Back pain can be relieved in number of ways. For usual cases rest regiment combined with cold/hot compresses, therapy, exercise and pain medications is very effective way to relieve back pain.

Rest is needed in order to give your back time to heal if you suffer acute lower back pain. However, try to be active as much as possible, without doing even more damage. Standing up and moving around the room or house will ease much of the stiffness, provide better blood circulation for your back and thus worm the injured area.

Use cold/hot compresses. Use them each on its own or combined (cold/hot regimen), in either way this is one of the best and fastest way to relieve your back pain. Heat relaxes the back muscles and improves circulation by dilating blood vessels. Improved circulation brings more oxygen to the painful area and thus reduces spasm along with pain. Remember not to apply treatment for more then 30 minutes, it can damage the abdominal organs. Do not sleep with heat packs!

Cold compresses are commonly used to ease the inflammation. Most common usage is for arthritis or sports injuries. Cold decreases the blood vessels, reduces blood flow to the affected area and thus reduces inflammation and swelling. As with heat, compresses avoid prolonged usage to avoid frostbite.

Stretching is useful for reducing the stiffness in the lower back, and to sometimes relieve spine compression. In addition, exercise will strengthen your core muscles (back, stomach and buttocks) which will result in a much better support for your spine.

Ask your doctor or better yet your physical therapist to show you how to properly execute those exercises. Properly is the main word here, if you exercise the wrong way you will only do more damage then good.

Massage is often used as a very effective back pain therapy. Massage works in a similar way as the hot compresses do. It stimulates the blood flow to the painful area, thus helping muscles to relax. Do not use untrained or unregistered massage therapists.

Nonprescription medications are another way to ease the back pain. Often they include analgesic medications like Tylenol or Aspirin. Ointments, creams and gels can be used as effective topical analgesics. Some examples of those are Ben Gay, Zostrix and Icy Hot.

You can also use other anti-inflammatory medications like Advil or Motrin (contain ibuprofen), Orudis and Actron (ketoprofen) and Aleve (naproxen sodium). If these prove ineffective visit your doctor, ho/she can prescribe a stronger pain-relieving drug if necessary.

However, if the pain does not subside in a week or if you experience any other symptoms like fever, vomiting, stomach pain, loss of bowel movement control, numbness in groin or legs visit your doctor right away.