About 540 million people suffer from back pain globally with the best treatment for back pain relief as surgery in most chronic cases. In the past 7 years we have treated more than 300 cases if chronic back pain and we have seen improvement in almost 85% cases within 14-21 days of in-patient treatment. The improvement varies between 50-80% within the duration of the treatment for back pain relief and is completely dependent patient’s condition on admission. We assure you the best back pain treatment in Kerala based on our past experience with patients and all we require from you is the belief in Ayurveda with some patience to follow the guidelines given to you by our doctors.
Back pain can arise when you lift something heavy, or if you are suffering from more serious degenerative conditions like arthritis and the symptoms of back pain vary from sharp, stabbing sensation to dull ache. People with desk jobs have a lifestyle of spending hours working on computers continuously whereas watching TV, mobile phones and sleeping in the wrong posture can also cause back pain which can last for weeks.

Let us try to understand “What are the reason for back pain?”

Our spine is composed of Muscles, bones, vertebrae, nerves, discs, ligaments etc., back pain can be associated to the issues between any of these components in our back like discs between vertebrae, muscles or ligaments in our back. Let us take an example of Disc bulge:
When the disc between two vertebrae is inflamed, it starts swelling and then start protruding out of the socket. Now, there is nerve underlining the socket which gets pressed due to the swelling of discs and there is pain in the back due to the disc inflammation, strain on the vertebrae and a radiating pain due to the pinching of the nerves.

Finding the reason for back pain (Diagnosis at Sreeragam Ayurveda Health retreat)

Most of the patients visiting Sreeragam Ayurveda Health retreat for back pain treatment are suffering with chronic back pain and they carry their previous reports, prescriptions etc. with them. There are patients who come with just complaints and identifying their condition is what’s best about the back pain treatment at Sreeragam Ayurveda Health retreat.
We at Sreeragam Ayurveda Health retreat, review the history of the illness, underlying medical condition and perform physical examination to diagnose the root cause of the patient’s problem. Routine abdominal examination, pelvic and rectal examination, blood and urine tests, X ray, CT scan or MRI scanning are done to find out probable reason for back pain.
These steps are important to understand whether there is any inflammation at the affected site, the back pain is caused due to an injury or it is a symptom of a degenerative condition. Hypothesis of disease are excluded after analysing the current condition and past history of illness, finally, our doctors can conclude for the root cause of the back pain and plan the best back pain treatment for the patients.

Best Back pain treatment in India - Sreeragam Ayurveda Health retreat

Ayurveda describes back pain as katigraha, which is caused due to vitiation of vata dosha. Panchakarma therapies help in removing this vitiated doshas from the body and further providing strength and rejuvenation to the back with the aid from rasayana medicines.
Sreeragam Ayurveda Health retreat, the pioneer of authentic Ayurveda in Kochi, Kerala has devised treatment plan for those suffering from low back pain using the ancient knowledge of Ayurveda accompanied with benefits of physiotherapy to provide the best results to the patients.

1. Panchakarma therapies are administered through trained therapists, helping in detoxification of the body and providing a local aid to the treatment externally at the affected site.
2. Herbal medications help in correcting the vitiated dosha internally, improving the overall health and wellbeing.
3. The calming and serene atmosphere of Sreeragam Ayurveda Health retreat helps patients to relax and focus on the healing completely because sometimes stress can also result in pain radiating to different part of the body.
4. Physiotherapy for back pain helps in strengthening the spine and aiding the patient to go back to their routine life without having to be afraid of doing any physical activity.

Modern medicine vs Ayurveda for back pain treatment

According to modern medicine, Back pain treatment in acute cases is performed through over the counter non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce pain and inflammation. These medicine only masks the symptoms whereas the cause of the pain remains unidentified which is why the chances of reoccurrence are very high. At the same time, NSAIDs administered for the chronic cases of back pain can cause kidney dysfunction, ulcers, gastrointestinal problems whereas in some patients they can increase the risk of heart attack and stroke.
Prescription opioids are used in chronic cases to relieve back pain, but they are addictive, cause drowsiness, impaired judgement and can aggravate depression. In sciatica and other associated complaints, epidural steroid injection is administered to provide back pain relief. Long-term use of these steroids can cause structural changes in body, heart attack, liver impairment etc.  Sometimes instead of steroid, surgery is recommended to the patients which can take months before the patient is healed and may lead to permanent loss of flexibility. The success rate of surgical procedures is unpredictable and there is little evidence to which procedure works best for a particular indication.
On the other hand, Ayurveda has attained global attention because of its holistic approach for Musculo-skeletal pain treatments which focuses on lifestyle leading to overall health. Herbal ayurvedic medicine for back pain is given to support the treatment internally whereas decoctions, herbal oil etc. are applied externally to provide local support to the back leading to fast back pain relief.

External treatments such as podikizhi, Abhyanga, Elakizhi, Vasthi etc. are best for detoxification, providing nourishment to the spine and improving the functionality of the muscles, nerves all around the body. The only side effects we at Sreeragam Ayurveda Health retreat have seen so far is based mostly on the error of the application process:

• Burning sensation on the applied area which is only felt for 1-2 days
• Itching around the areas of external application which can be cured within 1-3 days
• Pain around the pressure points where the abhyanga was administered

It is very easy for the body to develop back pain, but it is our ignorance that can make it chronic back pain. It is advisable to take immediate action once you develop acute back pain either by rest, heat and cold therapy or massage etc. Acute low back pain lasts anywhere between a couple of days to a few weeks, while back pain is declared chronic when the pain lasts longer than three months. There are a few things we should avoid to reduce the risk of back pain by following a few things, let us explore these risk factors;

Top 10 Risk factors leading to back pain

• Strenuous activity might causing muscle strain i.e., weightlifting.
• Aging leads to loss of bone strength, low recovery of muscles and flexibility of discs.
• Accidents or Sudden injury to muscles and ligaments supporting the back.
• Family history of back pain
• Sedentary lifestyle leads to overall stiffness of muscle in back i.e., desk jobs.
• Obesity leads to increased stress on the discs
• Smoking injects substances like nicotine which restrict blood flow to vertebral discs and increase the rate of degeneration.
• Incorrect posture leads to involuntary stress on the spine structure leading to back pain.

There are a few steps which can be followed to prevent back pain, let us explore these steps.

How to prevent back pain

One cannot prevent accidental injuries, effect of aging or genetic reason for back pain, however, lifestyle changes can help manage and prevent low back pain to a good extent:

• • Improve core muscles strength helping to support the back
  • Always stretch before exercise or any physical activity.
  • Try to lose weight if you are overweight
  • Exercise regularly or practice yoga
  • Wear comfortable clothes and footwear
  • Eat a healthy diet that promotes bone health
  • Quit smoking