Galanga (commonly referring to Alpinia galanga or Kaempferia galanga) has a long history of use in traditional medicine, particularly within Southeast Asian and Ayurvedic systems. In these traditions, galanga is valued for its warming properties and is sometimes used as a remedy for conditions thought to involve "coldness" or "stagnation," including musculoskeletal discomfort such as backache. The rhizomes are often incorporated into topical preparations, poultices, or sometimes taken internally to alleviate general pain or inflammation.

However, there is minimal direct scientific evidence supporting the use of galanga specifically for backache. While some laboratory and animal studies suggest that extracts from galanga rhizomes possess anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties, these findings are preliminary and have not been robustly studied in the context of back pain in humans. No high-quality clinical trials have evaluated its efficacy for backache, and major pharmacopoeias or clinical guidelines do not recognize galanga as a treatment for this condition. Thus, while its use for backache is primarily grounded in traditional practice, current scientific validation is lacking, and evidence quality is low.