“7 Steps to Healing Back Pain in 24 Hours”

It’s so easy to go to bed and wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and have our back go out and end up with excruciating pain. We pull a muscle, and some how cause a misalignment of our vertebrae which is very painful. But there are many ways to sooth away back pain and realign our backs within 24 hours without pain killing drugs.

Tens Machines or Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulators - These little battery operated electrical devices have special little pads that attached to the painful area and create a specific electrical stimulation that tenses up the muscles and then allows them to relax. This happens over and over again at a very rapid rate until the muscle stops cramping and spasming and the pain slowly disappears. Tens unites are very easy to use and sell for under $40 at any leading drugstore. And they can also be ordered on-line at very reasonable prices. The more expensive tens units just have more bells and whistles but the process is the same.

Massage - There is nothing like having a nice massage to relax muscles and allow all that tension to disappear. Also the human touch is hard to beat when it comes to pressure point therapy and shiatsu massage. A little pressure here or there which might be painful at first allows the muscle relax and thus the pain disappears. Also those little hand held massage machines also work very well for loosing up tense and painful muscles.

Alternate Hot and Cold Packs - Also alternating hot and cold packs also helps to relax painful muscles and thus get a person back on their feet again. There is nothing like a nice hot water bottle which is pretty warm to sooth away pain. And taking a few ice cubes and placing them in the same ice cap or water bottle makes a great way to sooth away pain. Or taking a wet wash cloth and wringing out most of the water and placing it in a plastic bag in the freezer works well for painful muscles. When frozen take the wash cloth out of the bag and let defrost slightly and then lay it across the painful area… wonderful.

Herbs - Taking a little crampbark and devils claw will also help with back pain. Taking 2 - 500 msg capsules of crampbark and up to 4 - 500 msg capsules of devils claw twice a day will help with spasms and pain.

Walk - As soon as the pain goes away make it a point to walk as soon as possible. Walking is great for realigning our back and to work out the kinks. So when the pain finally subsides take it easy, but don’t sit around, keep walking it’s very important for healing back pain.

Spinal Alignment Tool - If you are one of those people with a very flat back and neck or what some call military neck then this quick alignment process will bring relief from a nagging back ache and stiff painful neck.
Go to a pool supply and buy a styrofoam swimming noodle. They are long and have a whole in the middle and are used to keep people afloat in the pool.
Cut 3 pieces of this noodle the same length as the width of your lower back. (a serrated knife works well for this) Take one of the pieces and cut it lengthwise down one side of the noodle making a slit down one side. Then insert one of the other pieces into the one you cut lengthwise. Take another piece and cut it lengthwise all the way through to make it exactly what’s needed for a good curvature in your neck. It can be made thicker or thinner depending on your body contour. This noodle will be flat on one side. Lay down on the floor and place the flat sided noodle under your neck. And place the double noodle under your lower back.

Start out with your knees up and then slowly lower your legs down until they are flat on the floor and lay like this for 10 to 15 minutes. (It will become more comfortable over time) Then get up and walk around. Don’t sit down for about 30 to 45 minutes, it’s important to keep your spinal curvature in place without altering it for as long as possible. Sitting down right away removes the curve and negates the whole process. Do this as often as needed or at least once a week. If the styrofoam pool noodle is too large for your back or neck find something else that works. Perhaps that foam insulation that’s used for insulating water pipes… they are smaller and might work well for your spinal curvature. And if both of those are not available some towels can be rolled up and also used for this purpose.

Inversion Tables - I read about inversion therapy and it really got my attention. So I bought myself a set of gravity boots. I’ve always worked out and found that exercise was important for keeping my back in shape. So I had the strength to pull myself up and hang with inversion boots for 10 minutes. Later I found out I had 3 narrowed disks, 2 fused vertebra (the place where the disk was crushed), and a transitional segment in my lower back that was deformed… kind of triangular shaped vertebra with secondary arthritic changes all over the place, plus I had sciatic nerve involvement.

From the very first time I used my inversion boots I was amazed. My back pain slowly disappear over the course of a week. I have to say that nothing worked as well as inversion therapy. No drugs, no manipulation, no nothing… the pain just seemed to disappear over a few days.

Now they have inexpensive inversion tables that make it so much easier to hang upside down or at an incline for 5 to 10 minutes at a time. And these tables can be folded up and placed in the closet or a person can slide them under their bed. On the average a person’s disk spaces became wider, their back pain and sciatic pain disappear, and eventually there is no back pain at all. And inversion therapy has a great side effect of making one feel revitalized and alive… it’s amazing what hanging upside down can do.

I’ve recommended inversion therapy to lots of people and it works… their back pain fades away.

But inversion therapy is not for everyone, if a person has very high blood pressure perhaps inversion therapy should not be used. Not every therapy is great for every body… but from my personal experience inversion therapy gave me a new lease on life. Inversion tables can be found on-line for under $100 and they can also be found at most sporting goods stores and large department stores.

PS - My wife had terrible sciatica for a few weeks and I brought her a inexpensive inversion table and within 2 weeks her sciatica disappeared. And she was a skeptic and now she is sold on inversion therapy.

These 7 steps are powerful and will usually heal back pain in 24 hours.

Dr. Paul Haider - Master Herbalist