5 Top Tips for Managing Lower Back Pain

If your lower back pain is persistent or is accompanied by other symptoms such as loss of control of your bladder or bowel, numbness & weakness in your legs, fever, redness, or warmth, or you have lost a significant amount of weight in the last 6 weeks and you’re having night sweats that are unexplained, it's important to seek medical attention as soon as possible, as these may be signs of a more serious condition. You should always consult a health care profession for assessment and management - this is intended as general advice and information. 

1. Stay Active: It may be tempting to rest and avoid physical activity when experiencing lower back pain, but staying active can help to reduce pain and stiffness. This does not mean “pushing through the pain’, but low-impact activities such as gentle mobility routines, walking or swimming can be helpful. A key rule is to avoid things that aggravate symptoms, but not to let it immobilise you.

2. Use Heat or Cold Therapy: Applying heat or cold therapy to the affected area can help to reduce pain and stiffness. This is a bit of trial and error, individuals respond differently, generally heat will help to relieve stiffness, cold can help to reduce discomfort.

3. Movement Variation: Gentle stretching exercises and mobility routines can help to alleviate stiffness and pain, often staying immobilised and staying in one position for too long can make changing position very uncomfortable. Varying posture and position can reduce incidences of significant discomfort, practising posture and positions that alleviate the symptoms will help to desensitise the tissue and muscles causing the symptoms.

4. Maintain a healthy weight: Maintaining a healthy body weight as part of a healthy lifestyle is important for many health related factors, but excess weight can generally put extra stress on the structures in our lower back, this can lead to more incidences of lower back pain. Maintaining a healthy weight can help to reduce this additional stress on the structures especially when coupled with regular exercise that encourages movement variation. 

5. Over-the-counter pain relievers: Over-the-counter pain relievers such as ibuprofen or Paracetamol can help to reduce discomfort during acute or sudden episodes,  however, these aren’t a long term strategy and it's important to follow the recommended dosages and consult with a healthcare provider for a sustainable and long term management strategy that promotes healthy lifestyle choices and independence is important.  

It's important to note that if you have severe or persistent lower back pain, or if the pain is accompanied by other symptoms such as numbness or tingling in the legs, it's important to consult with a healthcare provider for a proper diagnosis and treatment plan.