Your back is the workhorse of your body. You rely on it in almost every move you make. So even though your back is an extremely well-designed structure of bone, muscles, nerves, and other soft tissues, it is still vulnerable to injury and back pain, either of which can be physically disabling.
Back pain is a very common condition among the general population, occurring in as many as four out of five adults. While back pain is most likely to occur at one time or another in your life, there are steps you can take to prevent the likelihood of it happening to you, or keep any existing pain from becoming worse.
Causes
Most back pain occurs in the lower part of the back in the lumbar region, where most of your body weight is supported. Pain often occurs because of strained back muscles and ligaments due to any of the following activities:
· Improper posture
· Heavy lifting
· Sudden awkward movement
· Muscle spasm
· Stress
In some cases, however, back pain can be traced back to specific conditions, such as:
· Herniated Disk – When the internal disk material extrudes and presses on a nerve.
· Sciatica – When a herniated disk presses on the sciatic nerve. The condition causes sharp, shooting pain through the buttocks and along the back of the leg.
· Spinal Stenosis – When the space around the spinal cord and nerve roots becomes narrow. Caused by arthritis and bone overgrowth. Pain results when a nerve gets pinched in the narrow space.
· Spondylosis – A type of arthritis affecting the spine due to degenerative changes brought on by aging.
· Spondylolisthesis – When one vertebra in the spinal column slips forward over another.
Since back pain in any of these instances is premised on a definable cause, the treatment procedure is also easily identified. Back pain may also be caused by other specific conditions, these are not mentioned here because they occur only rarely.
Medical Advice
Home treatment and self-care are often the best method to take care of back pain. However, there are rare instances where back pain could signal a more serious medical problem, in which case, medical advice is needed.
Take special notice of the following symptoms of back pain:
· Constant or intense back pain, especially when lying down at night
· Back pain spreading down one or both legs
· Weakness, numbness, or tingling in one or both legs
· New bowel or bladder problems
· Abdominal pain or pulsation, high fever
· Follows a fall, blow to your back or other injury
· Accompanied by unexplained weight loss
If you experience any of the above, then be sure to see your doctor immediately. Additionally, if you are older than 50, seek doctor’s advice about your back pain even when you do not experience any of the abovementioned symptoms. People with a history of osteoporosis, cancer, steroid use, or drug or alcohol abuse should also see the doctor if they experience back pain.
There are many more therapies you can try, and it is worth trying a few out to find the solution that best suits you. For more advice about how to deal with your back pain by a team of experts trained in back care and pain management, see below.
Author Resource:-
M Newbold is a prolific writer who enjoys writing about family, health & fitness, food and nutrition. For more information about easing your back pain condition and to download a free mini-ebook, visit http://www.expertbackpain.weebly.com or http://www.backpaincompendium.com
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