Pain Management | Natural Pain Relievers for Back and Neck Aches
by Vernon Foster
In these modern times, most people spend a huge chunk of their day slouched behind a laptop in offices and at home. Additionally, the journey back home leaves you hunched over your steering wheel, and finally, you drop on your sofa and watch some TV. All these poor sitting postures we adapt put pressure on the back and neck. Try carrying a heavy load or play a sport afterwards, and you've got yourself a throbbing backache. The compression and pressure that our spinal disks withstand is enormous, and that's what leads to these back and neck aches. Though you'd like to rest, and take the painkillers you so desperately need, there are other healthier and natural ways to take care of that pain. Here are some of the best.
Grape juice
Surprised? Well, you shouldn't be. Grape juice is one of the best treatments for both prevention and treatment of back pains. You'll be better off going for purple grape juice as they've got flavonoids that are known to have multiple health benefits including pain relief.
Better yet, mix this up with pectin, and you've got a powerful pain-killer. Pectin is a naturally occurring compound in fruits that assists in fast tissue repairs.
You could also go for powdered ginger in hot water. It's just as effective in relieving pain.
Physiotherapy
Physiotherapy exercises are another great way to relieve menaces such as back and neck aches. These exercises include massage, manual therapy or even movement therapy. The best part is that these exercises leave your body a lot stronger and make it harder to succumb to such aches in future.
If the pain is severe, rest for a day or two before starting any physiotherapy exercises. However, remember to keep the aching joint mobile so as to prevent it from freezing. If it's your neck and shoulder, start by doing a couple of pendulum exercises.
But you'll be better off going to a physical therapist. The therapist will determine the range of motion and strength of the joint then conduct special tests to determine the best exercises for you. Typically, a serious say shoulder pain should last about 4 to 8 weeks.
Hot and cold therapy
Applying varying levels of heat or cold to the aching spot goes a long way in relieving the pain. The big question here is, how do you decide whether to use cold or hot treatment?
Generally, ice works best for acute injuries. If you've got inflammation or swelling, then go for the towel-wrapped ice packs. The cold therapy reduces the blood flow to such areas hence reducing inflammations and swelling.
Hot treatment, on the other hand, works best for muscle stiffness and it relaxes the muscles and heals tissues. You could use steamed towels or heating pads on the afflicted are to reduce the pain.
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About Me
Hello, my name is Peter and I live in Western Australia with my wife on our pet dogs. This is my blog which details how to deal with various medical emergencies and other conditions. Last year, several friends and members of my family suffered from various different kinds of medical problems. Some of them, such as my uncle had to be rushed to the hospital for immediate treatment that saved his life. Lots of my friends had minor problems which had a big impact on the quality of their lives. I take an active interest in first-aid and other medical matters so I decided to start this blog.