Living with chronic back pain can become frustrating, daunting, and defeating. Back pain is something that most people will experience at one point or another but dealing with chronic back pain is different. The pain can feel relentless and can leave you feeling like you are never going to be able to do the things you love again.
While you may feel like you are in a place of no return, there are many forms of alternative treatments you can try when it comes to coping with chronic back pain. If traditional methods have not been successful for you or you are simply seeking something that does not require medications, surgeries, or other more invasive treatment options, you have come to the right place!
There are many forms of alternative treatment for chronic back pain, but there are a few options that are highly successful for many people. Chiropractic adjustments, changes in your diet, exercise, and proper posture play major roles in managing chronic back pain.
In this post, we will take a deeper look at how each of these four alternative treatments can help with your chronic back pain and how seeing a chiropractor will help you in all four of these categories.
Chiropractic Adjustments and Spinal Manipulations
If you have chronic back pain and have not taken a trip to a reputable chiropractor yet, this is the first appointment you should make. Chiropractic adjustments involve your chiropractor using their hands to massage, adjust, and correct any issues that are lurking in your spine and causing the pain. Adjustments tend to help a great deal with lower back pain, which is one of the most common forms of back pain in most people.
When you see your chiropractor, they will go over your history, do a physical exam, and ask many questions about your lifestyle, where it hurts, medical history, and anything else that may be important to your specific case. Your chiropractor will be able to make a personalized treatment plan and perform proper spinal manipulations, so you can find relief from your chronic back pain.
Oftentimes patients will experience less pain right away and feel much better even after the first treatment or two.
Diet
Another alternative treatment that many people do not realize can help manage chronic back pain is through making adjustments to your diet. These adjustments will generally involve following an anti-inflammatory diet to help with the inflammation in your body that is likely causing your back pain. Studies have proven that inflammation in the body can lead to many types of chronic pain, and this includes back pain.
Therefore, the evidence suggests the following an anti-inflammatory diet can help manage your chronic pain. If you want to eat foods that can reduce inflammation in the body, you will want to include foods in your diet, such as:
- Vegetables
- Nuts
- Fish
- Fruits
- Whole grains
Your chiropractor can help you with diet and nutritional adjustments and provide you with tools and advice depending on what they deem best for you.
Exercise
Although it may sound counterintuitive, exercise for chronic back pain can help significantly. Bed rest is actually not recommended for people with chronic back pain because it can actually make the pain worse. Getting your body moving and your blood pumping can help relieve pain through the release of endorphins and manage chronic back pain.
Exercises like hiking, walking, yoga, Pilates, swimming, and using the elliptical are all great places to start. It is also a good idea to incorporate strength training into your exercise plan. It can help build a strong core and back, which can lead to a reduction in back pain as well.
Your chiropractor can help you create a personalized exercise plan in addition to treating you with spinal manipulations, diet, and other possible therapies.
Proper Posture
It goes without saying the proper maintaining posture has a huge impact on spine and back health. Bad posture can lead to terrible back pain that never seems to go away. Studies have confirmed that incorrect posture on a consistent basis is one of the main causes of lower back pain.
Correcting your posture during the day is one of the easiest ways to help manage chronic back pain or at least not have your posture make your back pain worse. Maintaining proper posture is something you can do at home every day. Practice makes perfect, so you will likely have to work on it every day and be willing to check in with your body to make sure you are keeping proper posture.
The good news is your chiropractor can go over all the tips and tricks you need to know about proper posture. They can physically guide you at an appointment, so you know exactly what to do when you are at home, work, or out and about. At my very own chiropractic clinic, I see hundreds of patients come in with back pain, and many times it is associated with poor posture because they have not been armed with the knowledge necessary for keeping good posture. The most important thing is to arm patients with information that can take out of the office and practice at home for further pain management.
In the end, there are many alternative treatments you can choose from to help manage chronic back pain. If what you have been doing is not working for you, it is worth a shot seeing a chiropractor so they can help realign your spine, but also help you in other areas of your life that can help manage the pain as well.
Chiropractic care uses a multifaceted approach to help patients with many types of issues related to the back and other areas of the body. Focusing on a whole mind-body approach may just be what you need to get relief from chronic back pain once and for all!
