Back pain is well-treated using naturopathic medicine.

Back pain has a number of potential causes, including muscle or ligament strains; spinal column misalignments or fixations; disc bulges or herniations; arthritis; or osteoporosis.

Seek professional healthcare if self-care measures are not effective in 72 hours.

Seek emergency medical care if your back pain (is accompanied by):

• Weakness in your legs and/or loss of bowel or bladder control
• Follows a fall or blow to your back
• Fever
• Swelling and redness in the area of the pain
• Unexplained weight loss
• Is constant and intense, especially at night or when you lie down
• Extends down your legs
• Numbness or tingling in your legs

Treatment of Back Pain at Toronto Centre for Naturopathic Medicine

At Toronto Centre for Naturopathic Medicine, the goal of back pain treatment is significant (and if possible, complete) pain reduction, and prevention of recurrence.

Conventional treatment of back pain may include surgery, and a variety of medications, including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), opiates, antidepressants and steroid injections. These treatments may have short- or long-term side effects.

For this reason, you may choose to try natural treatment to possibly avoid use of conventional medications, or together with conventional medications in order to decrease dosages of conventional medications required to manage your back pain.

Naturopathic treatment of any chronic health concern must be recognized as a process that involves:

• Identifying specific treatment goals
• Development by your naturopathic doctor, of a thorough understanding of all factors affecting your health, including physical, psychological, emotional and lifestyle factors
• Development of a comprehensive treatment plan
• Implementation and maintenance of that plan through periodic monitoring and adjustment

At Toronto Centre for Naturopathic Medicine, a typical approach to treating back pain may be to:

• Identify and address underlying factors in your lifestyle (e.g., stress, weight management, sedentary lifestyle) that may be contributing to development of back pain
• Reduce inflammation and pain using Bowen Therapy, Suikodo™, acupuncture or botanical (herbal) medicines
• Correct (if possible) underlying cause (e.g., muscle spasm) using Bowen Therapy or Suikodo™
• Prevent recurrence using exercise prescription

Where appropriate, a number of therapeutic options are available, to be used alone, or more often in a complementary fashion, including:

• Nutritional counseling
• Nutritional supplements
• Metabolic detoxification protocols
• Botanical (herbal) medicines
• Acupuncture
• Homeopathy
• Bowen Therapy
• Suikodo™
• Hydrotherapy
• Exercise prescription
• Relaxation (meditation) training
• Lifestyle counseling

Treatments provided by naturopathic doctors are covered by most extended healthcare plans.

References

Back pain [Internet]. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; [cited 2009 Feb 18]. Available from: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/back-pain/DS00171.

Back pain [Internet]. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; [cited 2015 Mar 25]. Available from: http://www.mayoclinic.org/symptoms/back-pain/basics/when-to-see-doctor/sym-20050878.