When it comes to back pain treatments, people oftentimes try to find the quickest way to relieve pain. Some of the most popular back pain searches on Google are for fast or quick back pain treatment options, and we even wrote a blog last week on instant back pain relief. But when it comes to back pain treatment, the focus shouldn’t be on how fast you can find relief, it should be how long relief can be maintained. In today’s blog, we focus on some of the steps you can take to try and fix your back pain for good.
Permanent Fixes To Back Pain
Back pain is highly unique to the individual, so there’s no guarantee that all of the following tips will apply universally to your situation. However, if you pursue some of these changes, we believe you’ll be giving yourself a good chance of increasing your likelihood of achieving long term back pain relief.
- Consult With A Doctor – If you really want to put an end to your back pain for good, you should consider bringing an expert into the fold. Not only will a doctor or a back pain specialist be able to tell you exactly what is going on in your spine, they’ll also be able to provide you with some individualized treatment advice. Knowing what you’re up against and pursuing some specific treatment options can help to treat the problem in the short and long term.
- Pursue Proactive Treatments – Follow the advice of your treating doctor, as they will be able to provide better advice than the general tips we’re showcasing here, but don’t be surprised if they tell you to pursue active treatments instead of passive options. What we mean by this is that it’s unlikely you’ll make a full and permanent recovery by simply resting or taking painkillers. While both of these options can certainly play a helpful role in your complete recovery program, they are passive by nature, and they won’t address the root cause of your back pain. You’re much more likely to see effective long-term results through treatments like exercise, physical therapy and flexibility/balance/range of motion development.
- Lifestyle Improvements – There’s a good chance some of your lifestyle habits played a role in your back pain onset, so take a closer look at your daily life and make some simple adjustments to provide a better environment for your spine. Some areas you can target to improve your spine health include: working towards an ideal weight, consuming a range of healthy vitamins and minerals, limiting or eliminating tobacco use and heavy alcohol consumption, improving your seated and standing posture, and getting regular exercise. If you can make small improvements to any or all of the above daily lifestyle factors, you’ll be able to reduce common sources of pain or spinal degeneration.
- Stick With It – Finally, if you want to keep back pain at bay now and in the future, you need to stick with your treatment program and the lifestyle changes you’ve made. Don’t stop going to physical therapy because your back feels “good enough,” and don’t slip back into some of the bad habits we previously mentioned. Long-term back pain relief after an injury or natural spinal degeneration is a lot like a weight loss program. You can make adjustments and experience some short term success, but unless you commit to those changes in the long term, weight gain or back pain will return. You need the changes you’ve made along the way to become daily habits, and you can’t stop treating your back issue before you’re fully healed.
We’d be more than happy to help you find an effective and long-term solution to your back pain problem. For more information, or for help with a different issue, give Dr. Sinicropi and his team a call today at (651) 430-3800.
