If you ever hurt the muscles in your back, over-the-counter medicines such as, ibuprofen, aspirin or acetaminophen might help reduce the pain. However, you should avoid taking ibuprofen and aspirin together. Furthermore, if you’re asthmatic or suffer with allergies, then you should stay away from ibuprofen and aspirin altogether.

As long as the pain in your back doesn’t require medical attention, you can try a few things at home to relieve the pain. The most common remedies include bed rest, massage, hot & cold packs and relaxation.

? Bed Rest

Should you require bed rest then the mattress needs to be firm, because lying on a soft mattress for any length of time, may be problematic to your back’s supporting muscles.

? Massage

If your muscles are tight, then you might benefit from a good old fashioned massage, but be sure to ask your masseuse to rub the area gently. If a massage does nothing more than increases your pain, asks the masseuse to stop, because you may need medical treatment.

If you’ve fallen and injured your back or been in an accident, you should avoid a massage and seek medical help instead.

? Hot and Cold Packs

Ice packs work quite well, unless you have a condition such as, rheumatoid arthritis, in which case, you should steer clear of them. A cold pack can lessen your back pain if you leave it on your back for long enough to reduce muscle spasms or inflammation. Leave the cold pack on the painful area for at least half an hour.

Afterwards, you can apply a hot pack to the same area, but don’t put hot packs on areas where there is scar tissue present. If you have poor circulation, keep hot packs away from this area as well. Again, leave the hot pack on your back for at least thirty minutes.

Alternatively, you can have a hot bath or shower.

? Relaxation

If your back muscles are tense, then you should try to relax. Relaxation promotes wellness, because muscles need rest after physical exertion.

To avoid stiffness, you should move around for at least twenty minutes each day, but don’t make matters worse by overdoing it. Throughout the day, you should sit up, lie on your back, stand up and walk around, all of which apply gravity pressure to the spine.

What’s more, you should learn how to sit properly to avoid complicating matters.

While seated you can roll up a towel and place it between your lower back and the chair. This will provide support for your lumbar region. However, if you have a condition such as spine stenosis or spondylolisthesis, these can become irritated if you use a back support in this way.

When you sit, use a chair that has armrests so you can lower yourself into position and don’t bend when you lift yourself out of the chair and try not to twist when you get up from your seated position either.

When you are seated, position your knees so they’re slightly above your hips. To minimize back pain you shouldn’t sit for a long time, but if you have an occupation that does require you to sit for long periods, take a break and walk around at intervals.

All of these methods can help reduce common back pain, but if they don’t help, then you should definitely seek medical advice.

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