Saturday, August 8, 2015

How I Get Back Pain Relief Without Drugs

On this page, I describe three major techniques I use at home to get rid of my back pain without pharmaceuticals. I use all these remedies together almost every day. Together, they make up my core program for making me functional when pain would otherwise have me bedridden.

No Medications, Please


I dislike taking meds and don't consider them a long-term solution to the problem. Except for rare occasions, I don't use over-the-counter NSAIDs for my back pain and I don't use prescription muscle relaxants. So far, I've never had to have a steroid shot. I do take magnesium supplements and try to eat a lot of potassium - both things are good for the muscles. But dietary approaches and supplements alone do not work for me.

What I use are in a sense new techniques, but in another sense very old techniques that have been with human beings in one form or another for thousands of years.

In short, I use a special kind of hot pad that releases steam, a special kind of massage therapy that I can do myself, and a special kind of posture program that does not require extra time.

Steam, pressure, and posture.

That's it. At most, on very bad days, it takes two hours out of my day. Usually, it takes much less.

My "Back" Background


For most of my five decades of life, I have had problems with my back. I have a genetically-caused musculoskeletal injury called spondylolytic spondylolisthesis. I also have high-grade neural foraminal stenosis, an arthritic nerve-pinching condition that has developed over time due to the "spondy." My back-related problems include lower-back pain, sciatica, knee pain, foot pain, and neck pain.

Because I do not find muscle-relaxing drugs to be a good long-term solution to my back pain, I have learned some extremely effective ways to deal with back pain that's muscular in origin. Even when you have bone or joint conditions, much of the pain itself comes from problems in the actual muscles.

Why Did I Write This?


I meet many people with back pain. Most of them have been failed in some way by their doctors, physical therapists, chiropractors, even massage therapists - the whole healthcare industry. Despite medical treatment, their pain continues and often even worsens.

When I hear of the pain they've been dealing with, I have a hard time shrugging and saying, "Too bad." I can never resist saying, "Hey, I know some things that might help you. Not meds. Not exercises. Not expensive." Usually, they do not want to listen. I am never surprised. Why should they listen to me? Why would I, a non-healthcare-professional, be clued in when the professionals aren't?

And honestly, I could be them. I've been where they are - defeated and cynical. I got defeated and cynical, myself, going through years of failed physical therapy, chiropractic, and massage treatments.

But I am clued in, because I've managed to treat myself out of much of my pain. Eventually I did find some things that do get rid of my most acute back pain. Not my overall condition. That's here to stay and may get worse as I age - I'm a realist. My back will always be weaker because of my "spondy," as it's called. I cannot do everything I could when I was young. I can't swim. Sitting is problematic. I can't work regular 8-hour days. And my neck is stubbornly not responding to my treatments. Those are the failures of my back treatments - or, as I think of them, "in process."

My program is not a cure for my back pain. But it is at least as effective as meds are for me - actually, far more effective, because there are no side-effects.

My quality of life is much better than it was a few years ago, before I started applying these remedies at home. Rather than being bedridden frequently, I'm rarely bedridden. I can't even remember the last time I had to rest my back for more than a few minutes at a time. I'm on my feet hours every day, though I do take frequent rests. The biggest challenge for me is sitting, and even that I can do now for long enough periods to get my work done.

I feel so lucky to have found solutions that help me; I might easily never have stumbled across them.

I know there are people who are not yet defeated, who are still searching for answers. I hope you are one. You are the person I wrote this for. It is my hope that your back condition is not as extreme as mine and these tips will help you even more.

So, let's get started. I have too much to say for just one page, so I've created separate pages for each issue.

Click on each link to find out what I do when my back gives me trouble:

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