Ayurvedic Treatment for Back Pain in Kerala

Importance of lifestyle modification in Back Pain Treatment

We’ve all experienced lower back pain at some stage in our lives. But that doesn’t mean you should ignore the pain or prevent it in the future.

Back pain might be a symptom; this is your body’s way of informing you that your posture is incorrect and that you should make some ergonomic adjustments. In terms of your personal space, it indicates you’ve made some good lifestyle changes to keep that niggling pain at bay.

Lifestyle modification is a broad term that can refer to any changes in behavior or habits. When it comes to treating back pain, several lifestyle modifications can be made to help ease symptoms and promote healing. 

If back pain has become a way of life, make the following adjustments right away:

• Maintain an active lifestyle and set aside a couple of hours per week for routine exercise to keep the back muscles fit and flexible.
• Stop smoking
• Make sure you get enough sleep.
• Avoid sitting for extended periods.
• Maintain a healthy weight by eating carefully.
• Maintain proper stance
• Avoid jerking your knees.
• Do not bend and lift at the exact moment.
• Limit your use of high heels daily.
• When it’s time to sleep, consider sleeping on your back.
• When sleeping, avoid using a cushion.
• Improve pelvic floor strength – Pilates is an excellent exercise technique targeting many underutilized pelvic muscles.
• Practice good posture
• Wear comfortable shoes with good arch support. 
• Avoid twisting your back in awkward positions
• Stress management techniques such as meditation and yoga may also help reduce symptoms of back pain

Diet

The diet should consist of anti-inflammatory, muscle, and bone-strengthening foods such as turmeric milk, fish oils containing omega-3 fatty acids, flax seeds, calcium, and vitamin D-rich foods.

Sleep

Getting healthy enough, restorative sleep is essential for coping with back pain. However, back pain makes it challenging to sleep well. Despite the pain, you can do a few things to increase your odds of progressing into restorative sleep.

• Purchase a new mattress: A old and saggy mattress, or merely too firm or soft, can aggravate back pain. It is critical to achieving quality sleep by sleeping on a mattress that provides the appropriate support and comfort. Adjustable beds should also be considered; many people suffering from lower back or neck pain find sleeping in a slightly reclining posture more comfortable.
• Loosen back muscles before bedtime: Stretch out painful areas before bed: Stretch out painful areas before bed may help release muscular tension. Local heat treatment, such as a heating pad, aids in stretching and relieving soft tissues around the spine. These two easy actions alleviate enough discomfort to allow you to sleep.
• Use relaxation techniques: Mindful meditation, for example, has decreased pain perception and may provide enough relief to enable you to fall asleep. Other relaxing bedtime rituals, such as peaceful visualization or focused breathing, may help to divert attention away from the back discomfort and create a more comfortable atmosphere.
• Try a different sleeping position: Sleeping on one’s side, curled into a fetal posture, with a pillow between the legs, may aid in spinal alignment and pressure relief. Sleeping on your back, with your knees slightly elevated by a pillow and another flat pillow tucked under your head, may encourage spinal alignment and decrease pressure on pressure points. As previously stated, sleeping on the back with the upper body reclined and the legs slightly bent lowers stress across the lower back.

Proper Rest

Rest may not always be beneficial for you; it depends on your condition, as bed rest is recommended only if you experience loss of bowel or bladder control, weakness, etc.

At any point in therapy, prolonged bed rest is not beneficial for moderate back strain. While your back may feel better soon, spending too much time in bed can lead to other issues. Muscles lose conditioning and tone, you may experience digestive problems such as constipation, and you are at risk of getting blood clots in your pelvic and thigh veins. And being confined to bed for an extended period does nothing for your mental health or well-being. People confined to bed are more likely to experience depression, as well as an increased feeling of physical weakness and malaise.

Exercise

Exercising and fitness activities help to keep the back healthy by enabling discs to exchange fluids, which is how the disc receives nutrition. A healthy disc will expand with water and squeeze it out like a sponge. The sponge motion transports nutrients to the disc.

Furthermore, fluid exchange aids in the reduction of swelling in the other soft tissues that naturally develop around injured discs. Swelling rises with a shortage of exercise, and discs become malnourished and degenerated.

• Exercise you can try to strengthen your back.
• Hamstring stretch
• Partial crunches
• Bird dog
• Knee to chest
• Bridging
• Aerobic exercise
• Pilates

It is important to note that lifestyle modifications may not completely eliminate back pain, especially in chronic or severe pain. In these instances, medical treatment may be necessary. Overall, lifestyle modifications are a complementary approach to treating back pain, alongside any medical treatments prescribed by your doctor.