Natural Remedies for Radicular Pain: Lifestyle Changes and Home Treatments

Radicular pain, commonly known as nerve root pain, is a debilitating condition that occurs due to compression or inflammation of a spinal nerve. However, medical intervention plays an important role but if you follow lifestyle changes and home remedies then you will be getting more benefits while treating your radicular pain.

Let’s explore some natural remedies that help alleviate radicular pain.

Maintain a Healthy Weight – If you want to manage radicular pain, then the first and foremost thing is to maintain a healthy weight. Excess weight puts additional strain on your spine which exacerbates nerve compression and increases the pain. You must engage yourself in regular exercise to shed excess pounds of weight and strengthen the supporting muscles of the spine. Activities like swimming, walking, and yoga are beneficial in treating radicular pain. Consult with a healthcare professional or physical therapist to get an exercise routine plan that suits your specific condition.

Practice Good Posture – Improve your posture to reduce the pressure on your spinal nerves. Always maintain your posture while sitting, standing, and lifting objects. You must use ergonomic furniture, table, and chair to maintain proper alignment and minimize strain on your back. Incorporate stretching for a few hours while sitting for long hours and do strengthening exercises daily to improve your posture. This will help to alleviate radicular pain. Consult with a physical therapist to guide certain exercises that will target your posture improvement.

Apply Heat and Cold Therapy – Heat and cold therapy are much helpful in providing temporary relief from radicular pain. You should apply a heating pad, warm towel, or hot water bottle to the affected area for about 15-20 minutes a day. Heat therapy helps to increase blood flow, relax muscles, and alleviate pain. Whereas, in cold therapy using ice packs or cold compresses you will get reduced inflammation and the painful area will be numbed.

Try Herbal Supplement – Many herbal supplements contain anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties in them that alleviate radicular pain. Turmeric, ginger, and Boswellia are the best examples known for their anti-inflammatory effects, you can take them in supplement form. Devil’s claw also known as grapple plant is a traditional herbal remedy that provides pain relief. Consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new supplement, as they might interact with medications or you may face side effects.

Practice Stress Management – Stress can exacerbate pain in many ways and make it more challenging to deal with radicular pain. Make sure that you engage yourself in stress management techniques. Doing deep breathing exercises, meditation, and mindfulness will help a lot to avoid stress and anxiety. Find activities that keep you calm, relax, and unwind such as listening to music, playing games, watching movies, or taking a warm bath. Reducing stress levels, will potentially reduce the intensity of radicular pain and improve your overall quality of life.

Take Extra sleep and Rest – Sleep is an essential tool to heal your body or nerve. According to the research, the body repairs itself during sleep. So, make sure that you take extra sleep or rest to reduce pain and give time to heal. Take extra sleep to allow the pinched nerve to heal on its own. Make sure that you don’t overuse the nerve and try to sleep in a position that relieves the pressure on the nerve.

Conclusion – Though natural remedies cannot replace medical treatment for radicular pain, they serve as a supportive measure to reduce symptoms and improve your quality of life. Make some important changes in your lifestyle changes and maintain a healthy weight, practice good posture, apply heat and cold therapy, take herbal supplements, and practice stress management techniques that will be helpful in managing radicular pain.