Alternative Therapies for Back Pain

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Alternative Therapies for Back PainBach's Flower EssencesRescue Remedy has been helpful. Rescue Remedy, comprising cherry plum, clematis, impatiens, star of Bethlehem, and rock rose, is recommended for the shock of sudden, agonizing pain caused by a slipped disk.

AcupressureExperts suggest that pressing the B 54 acupressure points, which are behind your knees, may help move pain and pressure away from your back. To press these points follow the steps below: Lie on your back with your legs up and your knees bent. Place your fingertips in the center of the crease behind each knee. Holding on to these points, gently rock your legs back and forth for one minute as you breathe deeply. When you're done let your feet rest flat on the floor, with

your knees bent, and relax. Repeat this exercise three times a day.AcupunctureAromatherapy Aromatherapy Oil Blend for Severe Backaches 4 drops of blue chamomile essential oil

4 drops of birch essential oil 4 drops of rosemary, coriander or eucalyptus essential oil 4 drops of ginger or black pepper essential oil

14 drops of lavender essential oil ½ ounce of carrier oil.Mix together. Use daily as needed, rubbing it into the affected area after a hot bath, when muscles are relaxed and pores are open.

Essential Oils Useful for Back PainFor muscular fatigue: lavender, marjoram, rosemary, clary sage.For acute pain: black pepper or ginger, birch.Yoga Stretches The following yoga postures may be helpful:

Camel pose Cow pose Spinal Twist Locust pose Lotus pose Forward Bend Palm Tree pose

gentle, modified Fish poseAll these postures may be used both as a preventive measure and to help remedy back pain. Be sure to get advice from a trained teacher. When you have a backache, you should not do any yoga postures without expert guidance. This is especially true if your pain comes from a slipped disk.

AyurvedaSuggests that backache is often due to excess vata.Reduce your consumption of vata-increasing foods. Avoid most beans, including black beans, pinto beans, adzuki beans, and garbanzo beans.

Avoid raw, cold salads.Avoid exposure to cold weather or cold winds.Sit quietly and meditate, or observe your breathing. This will help relax tense muscles.Avoid high-heeled shoes.Avoid strenuous exercise such as jogging, jumping, etc. Instead, opt for the gentle yoga stretching.

Minimize sexual activity when you have back pain.FeldenkraisFeldenkrais exercise that can greatly benefit an aching back. Lie on your back and take a few deep breaths. Notice how your spine is resting on the carpet. Do all the vertebrae touch, or are there spaces between your back and the floor? Does one side of your back touch the floor differently than the other? Does one side feel heavier than the other?

Bend both legs, putting your feet flat on the carpet. Gently drop your knees to one side, noticing how far down they seem to go. Bring them back to center and drop them once again to the same side noticing any differences. Repeat this twenty-five times and then rest, stretching your legs back out. How does your back now touch the floor?

Does your breathing seem any different than before? Bend your legs again and drop them to the other side, noticing how far they seem to go. How does this side compare to the other? Bring your legs back to center and rest. Now imagine doing this movement in the most relaxed and fluent manner. Do this in your mind ten times, and then actually bend your knees to that side. Is the movement easier and fuller than before? Do this movement another twenty times, paying attention to how it makes your head move. When your legs drop, does your

chin move toward or away from your chest? How does this movement affect your breathing? Now stretch your legs back out and rest, noticing how your back now touches the ground. What differences do you notice in your breathing, neck, and head?

Stand up, and walk around slowly, noticing how your body moves and feels.For backache that often results from kidney yin deficiency (or expanded kidneys) Chinese medicine recommends:

String beans Watermelon and all other melons Foods to Avoid Animal products (They will stimulate the liver into a heat or stagnant condition and drain kidney yin.)

Hot spices such as cinnamon, cloves, and garlicTai ChiT'ai chi is an ancient Chinese discipline of slow, fluid movements. It's a great relaxation method that helps the muscles in your back. The breathing exercises and stretching activities of t'ai chi foster harmony within the body.

Cognitive TherapyIn cognitive restructuring, pain sufferers use a diary to record when their pain was particularly severe; what the situation was at the time of the pain; what they thought about and felt before, during, and after the pain episode; and what they tried to do to decrease the pain. By examining these diaries, perhaps with the help of a trained professional, the pain patient can identify negative thoughts and

feelings and learn to change them. For example, they may learn to identify cues that trigger tension and anxiety and find out how to view stressful situations calmly and realistically rather than ascatastrophes.

DistractionAll of these have been found to be effective for mild-to-moderate pain.These are:1. Pleasant images - Conjure up peaceful, pain-free visions.2. Dramatized images - Envision situations that use the pain as part of the script (for example, imagining that you are a wounded spy trying to escape your captors).

3. Neutral images - Think of your plans for the weekend.4. Focusing on the environment - Instead of paying attention to your body, count the ceiling tiles or plan how to redecorate the room, etc.5. Rhythmic activity - Example: Counting, singing, etc.

Imagery is not a substitute for more active ways of coping with pain. But it can be a valuable part of an overall plan to manage pain.Aerobic exerciseAerobic exercise for at least thirty minutes, three to four times per week.

Stretching exercises daily.ExerciseStretching For Relief Of Back PainStretching is more important for the relief of back pain than strengthening exercises. The key is to find what muscles or muscle groups are asymmetrically tight or imbalanced, causing postural problems

and strain leading to back pain. One of the most common muscles associated with this kind of back pain problem is the rectus femoris. This muscle runs from above the hip down through the kneecap into the front of the tibia (the inner, longer bone of the leg between the knee and ankle). If the muscles in both legs are tight, it can produce, what doctors call, an anterior pelvic tilt, where the whole pelvis leans forward. This often results in a lordosis in the back or an excess amount of lumbar curve. This condition is commonly referred to as sway back.

Make sure that before you stretch any muscles it must absolutely be relaxed. It must be relaxed in order for it to stretch at all. Do the stretch, hold it for five to ten seconds, then release and relax forfive to ten, then go back into the stretch and hold it for five to ten seconds.

Chair exercise: Sit in chair and lean forward until pain is felt; breathe out and slowly lean farther, stretching muscles further.Stand and put the knee of the leg you want to stretch on the seat of a chair. Hold on to the back of the chair with the opposite hand for balance. Pull the heel of the leg you want to stretch to the buttocks, and push forward with the pubic bone. This will push the pelvis backward, and you'll feel the stretch all the way from the knee, up the leg to the front of the thigh.

Knee pulls: Sit in a straight-backed chair. Lift your right knee and clasp it in both hands and pull it as close to your chest as possible. Exhale deeply as you feel tension or mild pain in your back. Do the same with your left leg. Do several repetitions.

Do the same exercise while lying on mat placed on the floor. While lying on the mat, pull both knees toward your chest. Breathe out as you pull your knees toward your chest and as you feel the tension.

Pelvic Jack: The Pelvic Jack is another easy stretch to help with low back pain. You can do this while sitting in a chair. Simply sit up straight, back against the chair back so that you have the normal lowback curve. Then just allow your pelvis to roll back as if you were going to slouch into the chair. Hold that for a few seconds and then come back up into the straight position with the normal lumbar curve.

Reverse ankle pull: Stand at the back of a straight-backed chair. Bring your right ankle up behind you, grasp it with your right hand, and gently but firmly pull upward toward your back so that your thigh muscles stretch. Exhale as you pull. Do the same with both legs.

Frequently, a person suffering from extreme acute back pain can't move much, or is stiff in the morning or has trouble getting out of bed. Here is how to do the stretch: Lie flat on your back, perhaps with a pillow under the knees so as not to put too much of a strain on the lower back.

Alternately push one foot out and then the other. You don't really have to be pushing against anything. What you are doing is pushing out with your heel. It is like you're trying to make your leg longer. What you're doing actually is rocking the pelvis back and forth instead of from front to back as in the Pelvic Rock.

Press-ups. Press-ups are something like half of a push-up. It is a great exercise to strengthen your lower back. Lie on the floor on your stomach. Keep your pelvis flat on the floor and push up with your hands, arching your back as you lift your shoulders off the floor. Do press-ups once in the morning and once in the afternoon.

Crunch sit-up. Lie flat with both feet on the floor and your knees bent. Cross your arms and rest your hands on your shoulders. Raise your head and shoulders off the floor as high as you can while keeping your lower back on the floor. Hold for 1 second, then repeat.

Swim on dry land. This is great for extending and strengthening your lower back. Lie on your stomach and raise your left arm and your right leg. Hold for 1 second, then alternate with your left leg and right arm as if you were swimming.

SwimmingSwimming is great exercise for the back. A good exercise for acute low back pain is to get into a warm pool and swim.HerbsHot, moist herbal packs help relieve the pain and increase blood circulation on painful areas, while herbal teas, juices and extracts soothe muscles and nerves.

Chamomile has a calming effect on smooth muscle tissue. Take it as 1-3 cups of tea, 10-20 drops of extract in a cup of liquid or 1-3 capsules daily.Bromelain (pineapple extract) is a powerful anti-inflammatory (take 2-3 g daily at first, then 1-2 g as the pain eases). Recommended dosage: 500-1500 milligrams, two or three times daily.

Burdock soothes the pain and purifies the blood. Take 1-3 capsules or 10-25 drops of extract in 1 cup liquid daily.Epsom Salt BathsFill a bathtub with water as hot as can be tolerated. Add 2 cups of Epsom salts. Bathe for thirty minutes, adding hot water if necessary to keep the bath water warm.

HydrotherapyBegin with a hot jet or strong spray aimed at the back for one to four minutes. Follow this by a cold jet or strong spray for 5 to 30 seconds. You can repeat this treatment as often as once every hour if necessary.

ImageryImagine that you're carrying a 100-pound bag on your back. Drop the bag, open it and examine the contents. There may be a lot of stuff in that bag-anger, frustration, depression, painful memories-that you can throw away to lighten your load. Do this exercise once a day for several minutes every time you have about of back pain.

Juice TherapyDrink ½ to 1 cup of fresh grape juice daily, apart from meals. Grape juice made from dark grapes is the most effective. Keep the juice at room temperature and do not mix it with other juices. If the juice is

too sweet for your taste, mix it with plain water to your taste. Drink the juice once a day, preferably before a meal, as a preventive.MassageSelf Massage for Back PainHere is a technique you can do yourself. You need two tennis balls and a sock.

1. Take a hot bath or shower. 2. Do some gentle stretching such as yoga. 3. Slide two tennis balls into a sock, tying off the open end of the sock so that the balls are touching each other.

4. Lie on your back on the floor. Have the socks at hand and place them under the small of your back, one ball on each side of your spine. 5. Take a deep breath and let your body relax into the balls. Rock your hips gently from side to side. Then adjust your body slightly so that the balls move up your back a few inches. Hold that position briefly, then take a deep breath.

6. Wait until you feel a sense of softening or melting into the balls before you move them farther up your back. Most people take about 10 to 15 minutes to work the balls up and downtheir back. If you have a particularly sore area on your back, spend some extra time with the balls touching that spot.

MeditationPractice meditation each day while lying flat on your back. Place pillows under your knees and thighs to ease pressure on your back.Nutritional TherapiesRed meat can aggravate or cause chronic back pain. Uric acid contained in red meat can cause joint inflammation. Furthermore, the body uses the arachidonic acid in animal fat to manufacture series-2 Prostaglandins, hormone-like substances which worsen inflammation. Vegetables such as potatoes, soy beans and other legumes, and cold-water fish should replace animal meat as the main source of protein.

Nutritional SupplementsCalcium and magnesium are vital for the muscles and bones, and help alleviate muscle spasms if they exist. Calcium - 1,000 mg; Magnesium - 500 mg; Note: Consult your physician if you are suffering from any kidney problems before taking these supplements.

Vitamins C and E are essential for maintaining connective tissue, and are useful for alleviating disk injuries. Vitamin E, with mixed tocopherols, 400-800 IUVitamin C also helps if calcium absorption is poor due to inadequate stomach acid. Recommended dosage: up to 2000-3000 milligrams per day.

Evening primrose oil is an excellent, mild anti-inflammatory and is useful whether the source of the pain is sciatica or muscle spasms.Borage oil is a good source of GLA, or gamma-linolenic acid. It has been shown to improve symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis as well as other types of musculoskeletal pain. Recommended dosage: six 240-milligram capsules of GLA per day. It may be necessary to build up the dosage gradually to establish tolerance.

Flaxseed oil. Recommended dosage: two to three 1000- or 1700- milligram capsules three times daily.Vitamin B6: This vitamin has been shown to reduce neurological pain and may help with pain caused by pinched nerves, such as carpal tunnel syndrome. It may also help with arthritic symptoms. Recommended dosage: 50-200 milligrams daily. Warning: Higher doses of vitamin B6 may cause

toxic neurological side effects, especially when it is taken alone without complementary B vitamins and magnesium.Glucosamine Sulfate: This is naturally present in joint cartilage and has been proposed as a therapy for arthritis and possibly disk problems.

Recommended Dosage: 500 - 1000 milligrams two or three times daily.Relaxation ExercisesVisualizationSelf-HypnosisAffirmationsTake an Aspirin a Day

http://www.holistic-online.com/Remedies/Backpain/back_home.htm<http://wwwholistic-online.com/Remedies/Backpain/back_home

.htm>-- Diana Gonzalez Nothing wastes more energy than worrying - the longer a problem is carried, the heavier it gets. Don't take things too seriously - live a life of serenity, not a life of regrets.

-Unknown

[Guest guest]

A really REALLY good herb for pain is chaparral.

Larrea Tridentata. It's VERY high in anti-oxidants,

anti-inflammatories, antiseptic, analgesic.

 

If I had one herb to take on a desert island, it would

be chaparral. This is the main herb in my famous

[among those who love it] Chronic Relief™ oil.

 

It's very resinous and to me, it stinks, but to most

people, they like it. Arizonans anyway, to them it smells

like the desert after a rain, that's because all the resin is

let loose in the air after the dust is washed off.

but it's grows on ya. lol

 

Janine

 

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