What Should I Do Immediately After Hurting My Back? 6 Steps to Reduce Pain

6 Steps to Reduce Back Pain

No type of back pain should be overlooked.

Your whole body relies on the health of your back and spine so you want to make sure you treat your pain the right way the first time.

Most pain will go away quickly but if it continues for more than a week or two then you need to seek medical attention.

In this blog, we take a look at 6 important steps to take immediately after experiencing back pain.

What Should I Do Immediately After Hurting My Back? 6 Steps to Reduce Pain

We use our back every day to complete regular activities such as sitting up, lifting, and reaching.

Your back is in use all day long making the tendons, muscles, and ligaments in your back work hard.

That's why the health of the muscles is very important.

These three soft tissue structures need to work synergistically for you to function without pain.

Since they are in constant motion it is common for them to tear, pull or get over-stretched.

And if you've ever had a back strain, you know they are nothing to joke about.

When someone says their back is sprained they mean the ligaments are overstretched or torn. Now if they say it is strained then that means a muscle or tendon was overstretched or torn.

People tend to use back strain and back sprain interchangeably but they are in fact different and because of that, the course of treatment and length of that treatment differs also.

Either injury can happen so fast and is easy to do.

It just takes one movement in the wrong direction, to sleep in the wrong position, or overdo something to put the health of your lower back in jeopardy!

Even constant repetitive movement can cause a back injury, which is more common in sports injuries and office settings.

Signs that you have torn, strained, or pulled a muscle in your back:

• A sore or tender lower back

• Sudden pain

• Muscles spasms

• Back stiffness

• Pain in legs, butt, or thighs

• Muscle and tendon weakness

• Pain when standing, walking, or twisting

What should you do after a back injury? Can dehydration cause back pain?

There are several things you can do to help reduce your pain and return to normal.

When you are experiencing the signs or symptoms listed above most people think they may need to rest but that is actually not true.

To speed the healing, you should...

6 Steps to Take Immediately After a Back Injury

1. Engage in an Active Activity

You need to continue to your regular activities, but you may have to limit some tasks that aggravate your lower back muscles and cause pain.

Resting can cause you back to heal even slower and prolong your back pain, so make sure you do some type of activity to speed the healing process.

Walking and moving is an easy activity for anyone, so you need to continue those activities to help improve your health, but lifting and contact sports may need to be put on hold.

If you are moving and have to carry large boxes you may have to count yourself out and get the help you need to finish that activity without causing you more pain or injuring yourself even more.

The same thing with contact sports, you need to step back and support your team from the sidelines until you back is feeling better so you don't put yourself in even more pain.

2. Ice-Heat Treatment

The rotation of ice and heat is usually a treatment that will help most people, but going it in the right ways is important for you to get the results you want.

Only use ice for the first 72 hours of your back pain. After that time period, you need to add heat to the rotation for your lower back pain.

The combination of the ice and heat allows you to reduce inflammation and loosen muscles at the same time, returning you to full health.

Typically, you will ice your back for 10-15 minutes a day and heat your back for 15-20 minutes to reduce inflammation and pain. Ice heat therapy is a great self-done treatment for temporary relief.

3. Avoid Carbohydrates

What!

How do carbs affect pain in your spine?

Well, believe it or not, carbohydrates can make your inflammation of joints worsen. Eating protein and fresh produce will help you with your healing process.

You may want to keep track of your carb intake while you heal so you can and get rid of your back pain as soon as possible.

Don’t worry too much − back pain doesn’t last too long for most injuries.

4. Call Your Doctor

You may want to call your doctor as soon as you begin to experience pain.

Having your doctor make sure everything is okay is critical because you don’t want to misjudge your injury and make your pain even worse.

Your health is key, and your doctor will help you return to normalcy.

Your doctor may do same-day appointments just to be safe and possibly provide you with pain meds to reduce the inflammation.

5. See a Chiropractor

For a medication-free treatment for your pain, you may want to see a chiropractor.

Just like a general practitioner, your health is your chiropractors number one priority.

Considering chiropractors are like back specialists it makes sense to have a chiropractor take a look to make sure you didn’t pop a disc out of place.

An exam for back treatment at a chiropractic office will examine your entire spine and body alignment to find the underlying problem causing the pain.

Be prepared to tell your doctor of chiropractic how your injury occurred because that will help them provide you with the best treatment.

6. Get in Stretches and Exercises

The type of stretches and exercises you do will need to be determined by your doctor or chiropractor.

They will let you know which exercises are the safest and most supportive of your injuries.

Almost always light walking is advised.

Be sure not to start any exercises on your own, and always consult with your doctor or chiropractor before starting an exercise program.

Your chiropractor will be sure you don't do any harmful exercises.

Treat Back Pain with a Chiropractor

Silly situations or regular movements get us all at some time. So, don’t let your back pain go for too long get the treatment you deserve.