what can I do to deal with my back pain for some temporary relief?  Here are what most medical sites will tell:

• Over-the-counter medications. Doctors recommend analgesics such as acetaminophen (Tylenol and others), aspirin, or NSAIDs - nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, like ibuprofen (Advil and others) or naproxen sodium (Aleve). You also could try a topical analgesic, cream, ointment, or salve that is rubbed into the skin over the site of the pain. These treatments are usually enough to relieve most back pain.
• Hot or cold packs. Hot packs reduce muscle spasms and pain. Cold packs reduce swelling and numb the pain.
• Massage. Professional, massage therapists, can use their hands to massage the back muscles, causing them to relax.

Often I see them leave the number one treatment of choice left off according to the government study which is Chiropractic care.  Why is it the number one choice?  Let us consider the cause of back pain in most cases.  It is a spinal imbalance.  The way you can tell if this is the cause is to have someone look at your posture.  If you look at your posture from the side and drew a line straight down to the floor.  The center of your ear should line up with the center of your shoulder, then the middle of your hip to the middle of your ankle.  From the front middle of your nose should line up with the middle of your shoulders to the middle of your hips to the fall to the floor in the middle of your feet.

If your body is out of alignment then taking a drug will not align the spine.  Hot and cold backs will not do the job either.  Massage is very beneficial and that is why we have that at Chiropractic Family Practice here in Asheville North Carolina.

Dr. Mathew Stockstad'sAsheville Chiropractor office utilizes Posture-pro"s computerized digital stress analyzer to evaluate each and every patient.  This technology allows Dr. Stockstad to take pictures as described above and after they are analyzed in the software they show the alignments and stress on the structures of the spine.  This misalignment over time leads to arthritis, pain, and degeneration if not properly treated.

The best treatment is the treatment that is addressing the cause of your back pain not just the symptoms.  So if you are suffering from acute or temporary back pain caused by over-exertion like a strain or sprain.  But,  if the pain has continued to come back then your best approach is to have the cause of your pain evaluated by a Doctor who does not prescribe a temporary relief but rather one that measures and treats based on the correction of the cause.

If you are looking for a Chiropractor in Asheville, Fairview, Swannanoa, and Black Mountain we would love to help you!

All the best!

Dr. Mathew K. Stockstad,  Asheville Chiropractor for difficult cases!