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Living with significant back pain can be difficult day after day. Not only is there the pain to deal with, but you may also experience reduced mobility and inflammation that can make things worse. And, with significant bouts of inactivity, you may further exacerbate issues in your back, neck or elsewhere in your body. Inflammation can also flare up when you least expect it, even if you’re trying to take things easy. 

But if you’re wondering if spinal arthritis can be treated naturally, there are some things that you can do to help keep your arthritis in check. Various home remedies for arthritis in the lower back can help prevent spinal arthritis from taking over your day and your life, though to be fair it is more about managing your symptoms rather than something that may magically cure you.

However, if you can adequately manage your spinal arthritis, that can be the best medicine for arthritis pain. Let’s take a look at the things that you can do to manage your arthritis naturally.

Exercise Can Help with Spinal Arthritis Pain

Those wondering what is the best treatment for osteoarthritis may balk at something that requires more movement, but it’s true that more physical activity can help reduce the pain and inflammation associated with arthritis. Unfortunately, it’s often the case that many arthritis sufferers avoid movement that can trigger their pain. 

But exercise can help promote weight loss, and that will take the strain off of your joints, allowing them to heal instead of hurt. Other benefits of exercise on arthritis is that your body will create anti-inflammatory substances, helping to reduce pain as well as creating endorphins that can enhance your mood. Movement can also help increase your range of motion and reduce the chance of developing other health complications such as heart disease and diabetes.

Another Home Remedy for Spinal Arthritis: Diet

In addition to exercise, diet can be an important natural treatment for spinal arthritis, osteoarthritis, or rheumatoid arthritis. Studies have shown that diet and exercise reduces inflammation in the body, which also means less pain and increased mobility. Diet is also ideal to help get better nutrients into the body, helping it heal itself from the inside rather than looking for some kind of medicine that can do the trick. 

Since other diseases commonly co-occur with arthritis, diet and exercise can help break the cycle and allow you to deal with your arthritis, not a never-ending rotation of health ailments that can lead to weak bones, weak muscles and weak organ systems. In particular, a diet of omega-3 fatty acids and dietary fiber have been shown to reduce inflammation and the likelihood of other diseases in the body.

Additional Back Arthritis Treatment: Acupuncture

While there is limited research as to how acupuncture works, many sufferers of arthritis report feeling better after just one session. It might seem silly to use thin needles to stimulate blood flow and decrease inflammation, but many patients have surprising results with acupuncture that just isn’t possible via other means.

Not only does acupuncture reduce inflammation in the body, it can help relieve arthritis pain without needing to turn to painkillers. Scientists believe it works by triggering nerve signals, sending them along the spinal cord into the brain. The brain then sends pain-killing neurotransmitters to help the body cope, which can reduce the feeling of pain. It’s not that the arthritis disappears, but the body is able to deal with it better.

Try Meditation

If sitting cross-legged repeating the same mantra over and over sounds like the last thing that could treat your arthritis, you’re not alone. But meditation has very real healing properties, and it all starts with minimizing the stress that your body faces. By reducing stress, you’re reducing inflammation and the triggers for that arthritis and pain. With meditation, deep breathing and muscle relaxation can bring relief while tension and inflammation levels drop in the body.

Furthermore, meditation can also help the mind, which can represent a significant hurdle when it comes to dealing with a debilitating disease day after day. And when anxiety drops and the mind is better able to cope, the body often follows, helping to reduce depression and enhancing that all-important night’s sleep. In addition to reducing your pain, that can help make arthritis something that you’re better able to deal with on an emotional level.

Spinal Arthritis Pain Relief: Massage

As one of the most well-known ways to reduce tension in the body, massage is one of those natural treatments that goes beyond feeling good during the massage. During a massage, a massage therapist can help you release deep tension in your neck and back, and that can help reduce inflammation and pain long after you leave. Like acupuncture, it also increases blood flow, bringing rich nutrients to your aching joints and muscles.

But that’s not all. Massage can also help treat spinal arthritis naturally by releasing hormones to help decrease anxiety and boost your mood.

When Natural Treatments Don’t Work for Spinal Arthritis

While natural treatments for spinal arthritis can do a lot, sometimes an issue is just too much to be treated naturally. If natural treatments aren’t working, medications, physical therapy, injections and other spine treatments may be an option. 

Oftentimes, natural treatments do help with pain, but long-term relief is best achieved through the help of spinal arthritis experts who can truly help you reclaim your life. Here at Desert Spine & Scoliosis, Dr. Baig and our expert team can help you assess your options. Contact us today for a consultation!