When Back Pain Strikes…

It has been reported that up to 80% of back pain cases will resolve on their own within 2 to 4 weeks, even without treatment.

But people can speed up the recovery according to the report.

The 1st step, when pain suddenly strikes, try to relax both your back and your mind. Applying ice can be helpful, as can getting acupuncture or chiropractic.

Then, instead of Rx painkillers, try some anti-inflammatory herbs instead: boswellia, curcumin, and ginger are a few.

And, while many people do not consider this, addressing emotions is another important component. Depression and anxiety tends to reduce or slow down your body’s innate capacity for self healing, so when pain strikes, it may be a sign that emotional difficulties and stress have gone unaddressed for too long.

Our brain, and consequently our thoughts and emotions, actually play a big role in our experience of pain. Our central nervous system remembers any pain that lasts more than a few minutes at the neuronal level.

These memories can become so vivid that the pain persists even after the injury has healed, or re-occurs when it should not, such as from a gentle touch.

Retraining our brain using mind-body techniques like the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) can be very helpful in these painful instances.