Backche

Backache

Bend over to tie a shoelace—pop! Lift a heavy box without bending your knees—sproing! Slip on an unseen patch of ice—crunch!

Almost no one escapes occasional back pain. It’s the price we pay for walking on two legs instead of four. Fortunately, 70 to 90 percent of backaches go away by themselves or with home treatment. The natural remedies in this chapter—in conjunction with medical care and used with your doctor’s approval—may help relieve back pain, according to some health professionals.

See Your Medical Doctor When...

Your back pain lasts for more than three days.
Your pain shoots down your leg to your knee or foot.
You feel numbness in your legs.
You have a fever, stomach cramps or chest pain along with the backache.

Acupressure

Pressing the B 54 acupressure points, which are behind your knees, may help move pain and pressure away from your back, according to Michael Reed Gach, Ph.D., director of the Acupressure Institute in Berkeley, California, and author of Accupressure’s Potent Points. “They open a pathway for energy to flow out of the back,” he explains. To press these points (to help locate them, see the illustration on page 565), Dr. Gach says to lie on your back with your legs up and your knees bent. Place your fingertips in the center of the crease behind each knee. Holding on to these points, gently rock your legs back and forth for one minute as you breathe deeply. When you’re done, says Dr. Gach, let your feet rest flat on the floor, with your knees bent, and relax. Repeat this exercise three times a day, he adds.

Aromatherapy

For severe backaches, Los Angeles aromatic consultant John Steele offers the following soothing massage oil: Mix together 4 drops of blue chamomile, 4 drops of birch, 4 drops of rosemary, coriander or eucalyptus, 4 drops of ginger or black pepper and 14 drops of lavender essential oils. Then add this solution to ½ ounce of any carrier oil, available in most health food stores.

For a minor ache, Steele says to use the following mixture: two drops of blue chamomile, two drops of birch, two drops of rosemary, coriander or eucalyptus, two drops of ginger or black pepper and two drops of lavender in ½ ounce of carrier oil.

Steele suggests using either of these mixtures daily as needed, rubbing it into the affected area after a hot bath, when muscles are relaxed and pores are open.

For information on preparing and administering essential oils, including cautions about their use, see page 19. For information on purchasing essential oils, refer to the resource list on page 633.

Ayurveda

For relief of minor backaches, make a paste using ginger powder and water, and apply it to the place on your back that hurts, says Vasant Lad, B.A.M.S., M.A.Sc., director of the Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Give the paste a little time to sink in, he says, then after 10 to 15 minutes, wash it off and ask a friend to rub your back with eucalyptus oil (available in most health food stores). Dr. Lad cautions that this treatment is not good for red, inflamed conditions.

Homeopathy

To lessen back pain, try one of the following 6C or 12C remedies three or four times a day until you begin to notice improvement, says Chris Meletis, N.D., a naturopathic physician and medicinary director at the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, Oregon. If you feel bruised and sore and don’t want to be touched, and if the pain is better while you’re lying down, Dr. Meletis recommends Arnica. Aesculus may help, he says, if your lower back gives out, accompanied by dull pain that is worse after walking or stooping. For a painful, stiff neck that feels worse with motion, cold and weather changes and better with rest, he says to try Bryonia. Rhus toxicodendron may help if your back symptoms make you restless and you can’t get comfortable in any position, especially if you have stiffness in the small of your back that is worse with motion, he says.

All of these remedies are available in many health food stores. To purchase homeopathic remedies by mail, refer to the resource list on page 637.

Hydrotherapy

Those prone to chronic backaches may benefit from alternating hot and cold showers, according to Agatha Thrash, M.D., a medical pathologist and co-founder and co-director of Uchee Pines Institute, a natural healing center in Seale, Alabama. She says to begin with a hot jet or strong spray aimed at the back for one to four minutes, followed by a cold jet or strong spray for 5 to 30 seconds. Depending how much time you have available, you can repeat this treatment as often as once every hour, says Dr. Thrash.

Imagery

Imagine that you’re carrying a 100-pound bag on your back. Drop the bag, open it and examine the contents. There may be a lot of stuff in that bag—anger, frustration, depression, painful memories—that you can throw away to lighten your load, says Dennis Gersten, M.D., a San Diego psychiatrist and publisher of Atlantis, a bi-monthly imagery newsletter. He suggests doing this exercise once a day for several minutes every time you have a bout of back pain.

Juice Therapy

Drink ½ to 1 cup of fresh grape juice daily, apart from meals, suggests John Peterson, M.D., an Ayurvedic practitioner in Muncie, Indiana. He says that grape juice made from dark grapes is the most effective. Keep the juice at room temperature, he says, and do not mix it with other juices. Or if it’s too sweet for your taste, he recommends mixing it with plain water. He advises drinking the juice once a day, preferably before a meal, as a preventive.

For information on juicing techniques, see page 93.

Massage

It’s tough to reach your own back for a massage, so try using tennis balls to do the job, says Ed Moore, a certified massage therapist who has worked with the U.S. Olympic cycling team.

First, says Moore, take a hot bath or shower, followed by some gentle stretching. Then before you begin the massage, slide two tennis balls into a sock, tying off the open end of the sock so that the balls are touching each other, says Moore. Now lie on your back on the floor. Have the socks at hand and place them under the small of your back, one ball on each side of your spine. Moore says to take a deep breath and let your body relax into the balls. Rock your hips gently from side to side. Then adjust your body slightly so that the balls move up your back a few inches. Hold that position briefly, then take a deep breath. Wait until you feel a sense of softening or melting into the balls before you move them farther up your back, says Moore.

Moore recommends taking about 10 to 15 minutes to work the balls up and down your back. If you have a particularly sore area on your back, he says that you can spend extra time with the balls touching that spot.

Reflexology

Focus on these reflexes when working on your hands and feet, suggests New York City reflexologist Laura Norman, author of Feet First: A Guide to Foot Reflexology: solar plexus, diaphragm, spine, shoulder, arm, neck, hip, knee, leg and sciatic nerve.

To help you locate these points, consult the hand and foot reflex charts beginning on page 582. For instructions on how to work the points, see “Your Reflexology Session” on page 110.

Relaxation and Meditation

A ten-minute session of thermal biofeedback may help relieve back pain, says Steven Fahrion, Ph.D., director of research at the Life Sciences Institute of Mind-Body Health in Topeka, Kansas. To learn how to do it, see page 121.

Yoga

To strengthen your back, the American Yoga Association recommends doing the easy bridge pose as part of your daily yoga routine. According to the association, this pose (page 619) helps your back gradually become more flexible, making it less likely to be strained in the future. Note: Do not do the easy bridge pose during the second half of pregnancy.

Doing the corpse pose every day, with either straight or bent legs, is another effective yoga remedy for minor back pain, according to Los Angeles yoga therapist Larry Payne, Ph.D., creator of the videotape Healthy Back, Healthy Mind. Relax into the pose (page 612) for about five to ten minutes, emphasizing the exhalation as you focus on your breathing. Because the corpse pose is great for relaxation, it can help soothe sore muscles, Dr. Payne says.

You should also practice meditation each day while lying flat on your back, says Alice Christensen, founder and executive director of the American Yoga Association. Place pillows under your knees and thighs to ease pressure on your back. For information on how to meditate, see page 153.