Why stretching is important to get relief from back pain?

Stretching is healthy and natural way to deal with chronic back pain. It not only helps us stay fit but get relief from related muscle cramps and aches. There are many benefits of adopting a stretching routine including back pain management.

When you no longer have acute pain, you may be ready for gentle strengthening exercises for your stomach, back, and legs, and perhaps for some stretching exercises. Exercise may not only help decrease low back pain, but it may also help you recover faster, prevent reinjury to your back, and reduce the risk of disability from back pain. Exercises to reduce low back pain are not complicated and can be done at home without any special equipment.

Stretching helps you stay away from the need of medications or invasive surgery.
Stretching is an excellent way to strengthen the lower back muscles, alleviating soreness and pain. Since many muscles such as quadriceps, hamstrings, lower back muscles and hip flexors contribute to your posture, stretching these muscles has the ability to greatly reduce or eliminate lower back pain.
Stretches for back pain help you free up restricted areas and gradually increase your range of motion.

Back pain management with stretching routine

Main cause of back pain might be tight muscles. We sit and work at our desks day long and do not move enough. This causes the muscles to get tight which means aching muscles, including tight back with pain. For people with a limited range of motion in their back, a tight piriformis muscle is found responsible. The muscles in your buttocks and hips are very important in maintaining good posture, so keeping these muscles loose and flexible supports a healthy spine. Following stretching movements are the answer to these problems. Regular stretching routing can be extremely effective to relieve back and related muscle problems.
Back pain management with stretching routine:

Simple stretches to relieve back pain which can be done in bed

We know that exercise, aerobics or stretches are good to keep us fit and in shape. People with back pain can adopt a routine for some stretches which can help them get relief from back pain. On a long run these stretches can save you from chronic back pain conditions.
These simple stretches can be done at bed either in the morning or at night.

1.  First thing in the morning: Take a moment to lie on your stomach will help to stretch your back and decompress disks. Just put a flat pillow or towel under your chest, which will allow your head and neck to relax down toward the bed. You could also turn your head to the side. If you need support for your low back, place a pillow under your abdomen.

How to get relief from back pain with acupressure therapy?

Acupressure is a drug-free substitute to pain management / relief. It helps reduce or eliminate pain. Acupressure is also effective in promoting wellness, and boosting the immune system.
Acupressure for back pain when applied to various points on the body, performs the role of stimulating coordinating organs and muscles to minimize and even eliminate the pain, and further facilitates the release of chi to return the body to a state of balance.

How acupressure massage helps get relief from back pain?

• It alleviates pinched nerves contributing to back pain
• Acupressure massage helps in increased blood circulation, and Muscle relaxation to the area of the body overwhelmed with pain.

What is the best posture which can help get relief from back pain?

English: 3. Sit well back in chair with body in balance. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A good sitting posture is very important. A better posture can help us get relief from back pain as it helps prevent muscle strain, overuse disorders, and back pain.
Good posture helps us stand, walk, sit, and lie in positions that place the least strain on supporting muscles and ligaments during movement and weight-bearing activities.

Chronic back pain can be the result of these factors:

• inactivity
• injury
• emotional stress
• flawed body mechanics or compressed posture.

Benefits of having good posture:

• Helps us keep bones and joints in correct alignment so that our muscles are used correctly, decreasing the abnormal wearing of joint surfaces that could result in degenerative arthritis and joint pain.

Acupressure massage and back pain management

Research studies published in the British Medical Journal confirm the successful application of acupressure for back pain.
Studies indicated after 6 acupressure treatments, participants revealed both an immediate and long lasting improvement of their condition.

Another study at the National Taiwan University for the management of chronic back pain concluded that acupressure was effective in reducing back pain in terms of disability, pain scores, and functional status with the benefits of acupressure continual for 6 months.
World Health Organisation approves acupressure as an effective option treatment for pain relief.

Acupressure massage points to get relief from back pain:

There are few acupressure points which can help you get relief from lower back pain.
These acupoints are LI 4, LV 3, GB 30, B 48,K 27

Interesting facts about back pain

Interesting facts regarding back pain:

1. 80% of people over the age of 30 experience back problems at some point in their lives. 30% of those will have recurring problems.
2. It is estimated that back pain afflicts over 31 million Americans and is the number one cause of activity limitation in young adults.
3. Each year, there are approximately 916,000 spinal surgeries performed in the US.
4. Back pain accounts for almost one fourth of all occupational injuries and illnesses.
5. In the United States, back surgery rates increase almost proportionately with the supply of orthopaedic and neurosurgeons.
6. Within a given year, up to 50% of U.S. adults suffer from back pain.
7. Americans spend at least $50 Billion each year on low back pain and it is the second most common neurological ailment in the United States.
8. Low back pain is the second most frequent reason for visits to the physician.
9. Americans spend at least $50 Billion per year on back pain—and that’s just for the more easily identified costs.
10. In the United States it is the most common cause of job-related disability, a leading contributor to missed work, and the second most common neurological ailment — only headache is more common.
11. Eighty seven percent of back problems are known to be muscular in origin -- meaning they are related to how your move your body.
12. A survey of back patients revealed that 75% of those who were told they needed surgery recovered successfully without it.
13. In a 1988 study by the British Holistic Medical Association of those who suffer from chronic pain, they expressed their preference for the Alexander Technique as their favorite approach long-term pain relief.
14. Low back pain is the fifth most common reason for all physician visits in the United States.
15. Back pain is the most frequent cause of activity limitation in people younger than 45 years old.
16. Most cases of back pain are mechanical or non-organic—meaning they are not caused by serious conditions, such as inflammatory arthritis, infection, fracture or cancer.
17. Approximately one quarter of U.S. adults reported having low back pain lasting at least one whole day in the past three months2, and 7.6 percent reported at least one episode of severe acute low back pain within a one-year period.4
18. Low back pain is also very costly: approximately 5 percent of people with back pain disability account for 75 percent of the costs associated with low back pain.
19. One-half of all working Americans admit to having back pain symptoms each year. 
20. Approximately 2 percent of the U.S. work force is compensated for back injuries each year.
21.  Most acute back pain goes away on its own, whether or not you treat it with medication or other therapies.
22. With conservative measures, the symptoms of low back pain typically show significant improvement within a few weeks from onset.
23. "Americans spend much more out of pocket for alternative pain therapies than they will for traditional treatments," says Barry Cole, MD, director of the American Society of Pain Educators. "People value these treatments enough to pay cash!"

Reference:
http://www.usspinecare.com/back-pain-facts.html