Back Pain - Prevention and Cure

Back Pain has become one of the most common ailments in the world today, specially with the people who have long sitting hours at work or otherwise. There are different types of back pains ranging from pain in the upper back to spinal cord pain to pain in the lower back etc. and we will discuss in terms of their causes, prevention, cure and best practices that we should in our life style to make sure that our body is away from it. According to ayurvedic philosophy, excess 'apana' in the body is responsible for lower back pain. Hence, the body needs to be detoxified of this element. One of the most effective ways to detoxifying your body is to to take Castor oil thrice a week for a month.

Few of the methods that can help cure Back Pain are:

• The administration of a herbal preparation (such as Asthavargam) is essential to bring the vitiated dosha back to a normal state
• An ayurvedic internal treatment method called 'Panchakarma' is also good to treat back pain. This treatment method includes administration of a full body massage (Abhyanga) and/or meditated enema (Basti) to lubricate the inside walls of the intestine and empty the bowels. Daily purgation, according to ayurveda, helps reduce back pain
• Certain ayurvedic preparations can also be given to reduce back pain. These medications include Lakshadiguggul, Mahanarayana tailam, Triphala Guggul, and Yogarajaguggul. Their consumption leads to an internal action on the causes of back pain.

Few More Methods of Ayurvedic Back Pain Treatment

• Yogasana: One more method to treat back pain ayurvedically mostly include performing yogasanas. The postures that can be done to reduce back pain include the following simple back bend poses: Marjari Asana (Cat pose), Salabhasana Asana (Locust pose), Chakravak Asana (Sunbird pose). It is advised that people suffering from back pain take and strictly follow the advice of their yoga teacher. Doing this would avoid possibilities of any further damage to the lower back
• Breathing Posture: For more stability of spine, it is advised in ayurveda that the breathing posture needs to be corrected. Hence, if you have back pain then inhale in a manner which allows your breath to reach the bottom of your spine. This would result in a relaxed feeling in the full length of the spine as well as the lower back region.
• Aromatherapy: Ayurveda also recommends the use of aromatherapy to reduce back pain. This method is both- external as well as internal. Oils of natural herbs such as basil, cinnamon, frangipani, or henna could be poured into hot water and its vapors inhaled.
• Sleep Well: When it comes to sleeping, good mattresses are important. A good mattress would give ample support to your back. Too hard or too soft mattresses can ruin the posture of our back and can cause or aggravate back pain. We normally ignore the fact that we spend close to one-third of our life in the bed. What is also ignored is that it is highly important to remain in the correct posture while we are sleeping in our bed. The situation aggravates when one sleeps on a too soft or too hard mattress. Such a mattress does not provide proper support to the back. When this is ignored for an excessively long period of time, it becomes the cause of back pain.