… Use a cold compress immediately followed by heat therapy to relieve pain
… Balance rest with light exercise and stretching for better recovery
… Seek professional help from a massage therapist, chiropractor or sports physical therapist
Everyone will experience lower back pain sometime, but it can be especially prevalent in athletes who subject their backs to sudden or repetitive stress. Lower back pain can range anywhere from mild discomfort to excruciating and debilitating. If you start to feel lower back pain, suspend athletic activities until you can resolve the issue. The sooner you address your back pain, the sooner you can go back to participating in daily activities and your favorite sport.
Luckily, athletes (and anyone) can relieve lower back pain both at home and at a professional’s office with effective treatments.
When your back is aching, you might wonder whether cold or heat is better for relief. Turns out, both are very effective for relieving lower back pain as long as you use them in moderation. You do not want to freeze or burn your skin.
Typically, applying cold first -at the point when you first feel the pain- starts the healing process quickly. Then, following the cold therapy with heat is ideal for reducing pain and inflammation For a cold compress, use a cold towel, gel pack or ice pack and apply it directly to your lower back. Remember to use a towel between your skin and the compress. For the warm compress, use a soft pack, wrap, hot water bottle or electric pad for pain relief. A warm bath or visit to a sauna feels nice, too.
As an athlete, you know how important stretching is to prevent injuries. Many kinds of stretches can help existing injuries, too. Consult your coach or sports physical therapist for stretches to treat lower back pain. Stretch daily to manage your pain, preferably in the morning and evening.
Few injuries don’t require some rest for recuperation. Many back problems come from overwork and pain can be your body’s way of telling you to take a break. Always rest when you feel pain and do not return to sports until you have recovered. Otherwise, you could cause more severe and debilitating damage.
When recovering from a back injury, balance rest with low-impact exercise to keep you limber. Gentle aerobic activities like walking or swimming help you stay in shape without putting undue stress on your body. A little exercise will help your back from hurting from stiffness, too. Just don’t overdo it and hurt yourself more.
If home remedies aren’t cutting it, a licensed massage therapist can help. They know massage techniques that will relieve the tension that causes lower back pain.
For the best results, take care to find a qualified professional who comes highly recommended and has lots of experience helping individuals with back pain.
Sometimes our spines and backs get misaligned and contribute to back pain. An occasional chiropractic adjustment is a great way to treat back pain and prevent future pain. Visit a reputable, licensed chiropractor for this service and see the difference it makes in your comfort.
No one understands sports-related lower back pain and how to treat it better than a sports physical therapist. An experienced sports physical therapist can provide a variety of techniques to aid rehabilitation and prevent future injuries.
For lower back pain, talk to your sports physical therapist about treatments such as orthopedic physical therapy, dry needling, manual therapy and others. They can also look at your unique physiology and help you develop a better technique for preventing injuries when playing your sport.
At True Sports, we’re sports-focused because you’re sports-focused. The best physical therapists in Baltimore and Maryland provide the highest level of sports physical therapy and expertise you need to get back to your sport. With six convenient state-of-the-art locations to choose from, any athlete who takes their rehab seriously can get awesome care and extraordinary results. Select your location and schedule an appointment and have True Sports get you back to your team. For questions about insurance or self-pay rates, please call our office at 1-401-946-1672.
.jpg)
.jpg)
