Use your brain to relieve acute back pain
I spoke with a colleague today who told me she had “slept funny”, then played tennis and now has a terrible pain in the middle of her back. She was feeling pretty bad, so I gave her some quick advice on a simple way to relieve or reduce these common, short-term, non-traumatic instances of back pain.
It’s important to first understand that the source of most back pain is muscular tightness. In this example, she slept in an uncomfortable position (muscles got imbalanced into tight:stretched pairs), then she played tennis (strong, asymmetrical muscle contractions), which left her with a muscle or muscles that ‘knotted up’, resulting in the pain she was experiencing.
The second pertinent aspect is that the central nervous system is responsible for muscle contractions. The brain sends messages to the muscles via nerves, telling them to contract, and – this is the important part – it can instead send a signal to the muscles telling them to relax.
Try this simple technique:
Take a deep, diaphragmatic breath, and as you exhale, tell your brain to send a signal to the affected muscle telling it to relax. Inhale, notice the tight muscle, and consciously relax it.
Another complementary technique is to expand on the above by doing a full body scan.
Inhale, and as you exhale, slowly scan the body from head to toe, locating areas of tightness and consciously relaxing any tight muscles.
If the pain persists, consider practicing a relaxation technique such as meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, or visualization/guided imagery.
And remember, most back pain is due to tight muscles, which your brain controls. Your brain initiated the muscle contractions but you can take control by overriding this response and letting your brain tell the muscles to relax.
In many instances back pain resolves on its own within three days to two weeks. Try these techniques to see if they help relieve the pain and/or shorten its duration. And be sure to see your healthcare provider when appropriate.
