Backaches are something that everyone deals with from time to time. At times the aching back is due to some sort of injury in an accident, while at other times the backache is due to straining the muscles while lifting something heavy. Fortunately, there are several ways you can deal with minor to a minor to moderate backache quickly and effectively.
When the backache is due to strain, your best bet is to soothe those injured muscles as quickly as possible. Begin the treatment by applying an ice pack to the area of the strain. This will help to ease the inflammation and help facilitate the healing process. Several hours later, you can begin to apply heat to the strain, using a heating pad.
Over the counter medications are common backache remedies that help many people with minor pain. Tablets or capsules formulated to ease the discomfort of back pain often work well overnight. In the interim, try applying a small amount of deep heating rub. These over the counter creams are sometimes marketed as muscle rubs as well as heating rubs. Be sure to follow the instructions found on the packaging and don’t exceed the recommended amount.
Don’t forget the possibility of using herbs to treat a backache. Time-honored backache cures of this type include rubbing the back with oil extracted from the garlic plant. This oil is prepared by pan frying ten or twelve cloves of garlic in a small amount of mustard oil. After the cloves are fried, remove them from the oil and allow it to cool. Gently rub the garlic oil into the muscles of the back and allow it to remain in place for two to three hours. This treatment can be repeated for several days if necessary.
Another home backache cure involves extracting the juice from a fresh lemon and adding a liberal amount of salt to the juice. As with the garlic oil, the combination is rubbed into the strained muscles of the back and allowed to remain in place for a couple of hours. As a bonus, the scent of the lemon may help to relax the mind, which in turn may aid in helping to relax the back muscles.
One common backache remedy that helps many people is therapeutic touch or massage. The process may be combined with aromatherapy in order to help relax the mind and all the muscle groups in the body. As tension releases, the strained muscles also relax and become more susceptible to the healing touch of the practitioner.
For advanced cases, seeing a healthcare professional is your best hope for taking care of the backache. A doctor can conduct an examination and run any tests needed to determine the origin of your pain and settle on the most effective treatment. Since the condition can be a symptom of a developing health issue, it is important to seek medical care if your backache does not respond well to home remedies or over the counter medications within a couple of days.