Pulling a muscle in your back: Home Remedies and Outpatient Treatment

Many of us have been there.  You lift heavy items at work or in the gym, you tackle DIY projects around the house, you chase your kids around the house while bending, lifting, and squatting, all while feeling fit as a fiddle. Then you decide to do something as mundane as throwing a tissue in the trash (Maybe this is a little specific but this is how it recently happened to me), or do something like sneezing or reaching for something, then.. BAM you feel like you were shot. Pain rushes through your back while your muscles tense up and start to spasm. Pulling a muscle in your back can be very painful and it can definitely derail the plans you had for the day. Let’s discuss some home remedies and outpatient treatment options for those times when you are cursed with this agonizing pain.

• Pain Medication and Anti-inflammatory medication can decrease pain and decrease the in inflammation that is causing the pain.
• Massaging the area can increase blood flow while loosening the muscles. This also can be pain relieving due to the release of endorphins.
• Immediately following the injury, applying an ice pack can help reduce inflammation.
• Use of a heating pad can increase blood flow to allow healing to the muscle but if you can opt for moist heat from a bath or shower that would be better.
• Chiropractic care.

Chiropractic treatment is a one stop shop for back and neck pain. The Chiropractor can various treatment modalities including heat, e-stim, and trigger point therapy, along with spinal adjustment protocols to help back pain caused by a pulled muscle.  During an office visit, hot or cold packs along with electric stimulation can also be used. Chiropractic treatment can definitely expedite your return to everyday life.

Return to Health

Return to health? Were you even there prior to your pulled muscle? Having a pulled muscle may be a sign that your back may not be at its optimal health. Increasing the strength in your back along with working on any posture or spinal alignment issues can decrease the chances of having “bad back days” in the future.

Contact our Norwood or Framingham Chiropractic offices to start pain relief today.