Will it be Gay Paree (Paris) or the Beaches of Bora Bora?

Planning where to go on vacation and how to pay for it are critical issues calling for analytical thinking for most of us.

Why should it be any different for analyzing causes of back pain and possible solutions? Both of these critical issues will be briefly examined in this article to give some step-by-step guidance.

First, it must be determined if the cause of back pain is relatively minor, perhaps a muscle spasm or strain, the result of some mild trauma or even the early stages of arthritis. Unless the pain is overwhelming, such problems as listed above might be addressed with bed rest, cold packs if the discomfort is acute or moist heat therapy.

Then, it's possible that light exercise, including yoga, could help. Also inversion therapy, sometimes called spinal decompression, could be an answer. Next, products for the back and neck such as a massage chair, a zero-gravity recliner, and/or a visco-elastic mattress and neck pillow could be of enormous benefit. All of these products are discussed in the articles and ads in this blog.

Should it be decided something more serious is the cause of the back pain, very different solutions are called for. If the problem could be a herniated disc or onset of degenerative disc disease, a pinched nerve, sciatica, or worse, compression fractures resulting from osteoporosis, then professional advice and care may be in order.

Answers could include a visit to a chiropractor or a physical therapist, or maybe even an orthopedic evaluation. Sometimes, surgery is suggested as being necessary for the more serious sources of back pain; but many believe there are other possibilities before proceeding to the surgeon's knife.

Such possibilities could be a chiropractic adjustment, sonar and other treatment from a physical therapist, injections or laser surgery from a medical doctor or even accupuncture. But, serious, analytical thinking is called for and there are almost always a range of possibly successful answers.

So, bring to back pain all the resources you can muster. Ultimately you want your back to be better so you can get back to enjoying life more, maybe even planning a vacation to exotic places like Europe, the South Pacific or even, and sometimes this is the most satisfying, just a peaceful, painfree time in your own backyard.