Top Natural Back Pain Remedies for Holistic Relief

I have been reading on Earth Clinic and recommending the site to others for years, and I have tried almost all of the cures for back pain. Most suggestions helped temporarily, and I do think there is value in the remedies I tried, but I have found something that helps me long-term: leg lifts.

I am a 45 year old woman, and I want to help you because I know the pain and frustration you are experiencing. There were times I could not get off the floor because of the pain.

I got shoved to the floor at a rock concert when I was 17 and have had lower back pain in increasing intensity since. When I was 30, my hip would fall out of its socket, and starting about age 33, I would regularly trip on sidewalk cracks, which would send a shooting pain through my back. I remained active through it all, even running a 5K, but the pain kept coming back.

I went to 4 different chiropractors for 6 months at a time, and they helped, but it was prohibitively expensive and, of course, temporary. One chiropractor told me that I had advanced stage arthritis in my lumbar vertebrae and that I would have to get treatment for the rest of my life or my spine would fuse completely. I didn't believe this was my fate.

I was in a bad car accident when I was 35. I was rear-ended while I was at a stop sign and the result was horrendous whip-lash. I couldn't even stand up without passing out. Back to the chiropractor I went. The first adjustment helped me to start functioning again. I recognized a pattern at this chiropractor. He had a tool that was hooked up to a computer and he would run it along my spine. I asked him about it. He said that it measured how much my muscles were pulling by how much heat they put out. If the muscles were pulling equally on both sides (and the computer would show a green color), then he reasoned the adjustments he did to my spine were "taking". If one of the muscles attached to a vertebrae were pulling harder on one side, it meant that muscle was working harder, so the computer would show a yellow(moderate pulling) or red (pulling hard) color and he reasoned that the adjustments weren't "taking".

What he didn't know was that I was conducting my own experiment. I would go to the gym and lift weights for a week before he ran his test, and the colors on the computer would be green (muscles pulling evenly). Then I would not lift weights for a couple weeks and when he ran his test the results would be a mess of yellow and red. And the pain would come back.

I knew the chiropractor could put my vertebrae back where they belonged, but I wanted to figure out what was making the vertebrae get out of place.

I truly believe that if we use our muscles, it will even out our spines.

My husbands spine was a giant "S" from carrying a ladder at work every day. He stopped carrying the ladder and lifted weights intensely for 6 months. His next x-ray showed that his spine was perfectly straight!

I also figured out that my right leg was lower than my left leg (after much research on Earth Clinic) due to my hips being misaligned. My hips were tilted forward and down, more so on my right side. This is why I kept tripping over sidewalk cracks with my right foot. So I started researching hip exercises and found some videos on the internet. I did the exercises and realigned my hips! I did these leg lifts every day at first, and now I only do them about twice a week to keep my hips in line. I have no more lower back pain, and if I feel it coming on, I do the leg lifts and it goes away!

This is the main pain reliever: Lay on the floor (or in bed if you have to) on your side. Don't prop yourself on your elbow, just lay on the floor. Your legs should be stacked (you can bend the bottom leg for stability). Now lift your top leg about 18 inches. While the top leg is elevated, at the peak of the lift, twist it so your toes point toward the sky. Hold this for a count of 3. Then twist it back so your toes point forward again. And then lower your leg back down to stack on the bottom leg. Super easy. Lift, twist, hold, untwist, lower. Do this about 20 times, or as many as is comfortable. You will feel the muscle at your hip get a little cranky. That means it's getting stronger. Roll over and do the same on the other side with the other leg.

I also do similar exercises called "clam shells" Where you lay on your side with both knees bent and lift your top knee about 10 inches while keeping your feet together. Put your hand on your hip to make sure your hip is not moving while you lift your knee. You will feel this toward the back of your hip joint in your gluteus. Do about 25 of these or as many as you can. These muscles will get strong quickly!

We don't use these muscles in day-to-day living, not even running. I believe that when these hip rotator muscles atrophy, our hips become misaligned and it pinches the lumbar vertebrae. Before I started doing these exercises, I had horrible pain, and it receded after the first set. After about 4 days of doing these leg lifts 3 times a day, the pain was gone!

There are a lot of videos on the internet that show exercises for realigning your hips, just search "hips" on the video site. The ones I found to be most effective are by physical therapists who do the exercises themselves to show you how.

I also keep my upper back pain free by lifting free weights at home during TV commercials. I don't lift heavy weights, rarely over 5 lbs. I think the key is to keep using muscles evenly, especially if you have a job where you have to use your dominant arm to lift or repeat movements.

I hope this saves someone a lot of pain and hassle. Don't give up. Do what you can, and especially just keep moving!

God bless you all.

Anita

I'm not a doctor, THIS IS NOT MEDICAL ADVICE, I'm only telling you what happened to me. Consult you doctor before you try anything. If you get hurt, don't waste your time suing me, you won't get much.

This post will probably be too long for most readers, but if you have LOWER BACK PAIN, I want you to know that I understand what you're going through.

I fixed my LOWER BACK PAIN with a BALL POINT PEN - no, I didn't write a check. First some background and then I'll get to the point. I had back pain for 28 years - from age 17 to age 45. I'm 53 now and except for a couple of 'twinges' NO PAIN IN 8 YEARS. I spent an average of 3 days a month on my back. I had pain 75% of the time. I used to pee in a jar because it hurt too bad to get up and go to the bathroom.

My wife had to put on my shoes and tie them for me. To pick up something, I had to get down, slowly, on my knees and only if it wasn't heavy. I used to pay $80 for a hotel room just to get out of the car. I never slept in the hotel bed. I slept on the hard floor.

I couldn't do a lot of things like camping or hiking or dancing. I thought of myself as a cripple. I lived in fear of that pain, like a knife in my lower back, making me go to the ground. I never knew when it was going to hit.

I went to doctors and chiropractors and spent a lot of money. Had a lot of X-Rays done. I'll probably die of cancer. I was told that: - one leg was longer than the other (chiropractor) - I needed special shoes or lifts in my shoes (chiropractor) - I had a herniated disc (doctor) - I had soft tissue damage (doctor) - I had cracked vertebrae (doctor) - I needed surgery (at least 3 doctors)

I tried:

- heating pads (temporary relief)
- popping my own back (sometimes temporary relief, sometimes made it worse)
- bed rest - or on the floor rest (sometimes back to work the next day, sometimes 3 days to a week on my back)
- stretching exercizes prescribed by doctors (useless)
- very hot baths (temporary relief often followed by worse pain)
- TENS unit - electric stimulation - I bought one (temporary relief)
- heat, TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation)followed with 'manupulation' (back popping) by chiropractors (temporary relief, usually followed by pain shortly thereafter or the next day
- hard mattresses, soft mattresses, hard chairs, soft chairs (hard chairs worked better for me)

I never ate any pills except over-the-counter muscle relaxors. I won't eat a pain pill. Too easy to get addicted.

Ok. I'm getting to the point:

One day I'm lying on the floor, missing work. My girlfriend is looking at the computer and trying to help me. She is reading about a home remedy for back pain. I'm telling her don't waste yourtime, go in the bedroom, there's a stack of books in there about back pain. Some by a girl named Zimmerman, if memory serves. I think it was a British physical therapist that told me about this cure, but with the pain, and not thinking clearly I really can't remember. Whoever it was, they have my eternal gratitude.

What the person on the net was recommending:

- wait until your pain gets better, don't start fixing it while you're having a lower back pain episode.
- Once your back gets back to 'normal' (for me that meant I was able to work around the pain, go to work, go somewhere)- Then get a ball point pen.
- Drop your drawers, bend over until you just start to feel scared. (most back sufferers don't like to bend over, that's often when the pain hits you)
- Place your fingers on your thighs, flat in the front, and make a mark with the pen where your middle finger touches your thighs one mark on each leg. Don't bend below where you feel comfortable (meaning don't go below the mark)
- DON'T Wash the marks off.
- For the next week, BENDING ONLY AT THE HIPS, KEEPING YOUR LOWER BACK STRAIGHT - TOUCH THOSE TWO MARKS 100 TIMES EVERY DAY.
- Don't do it all at once, ten here, twenty there, and only if you feel safe doing it.
- After a week , if you feel comfortable with it, make a mark 1/2 inch (THAT'S ONE HALF OF AN INCH) below the first marks and now spend a week touching those new marks 100 times a day.
- You can see where this is going - All the way down to your toes.
- I took three months to do it.
- If you do it at 1/2 inch at a time it will probably take you a year, (I think the person who invented this was being overly cautious and trying to make sure no one got hurt)

Anyway, after 3 months of touching the slowly descending marks 100 times a day, I could touch my toes. Without fear. (But I would kind of work my way down each day) I had not bent over and touched my toes for 28 years. Now I could do it every day. And I still do it now. The lower back pain was (and is) GONE.

1) My theory - the reason this works - is that I had babied my back for years and the right muscles, the ones that are supposed to hold you up and aid in flexing and extending a person's back - were WEAK. I realized that all the treatments I had tried only treated the SYMPTOMS and did not solve the PROBLEM - my WEAK back. Also, I was able to function for many years with a bad back, but I believe I was using the WRONG MUSCLES. When my back was locked up, my spine was crooked, the wrong muscles were trying to do a job they were not intended for. Also, and this is important, I don't believe I had any real DAMAGE to my back, nothing broken or torn, that is why I think anyone who wants to try this should go to their doctor and make sure nothing is broken first.

I still touch my toes 100 times a day, twenty here, ten there. I keep a concrete block outside my back door and every now and then I bend down and lift it WITH MY BACK, not with my knees like the doctors say. DON'T TRY THIS YOURSELF. Now my back is strong, my muscles are flexible, and circulation in that area is good. Weak muscles are TENSE and have poor circulation. STRONG muscles are flexible and have good circulation.

Another thing I believe is that many back sufferers are stressed out people, their stress shows up in muscle tension. I don't think that is the only reason for back problems, but I believe stress is a major contributor.

GOOD LUCK
REDOU

I have a long history with back problems and multiple traumas to my body. I have been through two cervical fusions (3 levels fused) and an arm surgery (where they removed bone, and gave me hardware of plates and screws in my arm). I have recovered from all my surgeries but had been dealing with the residual side effects of chronic pain and many years of being on pharmaceuticals. Today, I am clean, as far as pharmaceuticals goes, none of that crap in my blood stream. It has been a four year journey since my first neck surgery. I was on ten different medications. I started by juicing and eating clean, I slowly worked my way off ten different medications. Then in the 6 months I stopped an anti-depressant (amitriptyline, not sure I spelled it right) which I was on for 20 years for chronic pain. I felt horrible after coming of that med, had worked through most the issues, but man was I in pain every day. Everyday was a battle to feel better, which usually took me most the day.

Anyway, my journey with MSM started like a lot of people... I took it and didn't notice much. I often would forget my second dose. Then one day I just started remember to take it, not only that, I even started taking it three times a day, 6 grams total divide into three doses. Those doses were followed with 5,000 mg of Vitamin C. I kid you not, two days after starting this routine, I woke up with ZERO pain. I was dumbfounded to say the least and honestly it has been an adjustment in my brain to not have chronic pain everyday. It has been amazing and I will tell anyone about it.

If you are not having results using MSM for back pain, look at your dosage, larger is not always better. Also I didn't notice the results from MSM until I started chasing it down with Vitamin C. After reading up more on MSM it seems that it works synergistically with Vitamin C.

I just started my BF on this, as he has a lung dysfunction. Vitamin C has done wonders for him.

I am amazed that I have no pain, I had only know about MSM earlier, maybe I could have avoided some of my interactions with the medical field.

This is my go to site for all things natural cures. It's an awesome site. Was having lower back pain for a week now. Even took my heating pad to work and used it almost all day. Definitely helped, but the pain kept lingering. So I came to good ole EC for help. I rubbed my back with coconut oil and OMG, my pain was gone! I am dumbfounded!! I thought that people were just saying that. How could that be true? But trust me, it's so true. Thank you EC for all your wisdom.

Hi all, I was chatting with a lady at work who suggested Blackstrap Molasses (BSM) and Apple Cider Vinegar. For a year I have suffered with constipation, bad back and general tighness of muscles in the neck area. For 20 yrs I have had trouble with fibroids (had surgery but too multiple to remove all). On 26-5-07, I bought BSM and ACV. I took it right away, doses-2 large spoons of BSM in warm water, followed by 3 tablespoons of ACV in warm water. I done this morning b4 breakfast and last thing at night. The second day on it I had a very easy bowel movement and have done everyday since. My constipation is now a thing of the past. My back (which I had to get medication from the doctors for-didnt help) was cured during the week, along with the muscle ache. I sleep deeper and dont seem to eat as much. I totally know that this 'tonic' as I like to call it will clear my fibriods eventually. I also want to see after 3months how i do as I want to give it to my Auntie for her Arthritis. I thank you all for posting your experiences as this has given me constant strength and encouragement. I look forward to this journey and please if you are having or have had VICTORY over fibriods with 'The Tonic' then please post so I can read it. I am a big beliver in foods for healing and this sure is a testament to God's produce. Smiles

I have a back problem and it got even worse when an employee that I work with pushed me from behind and I found myself on the floor in pain. Good thing there was nothing broken but it left me with a terrible back pain. I could hardly walk and if I do, it would be like a slow motion picture. I was downing anti-inflammatory 3x a day, but the doctor only recommends 2x a day. I really don't care at that time. I was also taking tylenol around 12 tabs a day plus a muscle relaxant. None of it work or if it did, it would only provide very little relief which is close to nothing. Then a friend of mine mentioned ACV and I remembered my mom telling me about that about 2 and a half decades ago. I went to the internet and found this site. I thought I would give it a try. Nothing to lose on my part, but everything to gain. The first couple of days of taking ACV, it really didn't do anything for me. But on the third day, I felt a tremendous change. My pain was almost gone. I want to mention that on the second day, I didn't stick to the 3x a day regimen for ACV. I think I drank ACV at least 7 times (3 tablespoons each dose) for the second day. When I felt my pain was almost gone, I went back to my 3 times a day. And up to now, I am still taking ACV. And I am only taking half a pill of my medication for the whole day. This miracle happen in a span of 3 days. It was like a birthday present to me because the third day was my actual birthday and I was able to entertain friends that came over. ACV is a true natural miracle. Thanks to ACV I once again have my life back. Thanks to my mom also for just being mom.

For the past three days my husband has been complaining of back pain. I have asked several times to allow me to apply coconut oil to his back. "I don't want my back to be greasy." He said. This morning I finally managed to get him to allow me to rub some on his back. It absorbed into his skin leaving no residue. I also opened a can of coconut milk and mixed it with ginger ale for him to drink. I left at approximately 7:00 this morning to get my mother some emergency groceries. We had bad weather moving into Oklahoma City and she had no food in the house. When I walked in the house about an 1 1/2 hours later he was asleep. When he woke up three hours later I could tell the grimace was gone from his face. "How do you feel?" I asked. He gave me the so-so hand, but I could tell he was doing a lot better. So much that half an hour later he went outside and scraped the ice off his car! Once again EC has come to the rescue. I hope the effects last. I will come back and update if there are any changes.

My 19 year old son was having lower back pain. He does lawncare and other jobs that are pretty physical. He uses his back a lot. He didn't really remember hurting it.

I made an appointment for him with my chiropractor.

Meanwhile, one night his room was really hot so he slept in the guest room. The next day his back wasn't hurting like usual. The mattress he had was on the newer side and the guest room mattress was an older one (thought probably expensive) that had been my dad's. We switched mattresses. His back pain continued to be much less.

I took him to my chiropractor anyway. She says he has some mild scoliosis.

So, I think the work he does and his scoliosis contribute to his back pain risk and a bed that didn't work for him made it all much worse.

Just changing the bed made a huge difference.

I once slept on a bad mattress for a week on vacation and had significant hip pain for a year.

So, the moral of the story is, if you have back pain, consider your bed!

~Mama to Many~

Is there an ailment category for stiffness or achiness upon waking in the mornings that goes away after awhile? I couldn't find anything on EC about it. And/Or if there is a place for liver help, whatever you name the category, here is the remedy I want to share:

Lemon Slice a Day

In a glass of water, squeeze a slice of lemon. Cut and scrape out the membranes and put them in too. Drop in the wedge. Drink everything up at your leisure (not the wedge of course! ). Pour in more water after you drink it throughout the day. Have more lemon pieces if you want, but one wedge a day is the minimum. I read that lemon is the best at helping out the liver. Lemons helped me better than ACV even! - and this has really helped me not feel so stiff and painful with tight muscles in the mornings when I wake up.

Keep hydrated and avoid Tylenol to help your liver out too!

For back pain, we use oil of oregano oil, 6 drops added to 1/4 cup of coconut oil. Massage in and pain is gone in 5 min...

Hi all I have previously posted my recipe for homemade Vicks of course inspired by EC, I was in a rush because the kids were sick and I didn't want to use the petrol on my babies (again).. to Olive oil I added Shea butter, and whatever essential oils I had that were antimicrobial, antibacterial, antifungal etc. So I added eucalyptus, clove, peppermint, lemon, tea tree. This worked well. Then my order of oregano oil came in and my Brew was required by family member, so that got added.

Well just had my brother in law over who would complain of back pain constantly, he was given a heat pack but of course it keeps slipping. So I thought I've read on ec (ty) where people made a hot 'pack' by adding cayenne pepper to lotions applied to skin so of course that was the new addition to my ever changing/improving Brew. His wife applied the mix and sometime later I asked how is your back pain to which he had none. None. Bless all Ec'ers on all your journeys.

I'd used coconut oil on my reluctant husband about a year ago and his back pain, much to our surprise, went away instantly. I tried it today, finally, on myself and within 5 minutes -- pain is gone. Really! Gone!

I'm now doing research as to why this works! It's a miracle -- that pain was starting to bother me.

Hello Lita209

I apologize but I don't have a picture of this technique. Actually, I'm not sure a picture would help because all it would be is a person bending over and straightening up -again and again.

However, it's not complicated. My back pain was concentrated in my lower back so that's the area this exercize focuses on. If you bend over, your upper body is heavy. Raising and lowering your upper body will work your lower back. When people stand, they generally have a natural curve to their lower spine.

This curve points to the front, the way they are facing. (I have seen people who have poor posture have a backwards curve to the spine). Anyway, when you bend over, your body should bend like a folding knife, two straight lines at an angle to each other, and the natural curve of your lower back should now point downward.

Your legs should be straight and, when you bend, you should feel a stretching all the way down the backs of your legs. When you lower your upper body (start to bend) you should feel it pull the muscles in your lower back which was a scary feeling - at the time - for a chronic back sufferer like me. That is why you only bend over just a little bit at a time.

Do not use the middle of your back to bend and do not round your back. Keep your back straight all the way from your butt to your neck. As you lower your upper body to touch the marks on your legs, you will feel the muscles in your LOWER BACK stretch as you move downward to the marks. This means you are using only your lower back muscles to lower your entire upper body.

Then as you raise your upper body back to an upright, erect posture, you will feel the muscles in your lower back contract. If you keep your entire back straight - all the work is being done by the muscles in your lower back. This felt strange to me when I first tried it and I realized that I had been avoiding using these muscles for years. In my case, when I used to have back problems, these muscles were constantly tense and I used the muscles in my middle back or sides to bend - if I did any bending at all.

The 'ball point pen method' is pretty much exactly what the doctors tell you not to do when they advise 'pick up something by bending your knees and not your knees - not your back'. Well, I agree with them that if you are picking up something really heavy then you don't want to overload your back but, excuse me, your upper body is definately supposed to be lifted by healthy strong and flexible lower back muscles.

One more way of looking at the exercize is this: Think of the natural curve of your lower back pointing downward as you bend. You will feel this curve increase as you raise your upper body. You will feel this curve flatten as you lower your upper body. You will feel your lower back muscles expand and contract. You should not feel the muscles in your middle or upper back doing anything.

I hope this helps, good luck, Redou.

HI U OLE PATOOTS DOIN,,,,,,,, well, I got my new health toy today and it is a hi dollar PEMF system. Went the best way and that is the absolute top of the line system. Over my lifetime I have learned to buy the very best. I bought it to address my sleep, relaxation and back pain. Will post of my experience as I learn. I also post to get folks to start researching this system and what it can do for their health. It uses the natural magnetic frequencies of the earth.

Oh yeah, in addition to all the muscadines, blue berries and blackberries, we also planted a float of lettuce and spinach last Sat. Today, I bought a sack of range cubes to sink in the lake to attract minnows, which will then bring in Crappie. I cheats as all know. No better fish to eat than Crappie.

Trying to live off what God offers.

======ORH=======

HI U OLE PATOOTS DOIN,,,,,,, using our PEMF system today to address my low back pain, lymphodema, and poison ivy. When I address a new ail, I call the guy who wrote the book and he counsels me on the proper way to used the system. I am also reading his book and it explains things that were heretofore unknown to me. I knew about the instances but did not know why. For instance, people have come up behind you with out a sound, yet you turned and they were there. How did you know? Well the book explains that most folks put out an electro-magnetic field that extends 15'. When their field came, you sensed that force and turned. I got a gut feeling that also happens to long time married folks when you know what they are going to say before they say it. They now can interpret your brain field before you can say what you are thinking. We have been married almost 57 years and we hang out together full time. It is dang near spooky. I now have no secrets.

I am learning but can understand how a PEMF device can sooth a back pain, but to dry up poison ivy on my face is beyond my comprehension. It is doing just that. It has also stopped the itch. This in not just a few blisters, this is a thick case that must have happened when I wiped the sweat off my face at the farm and had the ivy compound on my glove.

Our system has a mat, a pillow and a probe. I use the probe for the ivy.

My Tractor Driver is using this system to address here insomnia along with the IASIS treatments from our Integrative doctor in Ringgold, Ga. Something is working because she sleeping through the night. Hope this ditty gets you to thinking because some folks can read your mind and now you have no secrets and maybe in deep trouble. You got to start behaving.

ATS======ORH======

Re: Coccyx Pain

I woke up with terrible back pain a few days ago. Taking paracetamol (like acetaminophen) and ibuprofen eased it enough to allow me to stiffly walk out of the house.

I was doubtful about the coconut oil cure, but tried it anyway since I had some in the house. Like many others, the pain went away almost instantly. I felt about 70-80% better within the hour, and it got better after two hours. I need to reapply it before sleeping, but it works very well. I still feel some stiffness, but I can walk and bend a lot.

I also took a bath using magnesium flakes, which helped a lot.

HI U OLE PATOOTS DOIN,,,,,,,,,, me, I'm a little better and don't know why. This will be one of my sagas so get in a comfortable position. All know I fell in Feb '14 and crushed my T 12 Vertebrae. From there it has been about as exciting as I can stand. I have been to Spine MD's, Chiropractors, taken Ozone shots, lots of DMSO w/ liniment. Now taking Hemp oil as recommended by Rsw and Timh here on EC. My latest toy is a spine decompression machine. I spent several sessions on it to no avail. Finally, I asked my Tractor Driver to run our hi-dollar vibrator on low down my back while on this machine. All of a sudden I heard and felt a loud pop. Scared my mule and told her to stop.

The next morning my feet and legs no longer looked like they belonged to an elephant. Wow, what is going on? My back pain is still there, but less, and moved up my spine from my L 5. I knew that our lymph system going down each leg come out at our T 12 Veb, and figured that it was restricted and that is the reason I can't get my feet and legs to normal size. Am I making progress? Yep, but not enough to get out of pain. The procedure I did broke some hung up vertebrae loose. I've had numerous MRI's so why did not my doctors see my problem? What I've learned at 79 is that no doctor is as interested in your health as you. Also, no Finance guy is as interested in your wealth as you. After a lifetime, I learned to look after my own health and my own money.

The only time I have ever heard the term FOUR SCORE is in Lincoln's Gettysburg address. Well in a few months, that is how old I will be. Was hoping to go out without a lot of pain and suffering but guess us old folks just have to grin a bear it. If you follow my diatribes then you know that I fought cancer to a stand still after 5 years and will whip this problem also. Persistence will solve all of mankind's problems. Guess what US President said that? Not going to tell you.......... LOOK IT UP.

LOVE YOU ALL ===========ORH=============

I fell 5 ft off of a ladder on my buttocks. I was in excruciating pain. My x-ray revealed a compression fracture. My chiropractor recommended icing and ibuprofen 4X daily. After a week and a half my stomach could no longer handle the ibuprofen. I was in too much pain to sleep so I took some Valerian Root. It was like a miracle.....I slept all night and woke the next morning with very little pain!