5 Ways to Speed Up Recovery After Back Surgery

If you’ve ever experienced back pain before, you know how debilitating it can be. And sometimes, when the pain will not go away or there is an underlying cause in our spine or muscles, our doctors will recommend that we have surgery so that the issue can be corrected. And while the surgery will ultimately help your back to feel better, there is a recovery time that we’ll need to undergo in order to fully heal.

If you are someone who is preparing to have back surgery or you’ve just had the procedure, we’ve got five tips on ways to speed up the recovery process below:

Don’t do a lot of lifting. Something that you need to make sure you do is not put a lot of pressure on your back. You can do this by minimizing the amount of lifting that you do until you’re back to feeling like your old self. In the meantime, if you need to pick up or move something that is more than a few pounds, don’t be afraid to ask for help. You should avoid strain at all costs during this time.

Apply ice and heat therapy. When the pain feels extremely uncomfortable, aside from taking some anti-inflammatory medication like Tylenol, it can be very effective to apply some ice and heat therapy; especially during the first 48-72 hours. By applying heat to the area where the surgery took place, it will increase blood flow and promote healing. By applying ice, it can help to reduce inflammation. This brings us to the third point.

Eat foods that fight inflammation. As your body is healing, there’s a pretty good chance that you will have some internal inflammation for several days. And if you’re someone who doesn’t want to take a lot of medication, the good news is that there are foods that you can eat that will help to reduce the inflammation. Some of them include salmon, whole grains, dark leafy greens, walnuts and low-fat dairy.

Talk to your doctor about getting a back brace. As some people are on the road to healing, some of them require a back brace. They tend to come in a variety designs. For instance, there are braces that fit like elastic corsets while there are others that fit more like custom body jackets. In some cases, your doctor may say that you don’t need a brace; that a Crystal Biomat would be better for you being that it’s one of the other effective remedies for back pain. If you’re not familiar with these kinds of natural healing mats, you can get more information on Crystal Biomat by visiting Biomat Health.

Sleep the right way. Being that you’ll be spending at least 6-8 hours a night in bed (and as you’re healing from back surgery, probably more than that), it’s important that you know how to sleep the right way. You should lay face up on the bed, you should elevate your upper body and you should place pillow under your knees for additional support and comfort. For more information on the kinds of pillows that provide the best kind of back support, visit BedLounge, Walmart and Contour Living and put “back support pillow” in the search field.