Back Pain Relief: Which Medication is Best?

Back pain used to be the problem of the elderly people. But nowadays when people work in offices and drive cars, back pain and spine problems have become the destiny of younger generations. The peak of exposure to back problems is between 17 and 49 years. Yet, during this period people are in their most productive age. The reason is the sitting way of life and the lack of physical activity. Bad eating habits, ecological issues, traumas, hard work also contribute to appearance of spine problems.

Around 85% of adults complain about back pain. And these are not only office workers and car drivers. In fact, everyone whose job requires to keep the same posture for a long time is exposed to back problems. These jobs include: house cleaners, house painters, plasterers, hairdressers, restoration painters, house-keepers loving to shop, some athletes, surgeons, salesmen, school teachers.

Back pain can be easily prevented, if you follow some simple rules. Here they are:

• Find a good mattress and a good pillow. A lot of spine problems result from bad mattresses and pillows on which we sleep. Orthopaedic mattresses and pillows are the best.
• Eat healthy food. Forget about refined products. Eat more vegetables and fruit.
• Keep your back straight when you sit.
• Do more sports. Healing gymnastics is a lot of help.

There are lots of methods that help to relieve back pain. Here are some of them, that are medically approved:

• Immobilizing for a short period. Usually it lasts for 2-5 days;
• Using pain soothing creams, gels and balms. They include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications like Fastum gel, analgesics like Finalgon, and other anti-inflammatory creams like Voltaren, Voltarol, Penetrex. They are all available without a prescription and have an analgesic effect.
• Taking of muscle relaxant;
• Manipulative therapy;
• Traction;
• Electro Neurostimulation;
• Physical therapy and gymnastics;
• Psychological correction. Sometimes, back pain accompanies depression. So, psychological help can be used for cure together with antidepressants.

The earlier the cure begins, the better effect will take place.

According to the scientific research held in Seattle, pain relief effect lasts longer when back pain is cured with the help of a healing massage.

300 participants took part in an experiment. Each of them complained about back pain, but the reason was not found. The patients were divided into three groups. The first and the second groups attended a massage course for 10 weeks. It was the course of a relaxing massage and a structure massage, that is back pain relief by muscle stimulation. The third group got a usual treatment: medicine, gymnastics, or immobilization.

Half a year later the participants were examined again. Those of them who got massage for treatment had no complaints. The rest of them complained that the back pain returned.

Yoga is an ancient Indian practice. It is all about awakening of your inner potential that will help you get access to the source of universal energy called prana. It cannot replace medications but it can become a great completion to solve your back problems. The spine is the main stem in your body, and its disorders lead to the problems of inner organs. That is why your spine needs special care.

Yoga is a good therapy. It is better to start practicing yoga before you experience sharp pain in your back. It can help when your illness is at an initial state and it will help keep your spine young and flexible for a long time. At the same time, yoga is a very mild practice that requires certain attitude. You cannot strain and overcome yourself. On the contrary, you need to learn to avoid unnecessary effort and tension. It is also important to be able to understand your sensations, the subtle signals that your body sends you.

In yoga, they practice asanas, special postures that help remove the unnecessary workload off your back. These postures aid to establish balance when it comes to muscles' work, thus the workload is distributed evenly along the whole body. If you practice yoga regularly, this will fortify your back's muscles, stretch your spine, pull intervertebral disks, relax your nervous system. This is how the pain is reduced. Unlike medications that relieve pain - the consequence and the symptom of the illness, yoga asanas eliminate its cause. Yoga can not only be a good healing practice for your spine's health, it will be an excellent means of a preventive therapy. Another advantage of yoga practice is that it has no side effects and it can be practiced by people of any age and any complexion.

So, if you ask me, what is the best medication when it comes to back pain, I'd say, all of them are good, but prevention is always better than cure!