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Back Pain Relief

What have frozen peas, a wheat bag and a sauna got in common? Well, they can all help to relieve your back pain.

Do you go hot and cold just thinking about how much your back hurts sometimes? Well why not try out heat or ice to find out how much they could help?

ICE BREAKER

An ice pack can be made by wrapping crushed ice or a packet of frozen peas (or beans; it's your choice) in a thin cloth such as a tea towel. Hold it against the painful area of your back (or any other part that hurts) for 5-10 minutes only. If doing this relieves your symptoms, then repeat the treatment three times a day. Remember to put the frozen peas back into the freezer between times. Don't eat the peas at a later date, as they'll have been defrosted and refrozen many times and your guts may suffer. If they do, get an ice pack.

How it works is that the ice pack causes the blood vessels near the surface of your skin to constrict, to stop your body losing heat. The blood then circulates more deeply in your tissues. However, to prevent that area of your body getting frostbite, after 5-10 minutes the blood vessels near the skin open up again. This draws the blood from deep down to the surface of your skin, with fresh blood from elsewhere in your body replacing that from your deeper tissues, boosting nutrition and healing in that area of your body. If you've any muscles in spasm, the cold also helps them to relax. If you don't believe that something so simple as an ice pack can work so well - give it a try next time you're in pain.

HEAT

Heat works by getting your blood vessels to open up as warmth seeps through. This increases blood flow in the area, improving nutrition and the healing effects from a good blood supply. Gentle warmth also helps to relieve muscle spasm as the muscles relax. Heat or warmth also seems to sooth your nerve endings so that they're less susceptible to irritation from movement or pressure.

A hot water bottle wrapped in a towel is cheap, easy and effective. Alternatively, there are a variety of heat-giving packs that you can buy or make. A wheat bag or gel-containing pack can be heated up in a microwave to the desired temperature and then popped on your painful area straightaway. These are available from most pharmacies, health shops and some supermarkets. You can also get electric heated pads, and some hand-held massagers have got an infra-red warming device incorporated in them. But take care not to burn yourself whilst handling the heat source or leaving it against your back.

Infra-red lamps are useful for heat treatment - but they are expensive and no more effective than the cheaper methods. Don't use ultraviolet or sun lamps, as you'll just get sunburn to go with your backache. Having said that, some sun lamps do have an infra-red as well as an ultraviolet facility, so if you do use one, make sure it's on the right setting!

GO FOR WARMTH

Wrap up warm. It may seem like an old wives' tale that a cold wind will give you aches and pains, but back pain does get worse in cold weather as the surrounding muscles tighten up. Put an extra jumper on, and make sure that you don't have a gap between your shirt or jumper and the top of your skirt or trousers. Leave the bare midriff for mid-summer.

Why not try a hot bath? Oooh, lovely! Soaking in a hot bath when you've got back pain - marvellous! But make sure you're not slumping in the tub. So really, a hot shower might be better. Another answer is to use the jacuzzi or hydrotherapy pool at a gym or health spa to get heat on your back. Some of them have chairs heated by warm water dribbling down that might suit you well. Steam baths are worth trying, too. Go and visit your local health spa or gym and try out their steam room.


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