Dr. Stefano Sinicropi, M.D.

We understand that heading to a specialist to have an injury examined and treated isn’t exactly your favorite thing to do, which is why so many people try to treat their pain on their own in hopes that they can avoid an office visit. However, if you really want to do everything in your power to reduce your likelihood of needing to see a doctor, you can’t just lay in bed and hope the injury goes away on its own. Below, we share five home care tips for actively managing your back pain on your own.

5 Ways To Treat Back Pain At Home

It’s important to remember that these are just general guidelines, and they will not be appropriate for any and all back injuries. If your symptoms are getting worse, or they are not responding to conservative care, it’s time to consult with a physician. With that in mind, here are five home care tips for treating back pain on your own.

1. Stay Active – Resting an injured area is important, don’t get us wrong, but in many instances, after a day or two your body would actually respond better to light activity. Controlled exercise helps to pump healthy blood throughout your body and strengthen structures that have been weakened or destabilized because of the original injury. You don’t want to start out with anything too stressful, but walking or swimming are great ways to get your heart pumping and strengthen injured areas.
2. Eat Right – There’s no superfood that can heal your back injury, but what you put in your body certainly affects your spine health. Sugary and carbohydrate-dense foods can contribute to spinal inflammation, which can slow down the healing process. Junk food can also lead to weight gain, which will only put added stress on your spine when it’s in a weakened state. Eat healthy and drink plenty of water as you work to recover from home.
3. Targeted Physical Therapy – If you have a pretty good idea what type of back problem you’re dealing with, you can research online for a few simple physical therapy or range of motion exercises. Targeting the area with controlled movements will help to strengthen the area and reestablish any lost flexibility. Slow and deliberate stretching can really help muscles return to normal physical function.
4. Get Healthy Sleep – As we’ve said on the blog in the past, sleep is a restorative process that helps to flush waste products out of your bloodstream, and if you’re not getting enough restful sleep, these waste products can contribute to inflammation onset and make back pain worse. Make your bedroom an ideal sleep environment by removing distractions like televisions, iPads and books, and go to bed around the same time each night so that your spine and your body can get into a healthy sleep rhythm.
5. Anti-Inflammatory Medication – Anti-inflammatory medication can also help to control discomfort from mild or moderate back injuries, but we put them last on the list because they shouldn’t be your only method of treatment. You need to pair medication with active treatments like exercise, stretching and physical therapy if you hope to get the most out of your recovery. Medication can make it easier to pursue active treatments, but they won’t address the underlying problem on their own.

If you’re running into trouble treating your back pain at home, or you’d rather just have a professional diagnose your pain and develop an individualized treatment plan, reach out to Dr. Sinicropi and the team at the Midwest Spine & Brain Institute today.

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