1. Sleep
With back pain, you can often find it difficult to fall asleep. Often you do not know how to lie down. You may be in a vicious circle. Because you are poorly sleeping, your back pain feels worse. A bad sleeping position can also aggravate the pain. Try to lie down on your side with a pillow between your knees to keep the spine in a neutral position. This way you relieve the pressure on your back. Do you prefer to sleep on your back? Then slide a pillow under your knees. Also, provide a sturdy and comfortable mattress.
2. Attitude
Did your mother always say that you had to stand upright and not have to sit down like that? She was right! A lanky attitude is bad for you. Especially if you have been slipping for a long time, behind your computer for example. Sit up straight, keep your shoulders relaxed and ensure that your body is supported by the back of the chair. Keep your feet flat on the floor.
3. Painkillers and muscle relaxants
If you suffer a lot from your back pain, you may want to take painkillers. In addition to paracetamol, you also have painkillers with an anti-inflammatory and fever-reducing effect, called NSAIDs. These are anti-inflammatory painkillers. But these are not suitable for everyone. First, ask the doctor for advice before you start this. Do not expect that the back pain is about it, it only relieves the pain. In some cases, it may also be the case that the general practitioner prescribes muscle-relaxing drugs.
4. Strengthen your muscles
Physiotherapists can teach you how to sit, stand and move in a way that is best for your back. They can also learn your exercises that strengthen your back muscles. Several studies show that improving strength, flexibility, and endurance in the long term reduces back pain.
5. Keep moving
In the past, doctors often gave the advice to keep bed rest with back pain. But now they know that lying is one of the worst things you can do. It can even aggravate the back pain. Do not rest more than a day or two. It is important to keep moving, but not to force anything. Exercise is one of the most effective ways to quickly recover from back pain. Especially sports such as swimming, hiking and yoga are good to do.
6. Ice and heat
With a back injury or inflammation, it can help to put ice on the painful areas. Try this a few times a day for up to twenty minutes. Always put a cloth between your skin and ice to prevent the ice from freezing on your skin. After a few days, you switch to heat. The heat relaxes your muscles and promotes blood circulation. A hot bath or a heat plaster can also help to relax. Never sleep with a heat plaster. These can cause burns.
7. Massage
It was already known that massage offers a solution for muscle tension and muscle pain. From recent research shows that a daily massage for approximately ten minutes even helps prevent inflammation in muscles. That is why it is also a good way to recover from an injury.
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