For some patients, no matter what they do, they still have back pain – and they’re ready to try anything that might help them alleviate the pain and get back into their busy lives. If you and your doctor are concerned that your back pain may be the result of stress in your life, you will want to try ways to reduce the stress in your body. And one therapy that comes up time and time again as something that is effective at relieving stress – meditation.

What scares most people away from meditation is the stereotypical idea that it needs to be done with your legs crossed and your hands in a prayer position. It seems a little far fetched and impossible when you see the yogis and the other spiritual gurus meditating. But meditation can be accessible to the everyday person as well. Meditation is simply the calming of the mind in order to clear yourself of thoughts. When you do this, you can relax your body fully and possibly even reduce pain that you feel in your body.

Here are some ways that you can meditate:

• Sit in a room where you won’t be disturbed. Close your eyes and try to empty your mind of all thoughts. You might want to listen to some lyric-less music in order to give your mind something else to focus on besides your To Do list. Try to sit there for five minutes at first.

• Try focusing on nothing but a candle flame or a picture that doesn’t bring to mind other thoughts you might have in your head.

• Realize that you will have thoughts come in and out of your mind, but it’s how to deal with them that makes meditation work. Instead of sitting there and berating yourself for thinking, think the thought and then let it go. Try again to empty your mind.

• Focus on how your body is feeling without judging anything you feel. For two minutes, just think about how your body feels, how your muscles feel, and how you feel right now.

• Focus on the outside world for a few minutes and simply notice everything that’s going on around you. Look at the colors and the things that are around you without thinking about anything by what you see.
• Go for a walk and only focus on the way that your feet hit the ground or the park around you. • Close your eyes and count how many times your breath moves in and out. Whenever your mind starts to wander, bring your attention back to your breath.

• Think about one word with one syllable that you can repeat yourself with each breath in and out. For example, you might want to focus on the word, ‘health.’

• Purchase a guided meditation tape or CD that will instruct you how to move your concentration and your focus.

• On your computer screen saver or other screen savers in your life, type out the words ‘pain free’ and have them flash whenever the screens are idle. This will help to reinforce your concentration on being pain free.

• You can also create guided meditations for yourself by closing your eyes, breathing in and out, and then picturing yourself going on a journey somewhere different from anywhere on earth. Think about walking to this area, what you see, who you see there, and simply observe the pictures in your head. After a while, go back the way you came to this place and open your eyes.

• Some people find that counting their breaths with their eyes closed also helps them relax. Ideally, you will want to try to meditate for at least ten minutes a day – especially when you are feeling pain. Many people find that they are able to fit in a few minutes here and there each day – and that’s fine. The effects are cumulative, so don’t feel that you need to sit down for an hour each day.

You should dress in comfortable clothes and make sure you’re in a place where you can not be easily distracted. Closing your eyes isn’t necessary, but many people find it helpful to keep their concentration steady and focused on their breathing. By building up your concentration ‘muscles,’ you will be able to divert your attention more easily from the stresses of your day as well as any pain you are feeling. It is also thought that the more you can concentrate on not thinking, the more you will be able to change your focus when you feel pain that you don’t want to feel. There are also studies being done on the healing properties and connections between meditation and back pain.

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In TCM or traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture has become the standard level of care for a wide range of conditions, from fatigue and infertility to disease and even different kinds of pain.

But the latest research into this kind of alternative medicine is proving to be effective for many forms of back pain.

An acupuncture practitioner will place thin sterile needles into various points in your body called meridians. These meridians are like sign posts in your body that show where energy is thought to move through your entire being.

It is thought that when you experience pain or illness that one of these meridians is blocked and needs to be redirected or opened in order for you to regain your health.

The needles do not hurt and they may be placed at many different parts of your body, not just in your back. Needles may be placed in the backs of your knees and calves to help stimulate the nerve systems and promote pain relief.

Even if you don’t quite believe in the idea of an energy system, what is interesting is that these meridians call along the pathways of the nerves in your body as well. And since the nerves are what are connected with the transmission of pain, it would make sense that adjusting these nerves in some way could help your back pain.

Many people have found instant relief with the use of acupuncture. They feel more energy in their body and their pain is better controlled with medications or with other therapies they are trying.

In order to find a qualified acupuncturist, you will want to contact the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine to find licensed practitioners. There are licensing regulations for these medical professionals and they are often trained for a number of years before they are allowed to go into practice.

In fact, many health insurance plans are now covering acupuncture treatments, so you may be able to find a provider through your health plan.

Acupuncture treatments increase in effectiveness with regular treatments, so it’s recommended that you go for treatments on a weekly basis until your back pain has resolved.

But acupuncture can also help to prevent future pain, so follow up appointments may also be necessary.

Acupressure

If you are a little squeamish around needles, you can get the same benefits from an acupressure practitioner. They will also work to stimulate the various meridians on the body, but they will use their fingers and direct pressure instead of needles.

They will often hold a thumb in certain places of the body for up to a minute to help stimulate the flow of energy through the body and to release natural endorphins that will help to lessen the pain you are having.

These practitioners can also be found through the NCCAM.

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Chiropractic care is one remedy for back and neck pain that’s getting more press these days than it used to.

Since chiropractic workers focus on the alignment of the spine and neck, it only makes sense that you might turn to these professionals when your back is aching.

By manipulating the body in certain ways, a chiropractor can help to lessen the pain caused by problems with alignment as well as muscle tension. Often, when your body is not in the right alignment, your body will tighten the muscles around that area, causing intense pain.

But if you can loosen that tightness and change the alignment, you will be able to reduce the pain and help the body ‘learn’ the correct positioning.

The main goal of chiropractors is to restore the normal alignment and shape of the spine. Whether this is achieved through the use of a TENS unit or through physical manipulation will depend on the case of the patient.

In the initial treatment session, the chiropractor will assess your spine to see where they feel the problem is. They will then prescribe a course of treatments that will need to be done over several weeks, even months in some back patients.

With each visit, you may have your neck or back moved slightly to promote the proper positioning or you might have the neck or back moved quickly into the right place, with each subsequent time being easier than the one before.

Many patients will note that their backs actually feel worse after treatment for a few days and that they can have headaches and pain after treatment – this is not always a normal result, so be sure to call the doctor if you start to experience these symptoms.

These symptoms are generally attributed to the muscles changing their pattern, and this change can then cause pain.

There are many people who don’t believe in the value of chiropractic work for back pain, but medical studies are split on the effectiveness on back pain.

Some studies show that proper manipulation can indeed help those with simple back pain issues with muscle tension, while other studies concede that chiropractic work may do more harm than good.

In recent days, there have been some concerns with going to chiropractors who aren’t properly trained.

Your chiropractor should be:

* Licensed in the state where they are performing
* Have an up to date certification to practice
* A medical doctor
* A doctor of osteopathy, if possible (DO)

When you go to general chiropractic clinics in which the professionals don’t seem to have the proper accreditations, severe consequences can happen.

Some patients have suffered strokes and paralysis because of improper manipulations to the spine.

You should know that quick snapping of the neck is never recommended. If you feel dizzy or lightheaded after your chiropractic appointment, or if you have a severe headache, you may want to head to the nearest emergency room to make sure you aren’t having a stroke.

Suffice to say, it’s easy to see why people are hesitant about chiropractic work. But when you have these manipulations done by a licensed professional, you can see great results.

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