If you have lower back pain, you know how debilitating it can be. Between the constant aches and muscle spasms, it can make the simplest of everyday tasks feel impossible. But treating your lower back pain with a bit of knowledge and a lot of patience can make a big difference in its severity. Knowing how to deal with severe lower back pain attacks when your pain becomes chronic or flares up into an emergency!
In this article, I’ll talk about what triggers severe attacks in the first place, some tips for dealing with them, and some valuable resources to help you get on the road to recovery or prevention.
What Causes Severe Lower Back Pain Attacks?
There are many different causes of back pain.
- The most common is inflammation and injury to the spinal discs and spinal joints.
- Other causes include muscle strain, overuse injuries, infections, herniated discs, and degenerative changes in the spine.
- And sometimes, no cause can even be determined! Severe lower back pain attacks can occur at any age, but it’s more common in people between 40 and 70 years old.
If you have a history of back pain, it’s always a good idea to have a check-up with your doctor or chiropractor. They can perform a physical exam and identify the source of the problem. Some causes, such as infections and spinal disc problems, may need to be treated with antibiotics or surgery to prevent further damage or serious complications.
How to Deal with Severe Lower Back Pain Attacks
Try some of these tips if you’re struggling with severe lower back pain attacks:
- Take your time to get moving. Think of your back like a sprained ankle. It’s not something that heals itself; it just gets better on its own after you take time off to rest. So take things slow when you get back into your everyday activities, and make sure you don’t overdo it. This means taking it easy for the first few weeks (or more) until your symptoms subside (keep reading for tips on how to speed up the healing process). And remember that gradual stretching is much better than sudden or extreme movements!
- Be careful when you get back into your normal activities. It’s easy to go too far when you feel great after a few days of rest, so be sure to do everything in moderation. Don’t over-exert yourself, and don’t try too hard to get back into your routine. For example, spend time working on your laptop rather than sitting at a desk; use a step-stool instead of lifting something heavy, or take an exercise class rather than running or biking if that’s what you typically do.
- Don’t overwork your muscles. Make sure to exercise them in a gentle way that doesn’t over-stretch or exhaust them—you can even try swimming or cycling in a pool if you’re not ready to get back into your regular routine.
- Take long, hot baths when you’re in pain. This helps relax your muscles and relieve tension and spasms. You can take a bath a few times a day if it helps—you’ll still have plenty of time to rest!
- Visit a physical therapist for treatment and exercises. Physical therapists can teach you specific exercises to help strengthen your back and take the pressure off your spine, so it has time to heal itself.
Avoid risky activities like contact sports. Even if you’re not in pain, it’s still essential to do routine sports like soccer or football when you have lower back pain because there’s a chance you could re-injure yourself. Instead, try non-contact sports like swimming or cycling. If you’re just looking for something to do in the meantime, try an exercise DVD!
Surgical Treatment
Surgery can be helpful for some people with severe lower back pain attacks, especially if you can’t use the other tips to get better on your own. However, it’s a major risk—the risks include damage to key nerves or spinal discs that may require years of rehabilitative treatment and ultimately result in permanent disability. Your doctor will work with you to help determine the best course of action to take for you. Spinal surgery devices are also available to get lower invasive procedures and get faster recovery.
Tips for Preventing Severe Lower Back Pain Attacks
Since severe lower back pain attacks are caused by the same factors that cause chronic lower back pain, some prevention can help keep them from happening in the first place. The best way to prevent them is to make sure they don’t happen in the first place! Follow these tips (published in an issue of Spine) if you plan on spending most of your day sitting down:
- Stick to a desk with adjustable height tables or sit on an exercise ball instead of a chair. This will allow you to stand or move around enough while at your desk so that your spine doesn’t become overused.
- Move around every 15 minutes. It’s essential to move to keep blood flowing to your spine and muscles. If you’re at your desk for more than an hour, get up and walk around every 30-45 minutes to stretch out your legs.
- If you don’t have the option of moving, slowly rise from your seat—even just take five deep breaths as soon as you stand up! Lower back pain is more likely to occur if you hold down your spine for extended periods.
Avoid prolonged or heavy lifting, bending over, or twisting—it hurts! If certain chores are unavoidable, find other ways to do them besides sitting at a desk all day long.
Conclusion
Sometimes, no cause for your pain can even be found! However, it’s caused by something that has put extra stress on the spine in most cases. It’s essential to learn how to effectively deal with lower back pain without causing more problems for yourself. This means getting plenty of rest and not doing anything dangerous or extreme. The tips I’ve given here may help you find relief, but always remember that it’s best to talk to your doctor about this type of problem if it continues to be a major issue in your life.