Does Ayurvedic medicine offer any help for back and neck pain?

Question

My neck and upper back has been painful for many years. Massage, chiropractors, muscle relaxants from the doctor, etc. help a little, but the basic problem is still there. It feels like there is just a lot of junk on either side of my spine around my neck, and it pops and cracks when I move my neck from side to side. It's a moderate, constant kind of pain, but it makes it hard to function and to sleep. Any suggestions?

Added details: Thanks very much for the amazingly thorough answers so far.

The doctor I went to did an Xray, not an MRI, and said he thought the problem was cervical spondylosis and a bit of scoliosis. He prescribed muscle relaxants, and didn't feel it was worth the risk of surgery. It does seem like too big a risk considering that I am mobile, though in some amount of pain. I ride a bike about 30 minutes each way to work almost every day, and my diet isn't too bad.

Answer 1

The first two answers are great. They are very right. You havent mentioned the cause of pain. Neck pain can be due to cervical spondylosis. This causes the popping sounds in your neck. The pain radiates all over your neck, shoulder and thoracic region.
Your X-rays must have told you the cause or the MRIs. This is no platform for chiropractors, as you cannot manipulate damaged cervical discs. If your discs are herniated you may need surgery. You need to do some basic neck exercises to improve the movement of your neck. This includes sideways movements, up and down movements, rotational movements both clockwise and anticlockwise.
Do this early in the morning and before going to bed at night.
Dont use a big thick pillow. If you are lying on your back most of the time, dont use any pillow at all. Roll a towel and place it below the neck for support. If you sleep on your sides, then use a pillow - not too soft - in such a way that the height is just right to ensure that the gap between the head and the shoulder is filled by the pillow. Not too high , not too low.

Ayurvedic medicines help in reducing the pain, not the conditions. For that matter any medicines.
When you feel the onset of back or neck pain, there are a few rules of thumb to follow to help relieve the pain at home:

Hot and Cold Packs
First, be sure to put ice on the injured area, then alternate with heat. The ice helps reduce inflammation by constricting the surrounding blood vessels and reducing blood flow and swelling. Never apply ice for more than five minutes at a time, because it could freeze the skin and soft tissue. After two days, heat should be applied to the area to increase blood flow.

Keep Bed Rest to a Minimum
When you hurt, your body is telling you to stop doing the activity that is causing the pain. Back or neck pain can cause almost any activity to hurt. Lying down for a few days can seem like the most logical solution. However, more than two days of bed rest can cause the muscles in the back to weaken, making activity more painful and recovery slower. After one or two days, get up and move around. Take a slow walk to get moving again.

Put Your Best Foot Forward
Walking around the neighborhood is a great way to alleviate back pain. Walking helps stretch out muscles and get the blood flowing. Stiff muscles will start to relax. An alternative to walking outside is to walk in a pool. This alleviates pressure from the spine, joints and ligaments.

To prevent re-injury of your back � and hopefully avoid any recurrence of acute back pain � it's important to build and maintain the strength and flexibility of those muscles, tendons and ligaments that support your back and spine. You can do this through:

Exercise
* Regular, low impact cardiovascular exercises that don't jar your back and are easy on the joints, such as bicycling, walking or swimming. If exercising outdoors is not option, consider using a treadmill, elliptical trainer or stationary bicycle. These can be found at almost any exercise studio, or you can buy a home version at your local sporting goods store.
* Core strengthening exercises. By conditioning your abdominal and back muscles, you can develop a "natural corset" to support your spine.
* Gentle stretching to improve and maintain flexibility.

A Healthy Lifestyle
* Eat a nutrient-rich, balanced diet, with sufficient intake of calcium, Vitamin D and phosphorus. (Phosphate makes up more than half the mass of bone mineral; Vitamin D helps maintain appropriate calcium/phosphorus levels. When phosphorus is too high, the body takes calcium out of the bones to bind with the phosphorus and remove it from the blood. Bones become brittle as a result.)
* Avoid smoking and excessive alcohol use.
* Maintain a healthy weight � additional pounds place excess strain on spinal vertebrae and discs.
* Stay well-hydrated. The body is 70% water, and sufficient hydration contributes to intervertebral disc health and that of other back related structures and functions.
* Get your vision checked. Poor vision can affect the way you carry yourself, which can contribute to back problems.

Proper Body Mechanics
When Standing
* Place feet shoulder width apart, don't lock your knees;
* Avoid arching your lower back or slumping your upper back and shoulders;
* Keep your breastbone up, shoulder blades down;
* Keep your chin level, relax jaw and neck muscles.

When Sitting
* Rest your feet on floor with knees and hips bent 90 degrees;
* Maintain a neutral arch in your lower back;
* Keep your breastbone up, shoulder blades down;
* Keep your chin level, relax jaw and neck muscles.

When Driving
* Adjust your seat so that the back is vertical. Your back should be supported by the seat back and your head should rest against headrest with your chin level;
* Knees should be bent, and at least at the same height as your hips;
* Elbows should be slightly bent and relaxed, with your shoulders down.

When Sleeping
* Use a firm mattress. Placing a board between the mattress and box spring can provide a temporary fix for one that is sagging.
* Lie on your back or side. When lying on the side, a pillow between the knees helps maintain a neutral spine.
* Use a cervical roll (a foam roll approximately 3 inches in diameter and 18 inches long) to support the natural curves in your neck or low back.

Answer 2

Do you know the underlying cause of the problem? Ayurved may indeed help you but you really need to get a consult with a good Ayurvedic physician. A good physician can give you dietary guidelines, herbs, and yoga exercises to help a specific problem.
I've also heard of people having tremendous success with odd, painful ailments through Ayurvedic treatments called punchakarma. Again, it needs to be overseen by a good Ayurvedic doc. The treatments are wonderful -- I've had them myself -- but to get treatments is expensive.
So the consult is more cost effective but I recommend, if you've got the $ to play with, go get treatments. The treatments are quite rejuevenating! There are various places to get treatments that I know of: in Fairfield, IA there's Maharishi Ayurved; in New Mexico, Dr. Lad has a clinic; in Los Angeles there's Surya Spa.
Good luck!

Answer 3

Greetings Insanity,

First of all you really should be taking a good look at your diet.
So many people overlook this simple thing. The body has the "Awsome" power to heal it's self but we have to give it some help. Diet is a very important piece to this puzzle. The bodies PH level is another key factor. Humans were meant to have an alkaline PH and I would venture to say that most of us have an acid PH. Our PH should be on the alkaline side some where between 7.0 and 7.25. Example: Cancer cannot live or grow in your body if you keep your bodies PH above 7.0. To qualify that statement so there is no misunderstanding. "IF" you are cancer free and you keep your bodies PH above 7.0 you cannot get cancer. Cancer cannot survive in an alkaline environment. Having a healthy immune system is another key. Especially to your overall health. Doctors can only do so much.

A large number of the diseases and conditions we humans experience today are caused by inflammation in the body caused by free radicals that do damage to our bodies.
So many things can cause Free Radicals. Smog, smoking, too much alcohol, preservatives, household chemicals, some kinds of makeup, certain combinations of food and beverage we consume, pretty much what we use, touch, breathe and consume daily. The list goes on and on. This goes back to diet again. The National Nutrition Society states we should be eating 3 to 5 fruits daily. Hmmm? Vegetables the same, at least 3 per day. ?? This helps control and fights the Free Radicals that cause the inflammation in our bodies that is the root cause of so many minor things and major diseases.

We need to take control of our health as best as we can by being sure we have the proper diet, keeping our immune response systems built up so the body can do it's job. And getting a reasonable amount of the right exercise everyday.

Proper exercise! A must. You don't have to go overboard.
Thirty minutes a day will keep your body in reasonable shape.
I see you have visited a Chiropractor. Ok, they are excellent to help you keep muscles toned enough to keep you out of trouble. I know because I have and excellent one. BUT, if I don't do the "Simple" exercises he tells me to I have some of the problems you address come back on me.

We have been given some excellent simple exercises that we do and excellent products we use to help keep us healthy. We are seniors, and I mean seniors. We have experienced most of the problems and have found what I have said here to be true and are happy and healthy.

Hope this makes you think outside the box.
There are many natural remedies out there that can help you with what you are describing.

Sincerely,
gabussear

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