Are There Any Effective Ways To Treat Low Back Pain Using Alternative Medicine?

— -- Question: Are There Any Effective Ways To Treat Low Back Pain Using Alternative Medicine?

Answer: Alternative medicine is a very broad area. There are many modalities that can be utilized to help patients with low back problems.

The patient's response to these modalities is almost as broad as the area of alternative medicine itself. It's best broken down into three separate areas. The first area, dietary supplementation, is when patients utilize diet such as anti-inflammatory diets, raw vegetarian diets, or supplements such as omega-3-fatty acids to help control their symptoms.

The second area that's utilized in alternative medicine is the area of herbal medications. This includes medications like St. John's wort or cava. Some of these medications can be used to provide relaxation to help the patient to deal with their symptoms.

The final area encompasses all other modalities used in alternative medicine. This includes areas like acupuncture, yoga, healing touch.

Here at Scripps Memorial, we utilize these strategies in order to help our patients deal with their chronic pain problem. It's very important though as a patient, when you're using these modalities, to contact your primary care provider to ensure that they can formulate a comprehensive plan to deal with the problems that you experience with your low back.

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