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Low Back Pain

Usually in the lumbar spine area.

Keep in mind that while a lot of these potential solutions may offer you some relief or resolve your issue for a considerable time, you may only be treating the symptoms rather than the root cause of your back pain. With that in mind, I'd suggest you keep a good record of what works and what doesn't and seek the advice of a suitable professional if your back pain persists for a long time (months or more) or 'flairs up' regularly or is painful enough to prevent you from performing day to day tasks or participating in sports or exercise. The more information you can provide any professional you see, the better.

Possible Non-Medical Solutions

These are in a rough ascending order of likely effort and cost.

Psychological Factors

John Sarno's 1991 book Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection, despite it's age, offers insight into psychological factors such as repressed anger and anxiety, that may be the source of back pain for some. He's named this condition Tension Myositis Syndrome (TMS). I read the book and fairly haphazardly followed the recommendations (a number of psychology-based self-examination tasks) and did gain some relief for a few months, as with most of the recommendations in this article.

Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection by John E. Sarno, MD - Amazon UK

Sit Still Less & Move More

Holding a static body position over many hours on a regular basis trains your body to maintain those positions, which can lead to musculoskeletal issues such as low back pain and a reduced range of motion (ROM) in joints. Sitting at a desk or on a sofa or couch are the most common static body positions people will hold for hours at a time and both of these put weight and pressure on the glutes which...

The human body is built to move and the obvious answer to a host of ailments including low back pain is simply to move more and move more often. Walking (covered next) is a great way to do this but it's also useful to shift and fidget in your chair/on your sofa and change your position as often as you can.

Walk

A great way to get moving which is also a good form of Low Impact Steady State (LISS) exercise and raises your heart rate.

I do farmers walks every morning, lunch time and evening with a heavy weight in each hand to increase the intensity.

Walk With a Longer Stride

Hips again.

Push off the back foot later and harder than you usually would rather than pushing your front foot further forward on each stride.

Improve Hip Mobility

This hit me hard when I started running. Works well;

  • Hip extension exercises
  • Sitting on the floor with crossed legs (aka criss cross apple sauce) - remember to switch the leg at the front
  • Walk with a longer stride (as above)
  • Squatting - not the exercise, simply 'sitting' in a squat for a few minutes

Built to Move book.

You could also stretch in ways that also improve your hip mobility - see the following stretching section and later yoga section.

Stretch

Meh, may be helpful if your hams, calves or hips are tight.

Suggestions;

  • youtube links etc.

Stand More

Built to Move book again

Anything that isn't sitting is good.

Get Better Footwear

Flats, not heels.

Walk Barefoot More

Deadhangs

Deadhangs lengthen/decompress your spine and improve your shoulder ROM.

Lift your knees somewhat so you don't overextend? your lumbar spine.

Posture

I've never found any attempt to consciously improve or correct my posture make a difference. Core and general strength, movement and mobility have.

A strong posterior chain will suffice to both improve and maintain a good posture.

Yoga & Yoga Poses

Regular yoga practise involves lots of stretching and movements that increase mobility and joint ROM and can be very useful. Pay particular attention to which exercises you find difficult or uncomfortable as these can serve as a guide to the cause of your low back pain (and others). As an example, I used to find 'down dog' very hard on my shoulders despite training them at least weekly in the gym - the issue was not my strength but my poor range of motion (I'm an office worker).

If you don't fancy or don't want the expense of the full yoga experience, here's some specific poses you can look up that may provide you some relief;

  • child's pose
  • happy baby
  • pigeon pose (for hips)
  • ...

Massage

In my experience this works for a few months if done correctly by a good physio or massage therapist (I'd prefer the former to the latter). If you find this treatment helps but doesn't last long, look at the other solutions.

Acupuncture

In my experience this works for a few months if done correctly by a good physio or therapist. If you find this treatment helps but doesn't last long, look at the other solutions.

See a Physiotherapist

See a Chiropractor

Sleeping Position

On your front won't do you any favours. Side sleeping may impact your hips.

Core Strength

Hit the gym

General Strength

Hit the gym

Consider a Better Mattress

Possible Medical Solutions

  • steroid injection (reduces swelling and consequently pain - hopefully)