6 Overlooked Remedies for Lower Back Pain Relief- Part 2
Here are 6 often overlooked strategies for relieving back pain. You won’t know which one works for you until you try it and find that your back is feeling better, or there is no change in symptoms and please stop if the symptoms are worsening. Of course, it is always better to get assessed by a physiotherapist to pinpoint exactly the remedy that would be the best fit for you.
Remedies for relief of your low back pain:
1) Low drooping shoulder blades
REMEDY – slightly lift your shoulder blades up and out, like lady bug wings
2) Tight and tense spinal cord
REMEDY – Stretching the dural (membrane) covering of the spinal cord will help lengthen and decompress the spine. You can sit on the floor with your legs straight and try to reach your toes or bring your nose to your knees. Don’t do this exercise if you have disc problems – hernia, prolapse etc.
3) Short hamstring muscles
REMEDY- Hamstring stretches, holding for 15-20 seconds at a time and repeating 3 to 5 times regularly especially when warmed up will reduce hamstring tightness. You can also visualize the hamstrings lengthening and be aware of any tension in the muscles. This tension can be relieved through imagining the muscles softening and by massage.
4) A compressed rib cage
REMEDY- If your upper ribs are compressed or too close together and your rib cage is sagging down toward your hips, by growing taller, lengthening the torse and imagining your ribs being suspended above your head by strings, this can help to unweight the lumbar spine. You can also open up the rib spaces by stretching up to the sky and bending to the side, front and back.
5) Knock knees or bowed legs
REMEDY– Having knees too close or far apart will either shorten or lengthen the hip and pelvis muscles which also have attachments or connections to the spine. This creates imbalances of muscle and tissue tensions. By correcting hip and knee posture so that the legs are straight from hip to knee to ankle, this will improve hip, pelvis and low back stability.
6) Collapsed inner foot arches
REMEDY– Foot arches that collapse have a similar effect to knock knees, where the hip muscles start to lengthen and weaken, compromising, hip, pelvic and low back stability. It is possible to correct this by consciously lifting the arches. Imagine the arch is a cave in which lives a little bear. You would not want to squash him, would you? Arch exercises can be combined with custom orthotics for good and consistent arch support.
