Low back pain may be debilitating, and may even cause immobility. Under ordinary circumstances patients telephone the emergency service, get a corticosteroid injection and their complaints subside. But what to do when help is out of our reach for reasons beyond our control? How can we help ourselves or our family members in this situation? Below are a few useful first aid tips under the Coronavirus lockdown.

  1. Relax the spine. Patients must first and foremost relax their spine, which primarily means lying down. The golden rule is that patients must relax their spine in a position they find most comfortable and causing them least pain.
  2. Pain relief. Obviously, patients want their pain to end immediately and effectively. First, we need to find out if the patient is allergic to any medication. If this is not the case, we should administer pain relief medication. But which pain-killer is the right choice? Since Algopyrin has become a non-prescription medication again, this is what I recommend to everyone, as it is fast and effective. Cataflam may also be a good choice if we have some in our medicine box, but all diclofenac-based pain killers tend to be effective. Unfortunately, the „miracle” pain killers advertised on television do not generally give the relief they promise.
  3. Icing, cooling. When suffering from an acute episode of low back pain, it is a good idea to apply cold to the aching body part, as it is usually effective for a certain while. However, do not expect miracles from this treatment. The procedure is composed of icing for 20 minutes, followed by a 40-minute period of rest.

Should the above procedures fail to resolve your low-back pain, the only thing to do is to contact a doctor.

Dr András Erbszt