------------------------------------------------------------ HOME REMEDIES ------------------------------------------------------------ What should you do when you need FAST relief from a sudden back spasm or painful backache? What home remedies and course of action helps during a backache attack? What other lifestyle changes might reduce back pain and strain? Backaches tend to be a matter of degree and intensity. Sometimes the pain is mild with only a sense of stiffness. Other times quite severe. It may be worse when bending or may only happen when your back is cold. One indicator to watch for is the sudden onset of pain which radiates down into the foot or lower leg which could clearly indicate the presence of a ruptured disc. However, if the pain remains localized to your back or upper thigh, the chance of disc rupture is lower - not zero, just lower. If you fear that a ruptured disc is the source of the pain head for bed immediately, call the doctor and try to curl up on your side with your knees pulled up and bent. But let's back up a step. What course of action should be taken for various degrees of back pain which come on suddenly? For mild back stiffness and pain take aspirin or tylenol if you are allergic to aspirin. Avoid all but VERY brief periods of sitting or riding in a car, sleep on a firm mattress on your side or back with knees elevated by a pillow. Do the pelvic tilt and other mild exercises twice a day to ease muscle stiffness, place a warm water bottle beneath your back before exercises and while at rest on your back. Avoid bending, lifting, overstuffed or soft chairs. Eat while standing and work while standing, if possible. For severe back pain consider the following. Contact your physician immediately. Take aspirin or tylenol for pain in the dosage recommended by your physician. Ice packs for ten to fifteen minutes the first 24 hours of the attack may decrease pain and relieve muscle spasm; check with physician if this is advisable. Do not overchill skin or back. After the first 24 hours ask physician if application of mild heat is allowed to relax muscle stiffness. Attempt to stay in bed while you lie on your side or back with knees elevated. Get out of bed only for VERY brief trips to bathroom. Take warm showers and NO sitting baths. Watch for signs of numbness in toes or lower legs. Watch for signs of fever by checking your temperature. Avoid ALL sitting for the first week. Avoid back exercises for first four to five days until pain and stiffness has subsided. After that time try pelvic tilt and light knees tucks to chest. Follow up with second visit to physician. Determine a recommended back exercise or therapy program in consultation with physician. Another simple home remedy for mild back pain is to lie on the floor on your back and place both legs in an elevated position on the seat of the chair. Thus the knees are bent and the pelvis is slightly tilted reducing some back strain. In fact any resting position on your back which allows the knees to be bent and the feet elevated reduces back strain. A small warm water bottle under the small of the back for short periods reduces muscle spasm and may further reduce the pain. Any time you put a water bottle under your back be sure to wrap it in a towel and use only a small amount of warm water so that the water bottle remains relatively flat. Your back cannot remain flat while you lie on a water bottle the size of a balloon. Keep the water bottle flat! Some people report relatively rapid relief if a corset or back brace is worn for a few days following an attack of back pain. This is usually fitted to your back by a physician or physical therapist. But remember that the back brace is merely stabilizing a weakened spinal column and for the most part preventing supporting muscles from developing healthy tone. However if a physician tells you to wear a back brace or corset for an extended period of time - such as in the case of disc rupture or specific surgical recovery, by all means follow your doctor's instructions. If arthritis is also a compounding cause of your backaches, aspirin's strong anti-inflammatory effects are usually beneficial in reducing joint inflammation. As an unusual twist, try doing a few of the back exercises like the pelvic tilt and knees pulled to chest maneuver laying on your back in the bathtub partially filled with warm water. You will be surprised at the extra flexibility and relief from pain you can get exercising in a warm bathtub. Are there special foods or vitamins which have been implicated in correcting backaches? Vitamin A or C deficiency can cause scurvy and a type of back pain. Vitamin D deficiency causes rickets and consequent back pain. Osteoporosis has been connected with vitamin D and calcium imbalance. For the most part, though, these are specific vitamin-linked problems, not overall dietary problem patterns found among most back pain patients. Some research has indicated that Vitamin E in its role as anti-oxidant may slow some forms for joint deterioration, aging and pain in adults. Dehydration or lack of water can cause some existing joint and disc problems to flare up painfully. About the best that can be said from a sensible dietary standpoint is to drink additional water - 6 to 8 glasses per day and perhaps take two or three ordinary vitamin tablets per week if you are concerned about your diet and back pain. It may not help, but it certainly cannot hurt. Consider wearing flexible shoes or sneakers for several weeks after an attack of back pain. Women's high heels are notorious for causing back pain and a change to different footwear permanently may further reduce chances of back pain. Also check for worn out heels and soles which may slip or provide improper support and cause falls and other types of back injury. The role of shoes and back pain has been established. When in doubt try wearing tennis shoes for several weeks and see if back comfort is increased. When sitting for long periods of time, consider stretching your legs, wiggling your toes and finding a way to put one or both feet on a footrest. As you sit, try to contract your stomach and buttock muscles and tilt your pelvis every ten minutes despite your sitting condition. Most people unconsciously cross their legs while sitting which is simply an attempt by the body to tilt the pelvis and raise one leg higher than the other. You don't cross your legs because your leg becomes more comfortable, but because your BACK becomes more comfortable! However, crossing your legs while you sit is no substitute for a footrest and occasional stretch break. As mentioned in earlier tutorials, try adjusting your work schedule to alternate between standing and sitting positions. When you stand, shift one foot then the other on a six to ten inch high footrest. As you stand, try to do a "mini" pelvic tilt by slightly bending your knees, tensing your buttocks and thrusting your lower pelvis forward. Do this three or four times an hour and hold the tilt position for about ten seconds. You can even do this in a supermarket checkout line since the maneuver is barely perceptible and is a matter of merely a slight bending of knees and tilting of hips. Also consider the statistics or "odds" that you will have backaches and take corrective action: tall people are prone to backaches as are overweight people. Pregnant women and women during and after menopause are also prone to back pain. Office workers and computer users who sit for long periods of time are frequently backache patients. If you are in a risk group for backaches, use these tutorials to trace the most probable cause and consult with your physician on a course of action. This tutorial is merely a starting point! For further information on back care and back pain, be sure to register this software ($25.00) which brings by prompt postal delivery a printed, illustrated guide to back pain written by a physician plus two software disks. From the main menu select "Print Registration Form." Or from the DOS prompt type the command ORDER. Mail to Seattle Scientific Photography (Dept. BRN), PO Box 1506, Mercer Island, WA 98040. If you cannot print the order form, send $25.00 to the above address and a short letter requesting these materials. End of chapter.