4 Surprising Cures for Back Pain

By Hallie Levine Sklar
Updated June 28, 2014
Credit: Corbis
There are tons of treatments aimed at alleviating back pain. According to the latest research, these are the methods that really work.
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Banish back pain

These exercises help prevent and relieve back pain–and tone up your tummy.

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Yoga

Taking 12 weeks of classes led to greater improvements in function for adults with chronic low back pain versus receiving conventional care (like meds or physical therapy), research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found.

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Massage

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Chronic low back pain sufferers who got weekly massages reported less pain after 10 weeks than those who didn’t, according to another Annals of Internal Medicine study.

If your pain is muscle-related (say, due to tight hamstrings) it might be worth a try, says Heidi Prather, DO, chief of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

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Acupuncture

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Patients with low back pain who went under the needle were more likely than those receiving conventional care to see improved symptoms, one study found.

Want to try it? Get a referral from your doc, or find a certified acupuncturist through the

National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.

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Talk therapy

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In a 2010 study, patients who participated in group cognitive behavior therapy for three months had twice the improvement in chronic low back pain as those who hadn’t.

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