What Are the Ways to Relieve Back Pain?

Ways to relieve back pain

Check out this answer from Consensus:

Relieving back pain involves a combination of noninvasive treatments, exercise therapy, behavioral therapy, and meditation-based approaches. Each method has its own set of benefits and can be tailored to the individual’s specific needs and conditions. Clinicians should consider these evidence-based treatments to help patients manage and alleviate back pain effectively.

Back pain is a common issue that affects many individuals at some point in their lives. There are various methods to alleviate back pain, ranging from noninvasive treatments to exercise and behavioral therapies. This article explores several evidence-based approaches to relieve back pain.

Noninvasive Treatments

Superficial Heat, Massage, and Acupuncture

For acute or subacute low back pain, nonpharmacologic treatments such as superficial heat, massage, acupuncture, or spinal manipulation are recommended. These methods have shown moderate to low-quality evidence in improving pain and function1.

Exercise and Multidisciplinary Rehabilitation

For chronic low back pain, nonpharmacologic treatments like exercise, multidisciplinary rehabilitation, acupuncture, mindfulness-based stress reduction, tai chi, yoga, motor control exercise, progressive relaxation, electromyography biofeedback, low-level laser therapy, operant therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, or spinal manipulation are recommended. These treatments have moderate to low-quality evidence supporting their effectiveness1.

Exercise Therapy

Effectiveness of Exercise Therapy

Exercise therapy is widely used to treat low back pain. It has been found to be slightly effective in decreasing pain and improving function in adults with chronic low back pain, particularly in healthcare populations. For subacute low back pain, a graded activity program has shown some evidence of effectiveness, although the evidence for other types of exercise is inconsistent2 5 8.

Types of Effective Exercises

Strength/resistance and coordination/stabilization exercise programs have been found to be particularly effective in reducing chronic low back pain. These exercises are more beneficial compared to other interventions6. Stretching and strengthening exercises are also effective, especially when performed over longer periods and in supervised, individually tailored programs5.

Behavioral Therapy

Types of Behavioral Therapy

Behavioral treatments, including operant, cognitive, and respondent therapies, are commonly used to manage chronic low back pain. These therapies aim to reduce disability by modifying maladaptive pain behaviors and cognitive processes3.

Effectiveness of Behavioral Therapy

There is moderate-quality evidence that operant therapy is more effective than waiting lists for short-term pain relief. Behavioral therapy is also more effective than usual care for short-term pain relief, although no specific type of behavioral therapy has been found to be more effective than another. In the intermediate to long term, there is little difference between behavioral therapy and group exercises for pain or depressive symptoms3.

Meditation-Based Therapy

Benefits of Meditation-Based Therapy

Meditation-based therapies are a safe and effective alternative for managing chronic low back pain. These therapies have been shown to significantly reduce pain intensity, pain bothersomeness, and improve the quality of life in patients with chronic low back pain4.