Lower back pain is suffered by millions of people worldwide. There is no concrete consensus on the cause of all lower back pain, because it seems have a number of different causes. Taking care to lift heavy objects with a straight back and performing exercises to stretch out your back help prevent back pain, but once you have it there is no one way to get rid of it. Back pain solutions have seen some significant developments over the last few years, the following being four of the most promising ones.

Cold Laser Therapy

A cold laser is a small handheld device the size of a flashlight. Your doctor places it directly over the area, causing some mild pain for one to five minutes. The coherent non-thermal (cold) light passes through the skin's dermis and epidermis into the tissue of fat under the skin. Once the light passes through the skin, it reaches the target area and photons are absorbed by individual cells. Inside the cells it stimulates chemical processes inside them and causes them to repair damage which reduces inflammation. Cold Laser Therapy is used to treat arthritis pain, back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, knee pain, neck pain, and tendonitis.

TENS

TENS or Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation, treats back pain by applying a low-voltage electrical current to the affected area. TENS units are small, battery-powered devices with two electrodes which are placed in contact with the area causing pain. The exact mechanism by which electrical current affects back pain is not known. The electrical currents are known to travel along nerve pathways. This either blocks pain signals, changes the effect of pain signals, or causes the production of endorphins and other natural painkillers.

IDET

Intradiscal Electrothermoplasty (IDET) is a medical procedure where a needle is inserted into a spinal disc using an x-ray machine to guide it. Once inserted, a wire is threaded down through the needle into the disc until the wire lies along the inner wall. Once set, the wire is heated which destroys the small nerve ends that have invaded cracks in the degenerated disc. In addition to treating the nerves the heat melts part of the fibers in the annulus and causes the body to generate new annulus fibers.

Spinal Decompression Therapy

Perhaps the most effective treatment for chronic spinal pain is non-surgical decompression therapy. This is a non-invasive procedure which targets back and neck pain caused by herniation, disc bulges or degenerative disc disease. This treatment is designed to reduce and eliminate back and neck pain by slowly stretching the injured disc, reducing pressure and allowing it to start healing.

Informational Credit to Alberta Back and Neck Rehab and Sports Injury Clinic