Living with chronic back pain can feel like a constant uphill battle, but it doesn’t have to stay that way. In many cases, the most impactful changes don’t come from a prescription or surgery, but from the daily decisions we make that affect our spine health, stress levels, and overall well-being.
At Grand Rapids Pain, board-certified interventional pain specialists Dr. Keith Javery and Dr. Girish Juneja offer a different kind of care. Rather than relying on interventions that can worsen pain over time, like long-term opioid use, we empower patients with healthier alternatives that support their recovery. Our team provides precise, physician-directed pain treatment that goes beyond medication, helping patients build long-term strategies for relief. Whether you’re managing spinal stenosis, chronic low back pain, or joint-related discomfort, we help you take control, without the middleman and outdated approaches.
Let’s explore how lifestyle changes can make a lasting impact on your chronic back pain treatment plan.
Rethink Your Posture: The Power of Everyday Alignment
Poor posture is one of the leading causes of chronic back pain. Whether it stems from prolonged sitting, screen time, or repetitive tasks, slouching places excessive pressure on the spine and surrounding muscles.
Simple ergonomic changes can reduce this strain:
- Adjust your desk, chair, and monitor height to support good posture.
- Use lumbar support cushions for your lower back.
- Take regular breaks from sitting—stand, stretch, or walk.
- Practice posture improvement exercises like chin tucks or shoulder blade squeezes.
For many patients, correcting posture and improving spinal alignment can significantly reduce chronic muscle tension and prevent new injuries.
Movement Matters: Strengthen and Stabilize
A sedentary lifestyle is a major risk factor for chronic back pain. In contrast, regular physical activity helps strengthen the muscles supporting the spine, improves flexibility, and enhances overall health.
Recommended exercises for chronic back pain include:
- Core stabilization routines
- Low-impact aerobic activity (e.g., swimming or walking)
- Stretching and mobility work to release tight muscles
- Yoga or guided stretching for both body and mind
Unlike relying on opioids, which can lead to tolerance, dependency, and increased pain sensitivity (a condition known as opioid-induced hyperalgesia), exercise-based strategies promote long-term resilience and recovery. Always consult your doctor or a physical therapist before beginning a new routine, especially if you’re managing spinal stenosis, arthritis, or herniated discs.
Maintain a Healthy Weight: Reduce the Load on Your Spine
Excess body weight, especially around the midsection, can put additional stress on your lumbar spine. Maintaining a healthy weight helps reduce pressure on spinal joints, improves posture, and can reduce inflammation throughout the body.
Weight management tips include:
- Following an anti-inflammatory diet rich in vegetables, fruits, lean proteins, and omega-3 fatty acids
- Reducing processed foods and added sugars
- Limiting red meat and fried foods
- Increasing physical activity gradually
These changes can improve your pain tolerance, mobility, and overall quality of life, while supporting long-term spine health.
Address Stress: A Crucial but Overlooked Pain Factor
Chronic stress and anxiety can directly contribute to pain. Muscle tension, poor sleep, and decreased activity—all common responses to psychological stress—can exacerbate chronic low back pain.
Here are a few effective techniques:
- Deep breathing and progressive muscle relaxation
- Mindfulness-based stress reduction
- Gentle yoga or tai chi
- Therapy or support groups for emotional well-being
Improving mental health is often an essential part of chronic back pain treatment. It also limits the temptation to turn to opioids, which can initially seem like an easy way to manage stress-related pain but only exacerbate the underlying issues through dependency and hyperalgesia.
Why Long-Term Opioid Use Isn’t the Answer
For decades, opioids were a common go-to for chronic pain management, but research has shown their long-term use can cause more harm than good. One of the most troubling effects is opioid-induced hyperalgesia, where instead of reducing pain, the nervous system becomes increasingly sensitive to it.
Patients on chronic opioids may notice that their medications feel less effective over time and that their pain worsens when they miss a dose. This creates a damaging cycle of reliance, tolerance, and heightened pain sensitivity, worsening their condition and making other treatments less effective.
At Grand Rapids Pain, we believe the standard of care for managing chronic pain must steer away from long-term opioid use in favor of safer, more sustainable treatments. Our approach integrates lifestyle changes, physical therapies, and precise interventional techniques, ensuring that your pain management plan addresses the root causes—not just the symptoms.
What Makes Grand Rapids Pain Different
At Grand Rapids Pain, we go beyond conservative care and get to the root of the problem. Led by Dr. Keith Javery and Dr. Girish Juneja, our practice integrates lifestyle guidance with advanced interventional solutions, like MIST 2.0 (Minimally Invasive Surgical Therapeutics). These image-guided, precision-targeted treatments can relieve pain without the need for open surgery or long-term medication use.
What sets us apart is simple:
- We avoid treatments that can harm your body, like chronic opioid use.
- You’ll always work directly with a board-certified physician.
- We focus on personalized care, not a one-size-fits-all approach.
We treat a wide spectrum of spinal and nerve-related conditions, including spinal stenosis, chronic nerve pain, CRPS, cancer-related pain, and even post-surgical pain syndromes.
Start Feeling Better—Without Waiting for a Prescription
Lifestyle changes are one of the most powerful tools you have to improve chronic back pain. At Grand Rapids Pain, we empower you with sustainable solutions that avoid the dangers of long-term opioid use, like dependency or hyperalgesia.
Call (616) 727-0083 or request an appointment online to learn how our team can help you relieve pain and restore function, without delay.
