Treating Back Pain

In this next video, a couple of techniques are suggested for relief.

 The doctor suggests two different ways to "treat' your back pain. 

1. Mindful breathing.  In this approach, we are to focus on our breating. Breath in slowly, hold, then exhale.  By doing this for a full three minutes, it will take your mind off of your pain. 
2. Ice and Heat – The doctor suggests using a combination of ice and heat to deal with an injury. 

My thoughts:

1. I like the breathing idea a lot.  Regardless of how you came to have back pain, what you focus on expands.  Meaning – if you focus on your pain, it will tend to get worse.  If you can force yourself to focus on breathing or other things besides your pain, your tolerance and even the amount of pain you feel will diminish. 
2. As for the ice and heat – I have mixed feelings.  If you have pain due to some trauma or acute injury – ice and heat can be effective in reducing your symptoms.  However, if you are dealing with chronic pain (more than a few weeks, months, years or longer) it is very unlikely that you have an injury.   Our body has an incredible ability to heal.  Even the largest bone in our body the femur can heal within 6 weeks – and pain only lasts for the first week or two.  How is it then that an "injury" from 2 years ago is still causing pain?  Maybe there are other things at work here. 

To wrap it up, I'm not sure either of these methods will actually help you get to the real cause of the pain.  But since neither of these suggestions are invasive in any way, give it a whirl and let me know if it helps you.  For me, the breathing can help.  Ice and heat have provide limited results.  But that's just my 2 cents.

Tell me what works for you.  Leave a comment here.

Talk soon…

Dan