissions of pain signals to the brain and partially relieve the discomfort. There are several other significant benefits of this kind of natural back pain relief that make it so appealing. Compared to most therapies, heat therapy is quite inexpensive and in many circumstances it’s free such as taking a hot bath. Heat therapy is also simple to do. It can be done at home while relaxing, and portable heat wraps also make it an option while at work or in the car. Although heat therapy is commonly administered with hot packs and hydrotherapy, ultrasound is also considered a form of heat therapy. Basically, hot packs heat up affected body parts by the process of conduction, hydrotherapy heats by convection, and ultrasound heats tissues as the result of the transduction of sound waves to heat. Radiant heat, small-wave diathermy, and paraffin baths are also used on occasion to heat up troublesome body regions.
For many people, especially among athletes, this natural back pain relief works best when combined with other treatment methods, such as physical therapy and exercise. Relative to most medical treatments available, heat therapy is appealing to many people as it is a non-invasive and non-pharmaceutical form of lower back pain relief.

Typically, the three most effective treatments for at home lower back pain include exercises, stretches and modalities. When properly implemented, a system of all three components can significantly decrease lower back pain as well as increase overall flexibility and strength.  In this article, we are going to introduce you to all three treatments.

First, we want to introduce modalities. Modalities include any method of therapeutic treatment.  Items considered modalities include applying heat and cold, over the counter medication, massage devices, and others.  They are therapeutic devices that help with the immediate relief of your lower back pain and potentially increase the healing process.

Two of the simplest and most common forms of modalities available at home are heat and cold.  A combination of both heat and cold should be used to gain the most effective relief from lower back pain symptoms.  Appropriately applying heat and cold to the area(s) in question will significantly decrease the pain and increase flexibility as well as the healing process.

When properly applied, heat will improve blood flow to the lower back pain area in question.  By increasing the blood flow, heat allows the affected muscle(s) to relax and become more flexible, in turn decreasing the tightness in the area in question.  Cold on the other hand will constrict or tighten the muscle(s) reducing the blood flow to that area.  By periodically removing the cold, new blood circulates to the muscle(s) in question making a better environment for that area of trauma to heal.  In addition, cold will help reduce swelling as well as reduce the pain in the affected area(s).

The following are two simple methods for at home lower back pain relief with regards to heat and cold application.

1. For Heat – Place uncooked rice in a sock and place it in the microwave for 10-15 seconds or until the desired heat is bought.
2. For cold, try using a bag of frozen peas or make a homemade ice pack by placing ice in a plastic bag.

These two simple at home modality applications will certainly help with reducing your pain, increasing flexibility and as well as assisting the healing process.

On a side note, please use caution when entertaining various other modalities such as laser treatments, electric shock and other modalities.  They can be detrimental to both your health as well as to your pocket.  Keep in mind that to relieve lower back pain symptoms, you really don’t have to spend money.  You have everything you need at home.

The second effective treatment for at home lower back pain relief is strengthening exercise.  Strengthening exercise is vital to lower back pain recovery.  It is very vital to know exactly what strengthening exercises to do as there are specific exercises for specific lower back pain symptoms.  Our goal is to coach you along the way so you have the appropriate mechanics to stop the lower back pain at its core.

For example, as an analogy, anyone can throw a baseball, but if you don’t have someone there to coach you, to have the right mechanics to know what step to foot forward with, to where to place your arm, to how to throw the ball, you really won’t be that accurate with throwing a baseball.

The same thing holds right for recovering from lower back pain. If you don’t know what strengthening exercise to do and what muscle groups to target, you may never relieve the lower back pain because you will just aimlessly doing a bunch of exercises.  In addition, performing the incorrect strengthening exercises can really exacerbate the symptoms of your lower back pain causing you additional undue stress and pain.

It is vital for you to know that alleviating lower back pain is much more than just doing exercises, putting on ice, and getting back to life.  It is essential that you become aware of the appropriate muscle group(s) that causes your lower back pain and how you can use the appropriate strengthening exercises to regain your health.

Last but not least we want to introduce our final treatment of this article – stretching. You may have heard that certain stretches work best for relieving lower back pain.  While many of the demonstrated stretches can be effective in stopping lower back pain, many times your back pain will not subside because you don’t know exactly what muscle group is the cause of your pain.  That’s why it is crucially vital for you to first know what muscle group(s) are contributing to your back pain and what specific stretches you can do to alleviate your lower back pain.

Rather than giving you arbitrary strengthening exercises and stretches, we have made quick and detailed questionnaire that was designed as a 1-on-1 consultation with our back pain specialists to diagnose the underlying causes of your back pain.  It takes out the guesswork from lower back pain relief and only takes our average client 5 minutes to complete.  In addition, once you complete the questionnaire, you will receive a Free Personalized Back Pain Relief Guide that provides you with the essential information to finally feel relief from your lower back pain.

You can access the questionnaire and receive your Free Personalized Back Pain Relief Guide at http://www.stopsbackpainnow.com

Or for additional information regarding lower back pain relief please visit our blog at http://www.stopsbackpainnow.com/blog or our video page at http://www.youtube.com/stopsbackpainnow