Suffering from Back Pain? News of a Unique Form of Treatment from Japan
There is a unique back pain treatment in the news and it originated in Japan. Based on the same idea as swaddling a young baby, adults who suffer from (or who wish to prevent) back pain are flocking to a new form of therapy where they are tightly wrapped in large sheets of cloth for twenty minutes at a time. Known as Otonamaki (or adult wrapping) this practice has become popular.
Back pain is surprisingly common and even factors like depression, anxiety or stress can bring on a sudden pain in the lower back. All pain can disturb our sleep. So much so that we might need insomnia treatment.
How Otonamaki works for the treatment of back pain
Several Japanese treatment centers offer this service. The owner of one of the companies says: "We thought that if adults were rolled up like young babies (in the same way that Japanese newborns are swaddled after birth and known as Oninamaki), they could experience how good it feels." It is early days yet so it remains to be seen if the idea spreads to other parts of the world.
Back pain is a modern problem
How can we protect our backs?- Losing weight because being over overweight is a major cause.
- Being more mobile as activity can help to cure and prevent chronic pain – gone are the days when experts recommended bed rest.
- For severe pain trying the warm or the cold treatment by placing a heated pad or packet of frozen peas (wrapped in a tea towel) for 15 minutes every couple of hours and you will discover which you prefer.
- Look for natural alternatives to pharmaceutical painkillers.
- Avoid lifting and carrying heavy objects but if you do have to lift, then bend your knees and not your back while keeping your feet wide apart for stability to encourage the muscles in the legs to take the bulk of the weight.
- When working at a computer for long periods, take short breaks every hour by standing up, walking around or stretching – your chair should have a backrest support that conforms to the curves in your back.
- Sit up as straight as possible in your chair – when first sitting down, push your bottom as far back in the chair as possible as this will help you keep that back straight once you sit up. Good posture is always important to avoid back pain.
- Our very own H-Joint & Muscle Pain Formula is another natural way to treat back pain. Applied topically, just a few drops can provide rapid relief from the symptoms of joint and muscle pain without harmful chemicals and side effects.
Try this exercise for almost instant back pain relief
Lie down flat on the floor with your back and head on the same level and with a regular straight-back chair at your feet. Lift both legs into the air, and bending at the knees, rest your feet on the seat of the chair. Lie in this relaxed position for at least twenty minutes without moving. When the time is over, roll onto your side and get up carefully before taking some deep breaths and stretching. I find it works every time.
Chiropractic treatment for back and other pain is another natural option to explore
Chiropractic treatment focuses on the relationship between the structure of the body. Usually, this is the spine – and how it functions – by performing adjustments to the spine or other parts of the body.
The goal of chiropractic is to correct alignment problems so that the body can then heal itself naturally. Spinal manipulation, joint and soft tissue manipulation are known as manual therapy but a chiropractor will also include exercise as well as health and lifestyle counseling as part of the treatment.
Any persistent back pain that does not respond to home treatment should, of course, be seen by your doctor.
Sources
Beck, B. D., Hansen, Å. M., & Gold, C. (2015, September 30). Coping with work-related stress through guided imagery and music (GIM): Randomized controlled trial. Journal of Music Therapy, 52(3), 323–352
https://academic.oup.com/jmt/article-abstract/52/3/323/2614186. (Accessed, 2 July 2021).
Cheatle, M. D., Foster, S., Pinkett, A., Lesneski, M., Qu, D., & Dhingra, L. (2016, June). Assessing and managing sleep disturbance in patients with chronic pain. Anesthesiology Clinics, 34(2), 379–393
https://www.anesthesiology.theclinics.com/article/S1932-2275(16)00008-2/fulltext. (Accessed, 2 July 2021).
Dehghan, M., & Farahbod, F. (2014, September 20). The efficacy of thermotherapy and cryotherapy on pain relief in patients with acute low back pain, a clinical trial study. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research, 8(9), LC01–LC04
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4225921/. (Accessed, 2 July 2021).
Written by Jane Chitty
Jane writes for Healing Natural Oils, a producer and retailer of high-quality, all-natural treatments for a variety of conditions as well as a range of beauty products. Apart from writing about those various conditions, she also covers general health, environmental and other subjects of interest. She has lived in Kenya as well as Cape Town, South Africa and spent time in San Diego, USA. She now lives in Somerset, England with regular visits from her far-flung children and grandchildren. She is a keen gardener and enjoys growing fresh fruit and vegetables with her husband on their joint allotment. As a result, there is something available to use in the kitchen virtually all year round. Her regular posts can be found on our blog.