For most people who are experiencing back pain in their senior years, they may have experienced their first bout with this painful condition at age 30 to 50 years old. Although it may not be as painful then, it may be a sign of something more bothersome to come. Degeneration of the bones and structures in your backbone usually starts at 50. When this starts to happen, the pain usually gets worse.
Age-related back pain is generally the result of degeneration. As you age, the spine becomes more fragile as it goes through the changes that aging brings. The discs and joints may start losing their lubrication which lessens their ability to absorb shock. One vertebra may slip from its normal place and the spinal canal may also start to narrow.
Although back pain can be debilitating, you can do something to manage the pain. Here are proven ways that can help you ease your back pain:
Make Exercise a Daily Habit
Do you know that a sedentary life or lack of physical activity is a leading cause of age-related back pain? This means that if you don’t start strutting those muscles yet, your condition can get worse. Incorporate stretching exercises as they may help ease the pressure in your spine. Mobility exercises will also help to maintain the range of motion of your back joints. Start with light to moderate exercises. Water exercises are also advised as they are considered low impact.
Go for Physical Therapy
Physical therapy sessions are very much helpful for your back pain. They have a wide array of modalities that will decrease the pain. But the goal of physical therapy extends from just pain relief. It makes sure that your activities of daily living are not compromised because of the pain, decrease of range of motion, muscle weakness, and other complications that may arise.
Take the Right Medications
Here’s a tip. Before doing your exercises or going for your physical therapy, take your anti-inflammatory medications. This will let you get the most of the activities. If you are pain-free, you can do more exercises or finish the PT program for the day more efficiently. Taking it in the morning and evening when pain is mostly felt can also be the best remedy to escape from the pain.
Apply Heat Packs
Although heat packs are surely included in your physical therapy programs, it is best that you have heat packs at home. Heat is excellent to prevent spasms and stimulate blood flow to the area. This can prevent local swelling which may make your condition even worse.
Alternate Cold Packs
Cold packs are excellent ways to manage back pain. Apply the packs for 20 – 30 minutes and you may feel relief from pain. You can also apply it before you do your exercise so that pain will not limit your movement.
Stretch, Rest, and Stretch
Bed rest is important. But before doing so, you can do a little stretching first. However, bed rest can be detrimental to your condition if you rest more than two hours as it can decelerate your recovery. Stretch again to be ready for your next activity.
Complementary Therapy
There are two options complementary therapy can offer you. One is acupuncture and the other is osteopathic manipulation. The former is a tried and tested Chinese medical procedure which uses fine needles and manipulation to stimulate the healing process. On the other hand, with osteopathic manipulation, chiropractors mobilize, adjust, massage, and manipulate the spine and adjacent structures with the use of their hands.
Invasive Treatments
Going for an invasive treatment can be more expensive but can also ensure an easier way toward rehabilitation. If you choose nerve blocks and injections, steroids will be injected to reduce the pain. For the other invasive treatment options, you may have to undergo an incision on the affected part or insert a foreign object. There is far more chance that these procedures will finally ease the pain that you have been undergoing. The specialist will surely know what is best for your case.
Every case of back pain is different from the others. The best way to treat back pain is to know the real cause of the issue through some reliable tests.
With persistent back pain, it may really be hard to live a normal life. What’s good is that you have many options to take. For sure, one of the mentioned options above will help you improve your condition or fully rehabilitate you.