Do you suffer from back pain? You’re not alone.

Many patients come to me for help with their back. In fact, back pain is the largest cause of disability across the world. The good news is you can often cure your back pain. There’s even better news as well: you don’t need prescription drugs to do it.

The Cause of Back Pain

My patients are often surprised when I tell them drugs are not the solution. This concept makes sense when we consider the causes of back pain. Pain is a symptom of another condition and not in itself the root problem. That means truly solving back pain requires treating the condition which is causing the pain.

Your back is an intricate structure composed of many different parts – nerves, bones, discs, tendons, muscles, and more. Irritation to any component can cause back pain. Twisting your back in an unnatural way, for example, can cause sprains or tears in the ligaments. Fractures in the spine or disc ruptures would also clearly, result in pain.

Factors that seem unrelated to the back can surprisingly cause back pain. Conditions affecting the organs – think kidney stones, blood clots, or infections – may be the real problem. Unhealthy diets and sedentary lifestyles can also be issues. Obesity or sitting for long periods of time – something many of us experience in the office – may cause pressure to be distributed unevenly in the body.

The Downside of Prescription Painkillers

We are prescribed drugs so often by our doctors that we don’t think twice about them. The side effects of drugs can be dangerous, even those of the seemingly innocent drugs we buy over the counter. One large issue with pharmaceuticals is that their benefits are only temporary. Any pain relief from drugs won’t last as prescription drugs don’t address the root causes of pain. Additionally, when the pain relief wears off you may even find yourself with hyperalgesia, a condition in which you experience heightened sensitive to pain.

Drugs can also cause long-term damage to your body. For example, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDs can double your risk of heart attacks. Patients who take NSAIDs have also reported bleeding in their digestive track and increased blood pressure. Some drugs are also dangerously addictive. We now have an epidemic of drug abuse in America of drugs legally prescribed by doctors. Legal prescription drugs present a range of side effects and don’t cure your pain in the long term. Painkillers can be helpful for the very early stages of back pain. Even then, however, you need to be cautious. Sometimes pain can be a guide to help you judge which movements are good for you and which ones are not.

2 Alternative Ways to Treat Back Pain Without Drugs

These treatments have been proven to be effective and don’t have the dangerous side effects of drugs.

1. Chiropractic care

Chiropractors complete over four years of education before they are certified for practice. These professionals understand the causes of your pain and provide non-invasive treatment. Chiropractors offer much more than adjustments to your spine. If you need repeated adjustments to the same part of your spine, some part of the problem may have been missed. Chiropractors can address the entire issue as opposed to just the symptom of pain.

2. Physical therapy

I recommend physical therapy as it, like chiropractic care, addresses the root cause of your pain. Physical therapists work with you to strengthen your muscles and keep your joints flexible. A session with a physical therapist can include working through stretches and learning exercises to do at home.
Some chiropractors, physical therapists, movement therapists and trainers are good at analyzing which muscles you are using when you move. When we adapt to pain we change the patterns of how we use our muscles. That adaptation sometimes becomes the cause of more pain.

Tips to prevent back pain

Here are more ways to stay pain-free.

  • Eat healthy.
  • Exercise to increase your level of endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers. Stronger muscles and a healthier body weight will also reduce your pain.
  • Stand up often and stretch.
  • Be conscious of your posture. Make sure not to slouch when standing or sitting.
  • Wear low-heeled shoes.
  • Be careful when you lift heavy objects. Always lift with your back straight and avoid twisting with a weight.
  • Is your workstation causing you pain? Check with a professional that your equipment is adjusted properly for your needs.

Chew on this

You can take control of your back pain without the use of drugs. Try non-invasive treatments such as chiropractic care, physical therapy, exercise and maintaining a healthy weight.