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Low back pain can not only keep you from engaging in the activities you love; it can also make you downright miserable. On top of all that, pain relief doctors may prescribe medication for low back pain that doesn't always eliminate the pain entirely, and sometimes the medication has side effects that are as bad as the back pain. If you're in this boat, visiting an integrative pain management (IPM) clinic can be helpful. These clinics offer a wide range of complementary therapies and treatments, including both alternative and conventional remedies. Here are a few such treatments they're likely to recommend for low back pain.

Chiropractic Care

Seeing a chiropractor is one of the best things you can do for low back pain, and it is very likely to be recommended when you visit an IPM clinic. A chiropractor can adjust your spine in such a way as to take pressure off the discs or other tissues that are most painful. Over time, off-loading that part of your spine in such a way can allow it to better heal, easing your pain longer-term.

Cold Laser Therapy

Cold laser therapy is a treatment that involves shining a low-powered laser on the tissues that are injured and painful. The laser stimulates these tissues, increasing blood flow to the area, which in turn stimulates healing. The increase in blood flow also helps alleviate inflammation and pain in the short-term.

Progressive Relaxation

When you struggle with low back pain, you often unknowingly start to carry tension in other parts of your body, such as your upper back and neck. This tension can then affect the way you sit, walk, and move, which may only serve to make your lower back pain worse. Progressive relaxation is a sort of guided, meditative technique that encourages you to let go of the tension you're carrying and fully relax your muscles. This can go a long way to alleviating your pain, both in the short-term and long-term.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medical technique that involves the placement of needles at specific places along the body. The goal is to re-direct the flow of energy through the body. The more modern scientific understanding is that the treatment affects nerve impulses and the release of certain hormones that affect pain. Regardless of how acupuncture exactly works, it tends to be quite effective in alleviating chronic back pain.

If you're tired of struggling with low back pain, head to an IPM clinic near you such as Inland Pain Medicine. They can come up with a customized treatment plan to have you feeling better in no time.