Often backpain is not only painful, but also reduces the mobility so much that you can hardly move. This is such as vicious cycle that -in those cases- we found it is better to kill lower back pain with self medication. With the right painkillers we can get the mobility back first and follow the other steps in the strategy.

It’s important to repeat our disclaimer: We are not medically trained, and the following describes our own experiences. They may be helpful to you, and as always: Please discuss it with your doctor first.

In this section we make a distinction between two types of pain:

  1. dull pain that spreads out more generally across the lower back
  2. sharp, localised pain, on either the left or right side of the lower back

We were unlucky enough to experience both sorts of pain, so here is how we’ve dealt with it.

How to kill dull lower back pain with self medication

One of us visited a specialised sports doctor. He shared interesting recent research which indicates that dull lower back pain can be caused by a very small inflammation in the discs between the vertebrae.

Although we have not read widely reported evidence of this, it could be a reason that NSAIDs painkillers (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) like Naproxen or Diclofenac work well for us for lower back pain. The great thing about these over-the-counter medicines is that they do relieve pain and they also reduce inflammation. For us one dose often works wonders: Once it kicks in (after 10 minutes or so) we can start moving and the pain would often stay away.
It also is very useful after strenuous exercise.

As always, make sure you are aware of the side-effects. Most NSAIDs can be hard on the stomach, and are best taken with food.

How a nerve block helped us get rid of sharp lower back pain on one side

Although the pain killers described above would decrease the sharp pain as well, it was not very effective and return quite quickly afterwards.

First our physician established that there was no hernia or other obvious issue. We were very hesitant about permanent (fusion) surgery on our spine, and did not want to go there. Next, we visited a pain clinic that applied a method to “block” or numb the nerves attached to the vertebrae (via the facet joints).

The procedure is called a medial branch block using radio-frequency neurotomy (see this description by the Mayoclinic). The block is temporary (6 months) and the risks are comparatively low. The procedure involves a needle that is inserted in the lower back to send radio-waves to numb the nerve.

Results

For us the procedure was a success, and after a few weeks the sharp pain disappeared completely. As we understand it, both the level of success and the period that the sharp pain stays away is different for every person. For us though, we only had to repeat it once after a number of years, and then it stayed away completely.

Interested to read more about the strategy?

Interested to read more about the other parts of the complete strategy to lower backpain relief? Read about standing up properly without backpain and about a two minute exercise to increase your mobility .