Back pain is hard to understand until you experience it. However, unfortunately,
back pain is one of the most common ailments that affects almost 80% of adults, at some point in their lives.
Back pain can have multiple causes, such as overuse or accidental sprains and strains of muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Problems with specific organs, such as kidneys, prostate, bladder, and women’s reproductive organs, can also lead to
back pain, especially in the lumbar area.
Other
causes include poor posture, nutrient deficiency in the body, or other chronic disorders such as arthritis, rheumatism, and abnormal spinal curvature.
Back pain also has an important
psychological component, such as trapped / unresolved emotions or stress. Have you ever heard the phrase “it feels like I’m carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders”? Well, when you struggle with a burden or responsibility, it can definitely show up as
back pain.
Patience and consistency are key when
healing from back pain. By the way, it is important to get a proper diagnosis from your doctor so that s/he can design a protocol that will help you heal.
Here are some things you can consider when designing your protocol to
heal back pain:
Internal food
- Stay hydrated! To avoid dehydration of the discs between the vertebrae. Furthermore, dehydration can cause high lactic acid values in the muscles, resulting in discomfort and pain.
- Eat more anti-inflammatory foods, such as blueberries, dark chocolate, green tea, wild salmon, ginger, turmeric, extra virgin olive oil and dark leafy vegetables.
- Avoid inflammatory foods, specially processed foods, refined carbohydrates, trans fat, and sugar.
- Cut down or avoid meat and avoid alcoholic drinks entirely, at least until you start to feel better. Animal protein and alcohol are foods rich in purines, which can increase uric acid and place a burden on the kidneys.
- Try acupuncture and massage therapy and/or go to a chiropractor
- Move your body: exercises for back pain can strengthen back, abdominal, and leg muscles. They help support your spine, relieving back pain. Restorative Yoga / Yin might help as well.
- Support with supplements: consider taking calcium, to strengthen bones, magnesium chelate, for muscle and nervous function, and vitamin D, which helps with the absorption of calcium and magnesium. B-Complex vitamins are excellent for mitigating stress on the back muscles.
- Consider psychotherapy: Anger, disappointment, frustration, pessimism, anguish, pain, and other disturbing emotions trigger the stress response in your body, even if there is no immediate body threat. Psychotherapy can help find the emotional cause of your pain, process it, and release it.
- Meditation and Breathing: Just to name a few of its benefits, meditation and breathing help activate the parasympathetic nervous system, decrease stress-related cortisol, and slow down breathing and heart rate. (mind about medicine)
- Self-Care: Epson Salt Baths, topical analgesic rubs with natural essential oils, and heat/ice therapy help alleviate the pain.
- Be Happy! Do the things that bring you happiness, and take this seriously! When you’re happy, your body releases dopamine and oxytocin, which in turn can help trigger relaxation and the healing response.
