Healing back pain using ancient wisdom means using alternative approaches to pain control. Modern medicine has always concentrated until recently on just the physical aspects of pain. But now doctors are learning that pain is controlled by the mind and emotions often as much as the physical body. Alternative medicine and practices have known this for centuries and were just waiting for science to catch up.

Alternative methods of controlling back pain have been embraced by people for a variety of reasons. Some people are not satisfied with the results of traditional therapies yet want to avoid surgery if at all possible. Many people are not happy being forced to take medications to make the pain bearable. Still others use alternative therapies in conjunction with traditional approaches to healing back pain as a way of taking control of their pain. Alternative medicine has become so popular, and so successful in many cases, that even insurance companies are paying for some of the treatments. This would have been unheard of even 10 years ago.

Alternative medicine had a bad reputation for so long that some people refuse to even consider using the techniques. But if you’re one of those people who have had back pain for years and nothing traditional medicine offers seems to work, alternative medicine is worth a try. If you choose to try any of the following methods for healing back pain, be sure you use a legitimate, experienced and licensed practitioner. A good alternative medicine practitioner should be happy to coordinate treatment with your doctor.

Acupuncture has been around a long time, and has now entered mainstream treatment for healing back pain. The Chinese developed the practice of acupuncture believing you can control the life force within the body using needles inserted painlessly at specific points in the body. Western philosophy believes acupuncture works on the psychological aspects of pain by releasing endorphins. Whoever is right really doesn’t matter if it works to relieve back pain.

Herbal medicine is another alternative approach that has been embraced by people with back pain. This approach is ideal for those people who want to try everything they can for healing back pain before taking medications. There are hundreds of herbs, oils, balms, salves and extracts herbalists use to relax muscles, facilitate endorphin release and reduce stress causing muscle stricture.

Still yet another alternative approach to healing back pain is the use of massage. Therapeutic massage is deep muscle massage therapy that relaxes the entire body. It operates on the same principle as overall body conditioning through exercise. If your entire body is relaxed and blood flows are improved, it’s possible to reduce localized pain such as back aches. Healing back pain using this alternative method focuses on restoring muscle balance, improving flexibility and increasing mobility.

If you’re not happy with the current approaches to healing back pain, you might want to consider alternative medicine. In the end what do you have to lose except pain?