The Therapy

If you have a cold with back pain, the two diseases must be treated separately. The cold itself should be clarified by a doctor if it does not improve over several days or if there is a high fever. Uncomplicated back pain, i.e. back pain without a serious cause, usually improves with exercise.

However, it should be noted that the cold must always be kept in mind. Sports that strain the circulation too much or cause sweating should be avoided. A good example of relaxed exercise would be a walk or yoga.

Fresh air is also helpful in fighting the cold, as long as you don’t dress too cool. To combat back pain, you can also try a massage or a treatment with heat, for example with warm compresses. When choosing medication, you must also distinguish between back pain itself and the common cold.For uncomplicated back pain as well as for a cold, however, the same drugs can be used to some extent: The typical painkillers like ibuprofen or paracetamol.

This is based on the fact that most of these drugs, apart from paracetamol, belong to the so-called non-steroidal anti-rheumatic drugs – also called NSAIDs. These are generally effective against pain and inflammation. Thus, back pain as well as other pain such as headache or aching limbs can be treated at the same time.

The anti-inflammatory component also relieves other cold symptoms. In general, back pain can be relieved with a massage. This can be done dry or with oil.

If you have a cold at the same time, it is advisable to work with a suitable oil or ointment. In this way the symptoms of the cold can be alleviated at the same time. Examples of this would be mint oil, pine or spruce needle oil.

These or others are also often mixed in cold ointments. When rubbing in, a part of the essential oils is also inhaled – this makes the respiratory tract wider and secretion can be coughed up or cut off more easily. Rubbing in also locally improves the blood circulation in the area of the back where the active ingredient is massaged in.

This can relieve back pain, especially if it is caused by tension. A warm bath can also be very beneficial for both a cold and back pain. And here too, you can try to achieve a similar effect by using different bath additives as when rubbing in.

The active ingredients added in bath additives are often the same as those in cold balm or similar. When using essential oils, however, some people also experience allergic reactions, such as skin rashes. Therefore, it should always be checked beforehand whether there is an allergy to any of the ingredients.

In addition, some back pain also increases when heat is added – this may be an indication that the back pain has an inflammatory cause. Then the therapy with heat should be stopped. There are also homeopathic remedies that are used equally for back pain and colds. Probably the best known is the so-called nux vomica, which is extracted from the so-called nux vomica. Aconitum apellus, the blue wolfsbane, is also used for both colds and back pain.