The patient should avoid fatty, spicy and fried foods, curd sweetmeats, sugar condiments as well as tea and coffee. Those who smoke and take tobacco in any form should give up completely.
Proteins and vitamin C are necessary for the development of a healthy bone matrix. Vitamin D, calcium phosphorus and the essential trace minerals are essential for healthy bones. Foods that have been processed for storage to avoid spoiling have few nutrients and should be eliminated from the diet. Vitamin C has proved helpful in relieving low-back pain and averting spinal disc operations.
Certain food remedies have been found beneficial in the treatment of backache. The most important of these is the use of garlic (lahasoon). Two or three capsules of this vegetable should be taken daily in the morning. It will give good results.
An oil prepared from garlic and rubbed on the back will give great relief. This oil is prepared by frying 10 cloves of garlic in 60 grams of oil in a frying pan. They should be fried slowly till they are brown. After it is cooled, it should be applied vigorously on the back and allowed to remain there for three hours. The patient may thereafter have a warm water bath. This treatment should be continued for at least 15 days.
Lemon (Bara Niboo) is another useful remedy for backache. The juice of this fruit should be mixed with common salt and taken by the patient. It will give relief.
The use of chebulic myroblan (harad or haritaki) is also beneficial in the treatment of backache. A piece of this herb should be taken after meals. This will give quick relief.
Other Measures
Certain safety measures, especially for people in sedentary occupations, are necessary to relieve and prevent backache. The most important of these is exercise which improves the supply of nutrients to spinal discs, thereby delaying the process of deterioration that comes with age and eventually affects everybody.
Safe exercises include walking, swimming and bicycling. Controlling one’s weight is another important step towards relieving backache as excess weight greatly increases the stress on soft back tissues.
Persons with back problems should sleep on a firm mattress on their sides with knees bent at right angles to the torso. They should take care never to bend from the waist down to lift any object, but instead should squat close to the object, bending the knees but keeping the back straight and then stand up slowly.
Neck tension arising from long hours at the desk or behind the wheel of the car can be relieved by certain neck exercises. These include rotating the head clockwise and anti-clockwise allowing the head to drop forward and backward as far as possible and turning the head to the right and left as far as possible several times. These exercises help to loosen up contracted neck muscles which may restrict blood supply to the head.
Hot fomentations, alternate sponging or application of radiant heat to the back will also give immediate relief. Yoga asanas which are beneficial in the treatment of backache are bhujangasana, shalabhasana, halasana, uttanapadasana and shavasana.