We have all seen the headlines in recent years about the opioid crisis. Basically, people taking painkillers which have an addictive (and often very destructive) active substance even for slight pain such as regular headache or slight back pain. Opioid painkillers are very effective in removing pain, but they do nothing to actually remove the source of the pain, which makes their use a prolonged issue.
If you are looking to avoid taking painkillers for your back pain, there are other options you can turn to in order to manage or even remove pain completely.
Train Yourself to Keep Upright
Most people nowadays pay very little attention to their posture, especially if they are sitting at their computer. Typically, our shoulders slump a bit and we lean forward. Even though it may not have an effect on you in the short run, after a while the cumulative damage of all that slumping can really cause some pain.
In fact, many instances of back pain are at least partly the result of improper posture. It can be hard to avoid sitting in front of a computer, especially if your job requires you to use one. However, what you can do is manage how you sit.
Put active thought into the position of your shoulders and your spine. If you notice that it is not how it should properly be, adjust it immediately. It may be exhausting at first, but after a while, it will become automatic, and you will have better posture and hopefully, less (or no) back pain.
Do More Exercises
The muscles supporting your spine need exercise as much as your biceps or quads. Their role, even though less glamorous and visible is equally important if not more – they support your spine and make sure that you can sit and stand upright.
And just like with any other muscle, if not exercised regularly, they can get weaker and stop performing as well as they should. That’s why you should focus at least a part of your workout on strengthening your core.
With a stronger core, you will reduce the strain put on your back muscles and you will reduce the likelihood of pain. Most experts recommend pilates as a great exercise for this purpose.
Go See a Chiropractor
If none of the preventative measures helps, and you start experiencing back pain, you should not ignore it. Seek treatment for it as soon as possible. The less time you suffer, the less permanent damage to your body.
However, avoiding painkillers or surgery can be tricky if you go to see a regular doctor. On the other hand, you may want to consider a chiropractor for a non-invasive and drug-free healing option. What’s more, chances are that your doctor will have a trusted chiropractor to recommend.
Chiropractors adjust the bones and joints into the correct position, thus alleviating pain. Chiropractors are capable of relieving pain quickly and effectively, but the durability of this kind of treatment depends on you. If you change the factor which led to pain, you can be cured. However, in some cases, people need frequent and continual visits to the chiropractor.
Surgery
Finally, if none of these solutions helps you in the long run, you should see a doctor and consult with them about surgery. In some cases, getting surgery is the only (or the best) way to permanently resolve the issue which leads to pain.
Even though you will likely need at least some painkillers immediately after the surgery, hopefully, everything will be resolved once you recover from it.
