The first thing that you can do is nothing. Doing nothing might allow a little pain relief due to the natural history of the way your back can heal, but you will likely heal with dysfunction. This leaves you with the other unfortunate option:
The second option is the most common option, but doesn't solve much. You can take drugs for your low back pain. But the drug problem in America is out of control. I'm not just talking about hard drugs like Oxycontin, but your every-day anti-inflammatory drug like Ibuprofen. Ibuprofen is great for short term emergency relief, but you shouldn't have to be in a position to take it for more than a week or two.
Surgery isn't really an option, but I'll throw it in here for option number three.
The fourth option should really be your first: Chiropractic care. Chiropractic care has been shown over and over to be an excellent choice for acute and chronic back pain relief. Chiropractic care restores function to the spine in the form of improved range of motion, better muscle control of the spine, and better neurological feedback.
Chiropractic care works by restoring normal motion to the spine. This motion helps bring more nutrients to the discs and soft tissue between the bones in the spine, and it flushes out irritating inflammatory chemicals that build up. The motion also facilitates reflexes that reduce muscle spasm and reflexes that provide pain relief.
There tends to be a lasting benefit to chiropractic care too. This is because you are making spine function better with care.
If you are in the Salt Lake City area, drop by our clinic for excellence in chiropractic care. Your back will thank you.
Dr. Lloyd
Chiropractic physician.
