If you are suffering from back pain you are not alone, approximately four million Australians are in the same position, that’s roughly 16% of the population! There are many reasons why back pain is such an issue, ranging from trauma to bad posture or sitting all day.
Back pain can be fairly mild, causing a dull ache that doesn’t impede your day-to-day activities. However, it can also be deliberating and drastically reduce your quality of life.
There are two things that you should do as soon as you start suffering from back pain.
- Pain Relief
You should start with over-the-counter pain relief in order to reduce any mobility issues. When you have a back issue it is often easier to reduce mobility and avoid the pain. However, this is not advised as maintaining mobility of your spine is essential to your future mobility and quality of life.
- See A Specialist
In many cases, people defer seeing a specialist and highly qualified spine surgeon on the assumption that their back will get better. However, it is a good idea to see them earlier as they can assess the issue and identify the cause. You’ll find makes it much easier to treat and even cure the issue.
Dealing With the Pain
There is no doubt that a bad back can be extremely painful. That’s why most sufferers take over-the-counter painkillers. It is even possible to get stronger ones prescribed by your doctor. But, the problem with painkillers is that your body becomes accustomed to them.
In effect they are addictive and you will want to use them as little as possible. For most people, this leads to looking at alternative medication options. Garlic is a popular choice as it is said to be an effective painkiller. But how true is this?
Anti-Inflammatory Properties
Garlic is known to be an anti-inflammatory. That means it helps to reduce inflammation in your body. As many back pains are caused by inflammation, it is reasonable to assume that garlic can help to reduce back pain by lowering or eliminating the inflammation.
You shouldn’t try to consume garlic by itself, it should be part of your daily diet to give you natural pain relief. Alongside this, garlic is known to help boost your immune system and can even help safeguard your heart.
The best thing about garlic is that you can enjoy it in your food without it being addictive. At the same time, it will help with your back pain and overall health.
However, garlic is not the same as a painkiller. It doesn’t deaden nerve endings or eliminate pain. Instead, it helps the healing process which reduces and may even eliminate the back pain.
As with all treatments, it is advisable to chat with your specialist if you are about to make a major lifestyle change. This will help to ensure it is beneficial for you. In short, garlic works to reduce pain but it needs to be in conjunction with other techniques and lifestyle changes.