Hey, I know there are millions of pages on the internet on how to fix low back pain. It can be a dizzying experience searching through them. It’s information overload.
I began blogging on this site around 2010, but actually have been writing articles on things like exercises for low back pain, neck pain, sprains and strains and so forth, since about 1994 when the internet was in its infancy. Fast forward 28 years, and now there are tons of articles and videos online, including mine. Much of the online content for treating low back pain is good: well-written, easy to understand and follow, and backed by evidence. Others are mediocre; just a re-hash of old-school approaches to treating back pain (rest, ice, no heavy lifting, etc.).
If you know me, when it comes to teaching others how to self-treat pain, I like to write fresh, interesting and innovative content. I figure that there are more than enough good videos on stretching and exercising for low back pain. What I like to do is explain the etiology of pain and propose interventions to prevent that pain from developing or getting worse.
If you have acute (recent onset) low back pain, research shows that in most cases, it will go away on its own if you just take it easy for a couple of days. Sure, icing, applying hot packs and no heavy lifting are obviously recommended to prevent re-aggravating the condition. The problem is that most people can’t afford to wait that long, and don’t like being in pain. They have a job, they have responsibilities to other people, and, they want to have fun and do the things they want to do.
For these individuals, there are a couple of home therapies I recommend, to shorten the healing time.
When you have low back pain, muscles and ligaments in and around your spine are generating pain. Something was disrupted mechanically, and inflammation is going on – blood vessels are releasing histamine and heparin and the inflammatory cascade is active—heat, redness, swelling, pain. The inflammatory chemicals irritate sensory nerves, causing some of the pain; as well as the pressure from the swelling. The nerves themselves may be over-firing; generating a level of pain that is not really proportional to the amount of tissue injury.
So with that, my go-to home therapy is a combination of Pulsed EMF and Red Light. Pulsed EMF is an externally-applied, pulsed electromagnetic field. The field, which is similar in frequency to the body’s own natural EM fields, passes through your body and essentially energizes the membranes of cells.
Cell membranes let things in and out of the cell, especially synthesized proteins, nutrients, oxygen, and waste products. They do this via active and passive transport, which both rely on membrane potential—a weak voltage created by negatively charged ions on the outside of the cell, and positive ions on the inside. Like how a battery’s voltage can power a light bulb, a cell’s weak voltage along its membrane powers the exchange of molecules in and out of the cell.
When cells (in this case muscle, bone, nerve, blood vessel cells) are physically damaged or weakened, this exchange is hampered and the tissues are slow to recover and return to a normal, non-pain state. Pulsed EMF lends a boost to this energy, helping cells become more robust in their healing and recovery activities.
Red Light therapy also can energize weak cells, but via photobiomodulation. Cells absorb red light in the 660-720 nanometer wavelength (electromagnetic energy), due to their molecular composition. Photons strike the nucleus, mitochondria and membrane, which changes the oxidative state of the cell. When this happens, it triggers cell signaling pathways related to metabolism and energy production. The cells increase their ATP output, which gives them more energy to repair damaged sites and synthesize needed repair proteins.
Pulsed EMF devices for home use are very easy to operate. Usually, it’s a matter of just pressing the power button, and sometimes a Mode button and Timer button. One of the better models is the BioBalance. You can order it with a full body mat, or a pad. Simply find a comfortable place in your home such as your sofa; place the mat on it, and lie down so that your low back is directly over the mat. No need to remove clothing; the pulsed EMF field passes right through. Do it 3x day for 20-30 minutes/ day to help your body heal and recover.
Another option is the OMI full body PEMF mat. It is lower power than the BioWave, but sometimes that works just as well, as the EM fields are very subtle. You don’t want fields that are too strong. Remember, your body already produces weak magnetic fields; you just want to complement them with a boost of comparable energy.
Red Light therapy is also a great investment in your health. I recommend getting a red light LED wrap, or LED panel. The wrap is a flexible pad embedded with red light LEDs emitting red light and infrared light (660, 820 nm). The red light diodes create photobiomodulation while the infrared diodes provide deep penetrating heat to dilate blood vessels and increase oxygen delivery to cells.
Red Light panels come in different sizes. The small ones are popular for treating facial skin conditions and beautification. The larger panels are better for treating pain. You can mount or hang the panel on the wall, and position yourself so that you are exposed to the red light (usually requires standing up).
In summary, if you are prone to getting lower back pain or have chronic pain issues, Pulsed EMF and Red Light Therapy are two, powerful and safe modalities that can be used at home for self-treatment and are easy to operate. Best of all, they have a long history of medical research to support their use in treating pain and healing injury. It does require a modest investment, but what is more important to your health and well-being? Without this, nothing else matters.
