There were really only three devices (or four if you count the pull up bar) I ended up needing to resolve most of my back pain:
There were also three supplements that I found were the most helpful in reducing my back pain and supplying the precursors that helped my discs stop "feeling squishy" and start feeling healthy again:
For hormonal support and balance (which can help the body grow and regenerate new tissue and disc material), there are two supplements I took. They (and their equivalents for women) are listed below:
There is an additional set of supplements I took and experimented with which may also be helpful for you. I will put the full list of these extra supplements in the next section, as well as other ergonomic products (such as lumbar support pillows for chairs, and foam wedge back support pillows for reading in bed) which have also been great for enhancing posture and comfort while sitting/reading/working etc.
There is an extra set of supplements which helped me reduce pain and gain even more back comfort. The full list is included here just in case you don't get all of the results you're looking for from taking only the core supplements in the previous section:
Every body is different, and only you will be able to determine the right blend of supplements and therapies that will truly work for you. I primarily used the Core Five supplements, and sprinkled in these extra supplements 2-4 times a week. After a while, I just continued on the Core Five and gradually phased these out.
For this reason, I put the Core Five (3 disc material precursor and 2 hormonal support supplements) in the core products section, and these are extras in case you want to experiment with taking a combination of them on top of the core recommended set.
As for extra devices, they fall into two categories:
Seating ergonomics matter a lot especially if you work for extended periods of time at your desk or on your computer. I've found that having a lumbar support pillow for my office chair and a triangular wedge for sitting in bed has been incredibly helpful compared to sitting in a normal chair or propped up in bed against regular pillows.
Inversion or decompression tables are a bit large compared to a simple decompression harness and pull up bar, but if you have the space or don't like the feeling of hanging your entire lower bodyweight from your rib cage, they may be worth it.
My first experiments with decompression were simply hanging off a bed, but the inversion of the head can cause an uncomfortable rush of blood, which is not always pleasant.
Decompression tables at a chiropractor do work, but they don't always didn't apply as much force compared to what is achieved through a natural bodyweight hang in a hanging decompression harness, and they require you to drive and pay money every time, which can get expensive.
Lastly, if your back pain is in the neck area—or if you often have your head forward when walking or working (which is common from using computers and can cause mid and upper back problems)—it's best to see a chiropractor who knows how to use neck traction tools and make proper adjustments, since trying to fix neck issues on your own at home can be risky or even dangerous.
There were really just four things I did every day to recover:
I would typically experiment with various hip movements such as back and forth, rotational, or side-to-side while decompressing in order to create extra decompressive forces. I did this at least once a day for 4-12 minutes, just before going to sleep. This way my back could be fully decompressed for the maximum amount of time while sleeping.
Doing any one of these things always made me feel better, but as soon as I started to do all four of these every day, that's when I started seeing amazing improvements to the way my back was feeling.
In order to get these massive pain reduction results, I had to:
I really didn't like having to do these two things when I first started (since I just wanted my back pain to go away on its own) but there was unfortunately no way around this part.
Since I was really serious about doing everything possible to accelerate my recovery, I also did three extra things:
And I also had to:
When I added all of these things, that's when I truly begin to feel much better.
"Okay, I bought all the things, now what??"
Here's The Method I followed at home to resolve most of my back pain:
First, I did all the tedious stuff such as:
Then, I setup reminders on my phone to:
After decompression, I would always try to lay down immediately and not read or do anything else - this way my spinal discs were maximally decompressed just before falling asleep.
Note: hanging in a decompression harness was painful for my rib cage at first. This pain went away in about a week. But start with a few minutes at a time, and remember that this pain lessens as you spend more time decompressing.
I also installed my ergonomic pillow on my office chair, and set the wedge pillow up for reading in bed.
And that's it! If you have any questions about what else I did, or have any recommendations about what's worked for you, definitely send me an email at hello@nomorebackpain.org.
I can't wait to hear about what's working for you, and what's helped you the most. Wishing you good luck and great speed on your journey.
