Lower Back Pain Relief - Remedies To Ease Your Pain The Natural Way

Chronic back pain might be alleviated by closing your eyes and calming your mind.

In a US study conducted by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), nearly 40 patients with chronic lower back pain were taught meditation techniques. After eight weeks, overall pain was decreased and physical function improved.

Three months later, when the UPMC team followed up on each patient, they found that most of them had continued their daily meditation regimen because it provided ongoing benefits in managing pain. There are other steps you can take to alleviate lower back pain too.

Back Pain Relief: Nature's Very Own Aspirin Without The Downside Of Stomach Irritation

The bark of the white willow (Salix alba) contains a compound called salicylic acid. Aspirin (acetyl salicylic acid) is a synthetic form of this chemical. Taking a supplement of white willow bark can provide all the pain-relieving benefits of aspirin without the drug's notorious side effect of stomach irritation.

In a placebo-controlled trial, 39 per cent of patients with lower back pain who took white willow bark extract reported a significant reduction in pain, in most cases within the first week of treatment. This compared with 6 per cent who reported an improvement while taking placebo. Take 100 to 250mg of white willow bark extract (standardised to 15 per cent salicin) a day.

Devil's claw (Harpagophytum procumbens) is a herb that is better known for treating arthritis. However, two clinical trials in Germany have shown that pain intensity, muscle spasms and muscle tenderness were all substantially reduced in patients suffering from lower back pain who took devil's claw extract, compared with those who received placebo treatment. There was no evidence of side effects from taking devil's claw in either of these trials, but this herb is not recommended if you have a peptic ulcer since it can increase acid production. Take 600 to 900mg of devil's claw extract (standardised to 5 per cent harpagosides) daily.

B-vitamin supplements can prevent relapses of common kinds of back pain. In two independent trials, a combination of 50-100mg each of vitamins B1 and B6, with 250-500mcg of B12, three times a day, not only reduced the number of lower back pain episodes but also reduced the level of medication needed during each episode. The dosages used in these trials were higher than those normally recommended. Take a balanced B-complex supplement that gives you at least 50mg each of vitamins B1 and B6 per day. Higher doses should only be taken under

Back Pain Relief: Staying In Bed Can Make Your Back Pain Worse

What you do when lower back pain strikes is just as important as the supplements you take. Don't be tempted to lie in bed all day in order to rest your back. Instead, try and stay active and carry on as normally as possible, while taking care not to aggravate the problem. Studies have found that supervised exercise programmes can significantly reduce lower back pain, while bed rest may actually delay recovery.

Physical therapies such as osteopathy and physiotherapy can help to relieve muscle tension and reduce pain. Acupuncture has also been shown to be an effective treatment - in controlled clinical trials, it significantly reduced pain and improved mobility when compared with placebo treatment ("fake acupuncture"). However, a more recent study has found that therapeutic massage is even better than acupuncture as a long-term solution to chronic low back pain.