Back Pain Relief?

Back pain is a scourge on us.  It ruins days and nights.  It is hard to have a happy life, when you are in constant pain.  Back pain comes from life.  But does it have to rule your life?

We have all seen the infomercials touting that this or that can eliminate your back pain.  Where is the true miracle?  My Irish Grandmother used to tell me two things:  If it seems to be to good to be true, it probably is; and It's not what you know, but who you know.  And I took those to heart.  The more hype I see on a product, the more skeptical I become.  But there are some good products out there that can help.  The thing is almost none that I am aware of will "eliminate" all pain in our backs.

As you probably know, our family runs a mattress store.  Mattresses for years have pushed how they can help pain, and that is true, they can.  But is a mattress all you need?  No, but it can be part of your solution.  We would like to look at a few things that may help.

Back braces can be a part of your solution.  A back brace can help you to lift things properly, and help you maintain posture.  And posture is the key to everything you read here today.  Posture is how our bodies are meant to function.  Years of evolution have helped us to grow in to a form that fights gravity best.  It is when we disavow our nature that we tempt fate, and pain.

Exercise can help too, but get help so that you are not making the problem worse.  Exercise can strengthen your back muscles making them more able to keep your skeleton in the best posture.  Part of our problem today is that we are not as active as we once were.  But we have to live in today's world, so exercise is a good alternative.

Medication can help in severe cases.  We believe medication should be a temporary fix, however, until the root cause can be found.  Some times pain comes from a medical condition like curved spine or fibromyalgia.  These are particularly hard to treat. Total pain care needs to be holistic in its intent. 

Chiropractors and Acupuncturists can also be useful.  But again, it is not the total solution.  Doctors and Osteopaths often try to correct through surgery, and yet these surgeries can backfire.  And while we would never say never, we believe surgery to be a last resort.

First, it is important to find out why your back hurts.  Do you work in a factory, with concrete floors, and lift the wrong way?  Perhaps a farmer?  Or even a secretary who has to lift cases of paper.  Or none of these.  Once you know the cause of the pain, you need to talk to people, to doctors, to even mattress guys like us.  Develop a personalized plan to fight back against the pain.

Learning to lift properly.  Knowing what you do that causes the pain.  The self educating to minimize the pain.  As an example, in our industry we know that people spend one third of their lives in bed.  Does your back hurt in the morning?  Could it be because of your bed?  Absolutely.  Even age related maladies like arthritis can be helped, but sadly not eliminated.  Our particular segment, air beds, usually show pain relief, note not elimination, about 90% of the time.  But why?  These beds help promote good posture while sleeping.  Assuming they are set correctly.  Posture will take the pressure off the muscles and joints and allow them to relax, and regenerate to a degree.  Other surfaces also will help, but in our experience, air is the king of the hill.



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But don't expect your bed to be the total solution.  There are some products out there that are pretty good partners.  One we have found is Back2Life, and yes it is an infomercial product, but it helps move your back to release the pain, and is easy to use.  Again the back belts or braces will also help by augmenting your own muscles.  And of course there are the old fashions sit ups that can also help.

Not all pain is a medical condition, in fact, most of it is just lifestyle.  Learn to live in good posture, just like our primary school teachers said:  "stand up straight!" or "sit up straight!"   And as we like to say "lay down straight!"  Our bodies are amazing in what they can do.  Why not do things that can help them do their best?

Sleep Well!

One more thing, if you find at least some of these blogs useful or entertaining, would you let others know?  Post a link to Face Book or Twitter, or email a link.  And if you have a topic to discuss, send us an email at HannahsBetterBeds@att.net Thank you for your loyalty!