Back pain, medication and addiction

Back pain is a common problem for millions of Americans. Improper lifting, muscle strain, poor posture, and bad beds can all lead to back pain. While medications can help to relieve back pain, they can also lead to addiction if you are not careful.

There are 3 main drugs that are used to fight off intense pain:

1. OxyContin
   
2. Percocet
   
3. Vicodin

While these medications can help, you should only take them if you have severe back pain problems like swelling and inflammation. The strong prescription medications should only be taken for a short duration. Most of these drugs are only given after surgery and they are to be used for a short time as you begin physical therapy to get back on the road to recovery and full health again.

However, there are a few occasions when you may need long-term prescription therapy. For those patients that may need to take opioid medication longer than expected, there are a few things you can do to try and prevent yourself from becoming addicted:

• Eating a balanced diet
  
• Regular exercise
  
• Proper sleep
  
• Changing medications

Having a healthy lifestyle is one of the most important ways to overcome any type of addiction. Back pain symptoms tend to get better when you can engage in daily exercise like stretching. Yoga and Pilates are two of the best exercises to try as they will stretch your back muscles and relieve the tension you may be feeling. Exercise balls are another great way to stretch your back, without excess pain that may happen when you do hardcore exercises like running. You need to keep your back muscles strong and lean in order to prevent back pain from occurring. In addition to working on your back muscles, you also need to work on your core abdominal muscles. If you have a belly, it is pulling on your back which is why you have been feeling back pain for a long time.

Proper rest also goes a long way to help relieve the back pain you may be feeling. If your bed is getting old or you notice that you are waking up with back pain daily, it is time to replace your bed. Your bed is one area where you should not tighten up the purse strings. This is one area where you will spend more time than your car, your couch, or anywhere else you can think of so you deserve to find a bed that provides you with the proper support you need to get a full nights rest and to wake up feeling refreshed. It also helps to get at least 8 or more hours of sleep each night. In addition to getting proper rest, you should also try a vertical incline machine at least once a day. Many back pain suffers have found that hanging upside down on this machine for a few minutes each day actually does help to relieve their back pain and it rejuvenates their body.

A healthy diet is also important to reducing back pain. Eating plenty of vegetables and fruits will help to pack your body full of essential nutrients that build and strengthen the muscles. Calcium is a great addition to your diet as your muscles absorb calcium in order to stay strong.

Change up the medications you are using if you want to avoid addiction. When your body starts to get used to something, it is easy to become addicted. If you change the medication every 1-2 weeks, you will not give your body enough time to become addicted, thereby allowing you a change to only use the medication as it is truly needed.