Low back pain is very common now-a-days. It is often the result of hard work and tension. The most important point here is that one should always prevent back pain. It is better than to let it appear and undergo treatment. Our back is often the most burdened part of our body. So if we keep it in good condition it will surely pay off.
The steps one can take to keep low back pain away are:
- Avoid sitting for more than 1 hour at a stretch.
- Avoid excessive physical labour like jobs that involve too much climbing, walking, carrying heavy weights, forward bending and jerking of the body.
- Avoid long journeys in vehicles without timely relaxation.
- Being over weight can lead to this pain easily. So keep the body light.
- Do some exercises regularly. Walking, cycling, running, swimming, are good exercises. Here also one should limit the amount of workout according to the capacity of the body.
- At around 4pm do some yogic exercises. The ones best to avoid low back pain are:salavasana,vajrasana,pawanmukta-sana and parivartanasana.
- Avoid constipation. Empty your bowels everyday in the morning. Also your urine should be clear. Your sweat must be odourless and less salty. Try to sweat profusely whenever possible. Your breath should be free flowing and odourless.
- Drink enough water.
- Take fibrous food more. Fruits, boiled or raw vegetables, wholemeal rice and wheat should be our diet.
- Sunbathe 2-3 times a week and have whole body massage once a week if possible.
But most people can acquire low back pain unknowingly. The treatment then can vary based on the cause of pain. The causes can be of the following types:-
- Excessive body weight
- Weak muscles usually seen in thin and elderly people.
- Muscular injury.
- Injury to joint structures like cartilage, ligaments, etc.
- chronic pain can be caused by degeneration of the joints and it's associated muscles and presence of edema.
So before going through any naturopathic treatment the first thing one must do is to check one's own weight.
Note: This discussion is for informational purpose only. A patient of low back pain should take naturopathic treatment only from an expert Naturopath.
If you are overweight, you must reduce your weight. Over weight is not only bad for the heart, it can also cause severe malfunction of the muscles, joints and the spine. In naturopathy there are good ways to do so. While other treatments are going on one can take a mud bath, steam bath, whole body sponge and walk for 30 minutes to one hour daily. Walking is advisable after about 3 days of treatment of the pain, when the pain is less and the sufferer has the confidence that he can walk to heal his back. He should start with 10 minutes of walking in the morning. Everything depends on the degree of pain. Pain is the best indicator of whether one should take up walking as a mode of treatment. If your pain goes away after 30 minutes of walking then walking is good for you. In many cases it is so, but in some very severe cases when the back is severely injured one must avoid walking and resort to other modes of treatment.
Pain treatment is done in the following ways:
a. Application of moist heat or hot fomentation
b. Gentle movement of the hip joint by way of small exercises in bed.
c. Gentle warming massage of the low back with a suitable oil.
d. One cleansing enema during the treatment period.
e. Gentle manual traction of the hip joint.
f. Raising the lower back on a pillow in supine position. This helps to stop accumulation of edema.
Diet: During the treatment period one must have a natural diet only. Fruits, germinated gram, boiled vegetables, wholemeal rice and wholemeal wheat products should constitute the diet.
When 50% of the pain is gone one can do exercises to strengthen the hip and low back muscles. There are exercises to improve circulation in the hip joint also. These are very relaxing and opens up the back.
After recovering from back pain one should follow the steps to prevent back pain mentioned above.
This is a very rough description of what a naturopathic treatment of low back pain is like. It involves herbal drinks also. Most of the people diagnosed with low back pain can be treated in this way. Earlier the treatment starts the better, because the recovery then shall be sooner and easier. Chronic pain requires patience on the part of the sufferer. But it is sure that he will start a new life without pain, if he continues the treatment.
Sometimes hot and cold hip baths are given. They help to reduce severe pain and renews the joint as they cause profuse blood circulation. Pranayam is helpful in any disease as it gives the body more oxygen to fight the problem. Acupressure has to be done along with other treats as it removes blockages in bodily blood and lymphatic circulation. Meditation balances the mind and gives the person a way to cool the body down after a days fight against the pain.
