Understanding and Addressing Back Pain: A Comprehensive Overview
Typically, numerous people are experiencing back pain at any stage of their lives. Thus, whether you are young or old, you can already suffer from this kind of body pain. As a matter of fact, based on the research of the National Institutes of Health, it is the second most typical neurological disorder in the United States. The first is the headache.
The Prevalence and Importance of Back Pain Awareness
If you are one of those who are suffering from this pain, or even if you are not, having knowledge about this kind of neurological disorder will help you from preventing it to happen. The following paragraphs will mainly give you helpful pieces of advice concerning such a disorder.
Seeking Proper Assessment and Understanding of Causes
The first thing that you should do is to have a proper assessment with your care provider. This kind of disorder has many causes starting from strains in the muscle to a more severe condition like spinal stenosis.
Other conditions that could result from this disorder are herniated discs, osteoporosis, spondylolisthesis, or worst, a tumor. This will be the most probable result if you ignore your back pain, especially if it becomes persistent. Thus, you have to know the essential facts about this disorder.
Exploring Alternative Remedies: Acupuncture
One kind of remedy for such neurological disorders is acupuncture. This has been proven by the various studies conducted by Sheffield University located in the United Kingdom.
From their studies, they have come to the conclusion that a person being subjected to acupuncture for the long term can reduce such pain disorders. They conducted their research by giving eight treatments of acupuncture to 159 people.
They compared the results with 80 people who are receiving normal care. After a year, those people who were subjected to acupuncture treatments experienced a reduction in pain as compared to those who were receiving normal care treatment.
Capsaicin Cream: A Potential Solution
Another year passed and the group who received acupuncture reported that they almost had a pain-free second year of treatment. And what is more impressive about these studies is that they revealed that those who are having the treatment of acupuncture need not take any pain relief medication.
Acupuncture came from the traditional medicine of the Chinese. Scientifically speaking, this kind of treatment has the effects of releasing natural pain-killing opioids and sending signals which will consequently calm the body’s nervous system. It further releases neurochemicals as well as hormones.
Another kind of remedy for back pain that you might want to try is capsaicin cream. This cream is not very common but you already have experienced its effects on your daily life, especially when eating chili peppers. It is because capsaicin in chili peppers is its active ingredient. However, its use does not only end there.
Once it is applied to the skin. This active ingredient has been discovered in depleting substance P which is the perpetrator of the disorder. It is a neurochemical which transmits pain. Having a capsaicin cream applied to your skin will have the effect of an analgesic. There is also a study conducted in this kind of treatment where 160 individuals were treated having a three-week capsaicin remedy.
Capsaicin cream which is also known as capsicum cream is already available in health stores, drug stores, as well as on the internet. The usual dosage of this cream is 0.025% which must be put on four times in one day. However, there are side effects in the usage of this cream.
Normally, the one using it will have a burning or stinging sensation on the skin where it is applied. The most effective remedy for this one is to wear gloves when applying it. Also, be very careful when applying it. Do not apply it on open skin and avoid touching your eye area when using it.
The Role of Vitamin D Deficiency
On the other hand, this kind of disorder which gives you pain is generally caused by a deficiency in vitamin D. More specifically, protracted muscle pain is considered a symptom of this deficiency. Vitamin D is normally found in fortified milk, small-boned fish, and too much exposure to sunlight. Therefore, you must avoid or at least be very careful with the given causes of the deficiency of Vitamin D.
Music Therapy: An Affordable Approach
Last but certainly not least is the most affordable therapy for this kind of neurological disorder, and that is music therapy. It is an inexpensive natural therapy that has been discovered to be effective in reducing anxiety, disability, as well as depression which is most typically associated with severe pain neurological disorder.
Another study regarding this kind of therapy was also conducted. The study about this evaluated the common influence of music on hospitalized patients suffering from this kind of chronic body pain. This was made successful by randomizing the 65 numbers of patients receiving in alternate months, four sessions of music therapy together with their physical therapy or only the latter therapy alone. And the results were wonderful.