5 ways to ease back pain

I’m not sure if I mentioned yet, but next week is my first triathlon! AAAAAAAAA! I decided to sign up for it in mid-July and get out of my comfort zone a bit before I go for surgery in November 2015. In case you didn’t know already, that’s my back up there in the image.

Well, in all fairness, I pretty much jumped out of it! Since then I learned how to swim – Yay! – and I’ve put in a lot of pool hours, some cycling and a bit of running. It’s funny how the thing I was most scared of – swimming – became my favourite part and the part I was most relaxed about – running – became my least prepared one.

The past 2 weeks heading up to the big day were supposed to be full of training between classes, talks and coaching sessions, but the universe had something else planned for me. After a training session, I found myself and my back in agony and barely able to move! Auch! Any movement would send electric shocks through my back and the pain was unreal. Clearly, someone wanted me to rest and after some reluctance, I have done. I also took matters into my own hands and did everything I could to reduce the inflammation in my body and relax my muscles.

The reason why I wanted to share this with you is that not everything goes to plan. But there is always a way to deal with it. For any of you who also have pain in any shape or form here are 5 ways to ease back pain(and not only) without ridding your entire medicine cupboard of paracetamol 😉

1. Rest – First and foremost – rest. This is a sign that you need to take the day off. Get to bed early, clock in at least 7-8 hours of sleep and your body will thank you for it.

2. Reduce inflammation and alkalise – My first go to when in pain is a ginger, turmeric and black pepper combo (Scroll down for the recipe below). This is an all-time favourite of mine for post-workout concoctions and a warming, healing winter tonic. I’ve been making it for a few years now and it’s still so soothing every time I drink it. When in pain I just increase the dose.

3. Take a long bath – with Magnesium, salts and essential oils – A bath not only relaxes you, it also clears all negative energies that get stuck to you during the day. By adding magnesium and salts you’re helping your muscles relax and release any tension. As for the essential oils, they’re working their way in to help you relax on a deeper level. I love adding Lavender, Orange blossom and Rosemary oils to my baths.

4. Move your body – lightly and as much as you can – By moving your body you engage your lymph system and vital energy flow. Energy can often get stuck and creates headaches, pain, muscle stiffness. Go for simple yoga moves that don’t put any stress on your body or a relaxed swim. I was shocked as to how much swimming can help with pain release. It took my entire life to find out! Give it a go!

5. Keep warm – Make sure that any area of pain is warm and cosy. By applying heat to the affected area you increase the flow of oxygen and nutrients to that area and reduce the intense feeling of pain. You can either use a warm bottle, extra layers or a thermal patch that keeps warm for 8 hours.

There’s always more you can do and it all depends on your situation, but I find that these help me most often when I have pain. I hope this comes in handy if you find yourself in any sort of pain.

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