Lower back pain relief--does it sound like a fairy tale--or perhaps an expensive trip to the surgeon?

Before you give up or go under the knife, try these natural techniques to relieve low back pain caused by muscle tissue.

And most lower back pain is caused by muscular issues. (Yes, muscle tissue alone can cause that much pain.)

That's good news, because most muscle-caused back pain goes away by itself within a few weeks. And if it does last longer than that, or you don't want to wait "a few weeks" (and who does?), it can often be resolved--and kept at bay--just with techniques you can do at home.

You can learn some of these effective natural remedies at the links below:

• Relax
  Because stress usually makes back pain worse, relaxing is one of the best things you can do to help relieve it.

• Lower Back Trigger Point Therapy
  Trigger points are nasty muscle knots that often refer pain to somewhere else in the muscle. Trigger points are an all-too-common cause of muscle pain--often severe. If you've had chronic back pain that no one can seem to relieve for long, trigger point treatment might be the remedy you've been seeking. And, while a professional massage therapist can be very helpful in finding and treating them, you can also learn to do it at home!

• Strengthening Exercises
  Strengthening lower back and abdominal muscles can be helpful in relieving chronic back pain. Just be sure you warm up first, and start your program slowly and gently. You're looking for slow, modest increases--overdoing it can lead to more pain. Three times a week is a good goal--more could be counter-productive.

• Movement, Mobilization, and Dynamic Stretching
  As both prevention and cure of back pain, keep it moving! Medical science now realizes that the old recommendation of "rest" is a bad thing for injured and dysfunctional muscles. Muscles need to move to be healthy and to heal. So if your back hurts, whether or not it's acutely injured or just in chronic pain, start to move it. If you're hurting, you'll want to start out slowly and gently with any lower back exercises--you shouldn't cause more pain. But lying on the floor with your knees bent, try some gentle pelvic tilts. Then try some tiny side to side movements with your knees. Try arching your back a little and just generally wiggling it around in ways that feel good.

  For specific dynamic stretches, see "Appendix C" in Vancouver B.C. health writer and massage therapist Paul Ingraham's great article "Mobilizing!"

• Heat or Ice
  In general, use heat on lower back pain. If you have truly strained or otherwise injured your lower back, you will probably want to use ice on it. But true strains and injuries to the back are fairly rare--and there will be an unmistakable precipitating event. For non-specific, chronic, "I-don't-know-what-I-did" back pain, use warmth.

• Acupressure
  Acupressure uses the same principles as acupuncture, except you use your fingers instead of needles--so you can do it at home. Learn three key points for lower back pain.

• Stretching for Lower Back Pain
  Lower back stretches can help you stay loose and limber--and avoid debilitating episodes of lower back pain. You can stretch once or even more per day.

• Yoga
  Yoga can be a great help in relieving and preventing lower back pain.

Beyond self-treatment at home, you can also seek help from proven-effective and low-cost treatments such as acupuncture and massage. (If you live in Puget Sound region of Washington state, I recommend Tacoma acupuncturist Lily Chin (Qin), at the Natural Medicine Clinic, 253-539-8592)

Almost everyone can eliminate or at least reduce lower back pain with the methods above. And as long as your doctor approves, they're certainly worth a try before you move on to more aggressive treatments such as surgery.

I wish you ease and comfort in your lower back--and I feel sure that you can feel better.

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