Back pain is a problem for many people. Many things in today’s culture, such as, sitting for too long or having poor posture, can contribute to back pain. If you suffer from back pain frequently and aren’t sure what to do, read on to find out some ways to relieve back pain.

Apply topical pain relievers to help relieve back pain. Various creams, oils, gels and medicated patches are available that can be applied to the area of the back that hurts in order to offer pain relief. Many can be found over the counter, but some can only be obtained from a medical practitioner or by prescription.

Take one or two days to rest after you start having back pain. This can help you assess how seriously you injured your back and also prevent further injury to it. If you no longer have pain after resting for a couple of days, the injury most likely was minor. Conversely, if your pain does not diminish or increases in severity, you should probably consult your physician to find out what is wrong. Resting for more than 48 hours usually won’t do any good, and it may even make the problem worse due to back muscle atrophy.

Make sure to always remember to stretch before you attempt any sort of exercise or physical activity. Stretching allows your back to get prepared for the activity to come. Forgetting this important step can lead to serious pain later on and that is what we want to avoid.

It is important to listen to your body and not overdo it when you are experiencing back pain. If your back already hurts and you force yourself to do something you probably should not do, you will only make it worse. If you know it is going to hurt to lift, bend or twist right now, then just avoid it until the pain has eased up.

It is important to learn how to lift safely in order to avoid back pain and injury. When you lift safely, you use the large muscles in your legs to spare your back. Bend at the knees, suck your stomach in and keep the item close to your body as you lift.

While anesthetic and steroid shots are common for back pain, this is not effective for everyone. In addition, prolonged episodes of this can actually sometimes cause more back pain to the person. However, these methods are popular and necessary for treatment of back pain in some scenarios. Again, it is your physician that will determine the treatment.

Try sleeping on your side and place a pillow between your knees to help relieve and prevent back pain. The pillow between your knees will help keep you spine straight while you are sleeping so you can wake up feeling refreshed instead of sore. Consider buying a body-sized pillow for this purpose.

Keeping the back pain at bay could be as easy as proper support. Buy a special back form for your chair that keeps your spine aligned properly. Use some pillows, either behind your neck and upper shoulder area or in the space between your lower back and the chair.

To avoid too much back pain, avoid any situations or substances that can provoke back spasms. Stress and caffeine are triggers that you can control, as are lack of sleep, low sodium count in your body, and anxiety. If a back spasm does develop, avoid disabling pain by resting your back and applying moderate heat.

If you often wake up with back pain after sleeping, you may need to consider getting a new mattress. A mattress that is too soft or old offers little back support and can be the cause of stiffness. Having your back in a bad position for eight hours every night can easily cause a lot of pain.

If your back is stiff in the morning, it may help to spend some time stretching before you even get out of bed. While asleep, blood leaves the back to go to organ groups, which means that if you wake up and try to move right away, your back muscles aren’t ready.

We spend a lot of time in cars. If the seat doesn’t give good back support, back pain can be the result. While driving, take care to adjust your seat in relation to the steering wheel, as well as the pedals of your car. You need to be able to reach these without having to stretch your back.

As you read at the beginning of this article, back pain is a problem that many people face because of the way we live. Following these easy tips can help you to solve this common and debilitating problem in your life. Try some of these tips today to start feeling better!