You never would have expected but it happened..... accidents, slips, fall, injuries. They are unexpected events and never nice to experience. The pain, immobilty, scar tissue, swelling, pain on every single twitch that you do.
You've heard of the R.I.C.E protocol (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevate) and it still stands true but I have found that there are other techniques to assist in pain relief.
1. ICE- Yes, anytime you injury you lower back you want to Ice it.
2. FACE DOWN- Lay face down on a bed or carpeted floor and rest you head on your hands. It's similar to a cobra yoga pose without pushing up onto your hands.
3. WALK- Don't sit down because this compresses the low back tissue but rather gently walk around if you can. If not then lay flat you your back and put some pillows under your knee to reduce the pressure in your lumbar region.
4. SQUEEZE YOUR ABS- your lower back muscles work together with your core to develop a strong, tight belt around your mid section. By lightly squeezing the core you are activating the muscle and getting the circulation to move around. Pumping out the toxins will assist in the healing process
5. HYDRATION- Sometimes we forget to drink. Keep your fluids up
6. ASSESSMENT-When the pain settles down see you lcoal health professional to get an assessment to understand what is going on. It could be a pinched nerve, disc injury, muscle spasm, ligament sprain. This is very important because each diagnosis has a different treatment protocol and recovery time frame. If you damaged a disc and expect it to recover within a day, then you might want to think twice.
