I'm not a medical profesional, but have extensive experience with lower back pain. Here's what my
chiropractor instructs me to do, however, readers would be well
advised to consult their own physicians. With that said...
The two most common lower back
ailments are strained
muscles and
sciatica. Depending on severity, either condition can be fairly
debilitating. As far as home treatment, both respond fairly well to some simple measures.
My treatment includes ice pack therapy and an
OTC anti-inflamatory (
aspirin or
ibuprofen). For sciatica I get relief by laying on the floor with my legs draped over the edge of a bed, sofa or chair. This helps take pressure off those painful pinched
nerves. Heat therapy is
not advisable for sciatica because the warmth will only cause the swelling in those damaged nerves to become worse.
Muscle
strains can be eased initially with cold therapy at the onset, followed a day or two later with warmth (hot compresses, bath, heating pad). Muscle preparations (BenGay, Flexall, etc.) can also be beneficial, but
never use them in conjunction with an external heat source as you can literally cook your flesh!