As if you didn't know most common back pains are affected only by drugs with pain-relieving capabilities. There are no drugs capable of removing the causes of common backaches and pains. Medication should only be taken when the pain is severe.
Medications such as aspirin and anti-inflammatory drugs have been found to be the most useful for alleviating back pain and have fewer side effects than some other commonly prescribed medications. Both have been recommended by the US Federal Government Agency for Health Care Policy and Research.
When your back pain is so bad that bed rest is required, this period of rest should be no more than two or three days at the most.
A study conducted in the United States demonstrated that those patients resting in bed for two days recovered faster than those remaining in bed for seven days, in other words no benefit was gained from remaining on bed rest for any longer than two days.
People who remained mobile were able to go back to work sooner than those who rested for either two or seven days.
Acupuncture may be able to relieve pain if all else has failed. The scientific evidence for its use is not complete and could not be recommended in national guidelines.
Like taking medication, you may obtain relief from acupuncture, but acupuncture itself does not correct the underlying mechanical problem and certainly will not allow you to manage your own problem in the future.
To sum it all up, as with other passive therapies where a health professional does something to you, this procedure has the potential to create dependency.
