Back Pain BlogBack Pain Info Help

Back pain symptoms are one of the most common problems that affect a large percentage of the population of any given country. It is next only to the common cold in its occurrence and is like common cold, difficult to find the cause and address it. It is often the reason for crowded emergency cells and absence of employees from the work place.

Causes of Back Pain

It is often difficult to attribute one particular reason to back pain. It is more often a symptom by itself of some underlying abnormality in other organs. For example, appendicitis, bowel dysfunction, kidney disorders, abnormal functioning of ovaries, and pregnancy in the case of women, may all result in back pain.

Back pain may also result due to rupturing of ligaments during child birth, improper lifting of heavy objects, prolonged sitting, among others. In addition, muscle sprains and strains and of course, direct injury to the spine, infections of the connecting nerves are other causes of back pain.

When To Start Getting Worried

Back pain symptoms, as common as they are, subside without any medical intervention in most people. But, there are times when it may be more than what it seems. For example, back pain after a mild fall in the elderly or in individuals with a history of osteoporosis, cancer patients, patients with asthma, arthritis, and those recovering from an infection or surgery are some cases that need to be addressed immediately.

Treatment Options

Exercise regimens like aerobics, walking, and swimming have been found to be the best options for chronic sufferers and for the occasional ones, these activities don’t help much. Certain sleeping postures are found to be effective, while some would prefer having a hot pack, or ice on their back. Some believe muscle rubs help. Some take alternate medicines and seem to be happy with the results.

The best back pain relief is achieved with ibuprofen or acetaminophen and with other non-prescription pain killers, although these are only short-term options. Their prolonged use is not recommended and may result in serious complications.

There are also other options like steroids administered directly into the spine and manual adjustment of the spine, which may be appropriate in some cases.

While rest for a short period of time helps, prolonged rest may worsen the condition and may even result in further complications like formation of blood clots. However, it is recommended to curtail activities that would trigger the pain, like lifting heavy objects.

There is no single treatment that would help all. Back pain has to be treated differently based on every individual’s symptoms, past medical history, and lifestyle factors. The best way to combat back pain symptoms for non-chronic sufferers is to forget about it, take a nap, and keep moving.

Back is the workhorse of the human body. This extremely strong structure literally carries the burden of the entire body, and is responsible for almost every movement of the body. This makes it prone to injury and the resultant back pain can disturb your routine life. In a survey, it was estimated that three out of four adults suffer from back pain at least once during their lifetime, and it is also one of the main reasons for being absent from work.

Here are the major symptoms, causes, and treatments of back ache.

Symptoms of Back Pain

Back pain is a common ailment, affecting almost all human beings at some point of time in their life. It is mainly of two types: lower and upper back pain. The major back pain symptoms include:

• Pain in the lower part of the back, also known as the lumbo-sacral area, is the primary symptom of back pain.

• The ache may radiate down the front, side, or back of your leg, or it may be restricted to the lower back.

• The pain may worsen with movement.

• Occasionally, the backache may be worse at night or with prolonged sitting, like on a long car trip or in a meeting.

• You may feel numbness or weakness in the part of the leg that receives its nerve supply from a compressed nerve.

Causes of Back Pain

The main causes of backache involve a disease or an injury to the muscles, bones, and nerves of the spine. The following are the prominent causes of back pain:

• Injury: It is one of the most common causes of severe back pain. It can occur due to accidents, improper sports activity, trauma, among others. Any injuries to the spinal cord or to the muscles and ligaments result in back pain.

• Herniated Disc: It is a painful crack in the disc present in between two vertebrae. This can be caused due to a variety of reasons like injury, aging, obesity, among others. Pinched nerve and sciatica and are the two painful conditions caused due to herniated disc.

• Peptic Ulcer: Peptic ulcer is a combined name for duodenal and stomach ulcer, which is caused due to inflammation of the internal mucous surface. Eating spicy food regularly, smoking, liquor intake, stress, among others, is the risk factors for ulcers.

• Kidney Stone: It occurs when the excess uric acid and calcium in the body are not excreted. These, in turn, get stored resulting in the formation of kidney stones. Pain during urination, abdominal pain, and severe backache are the consequences of this condition.

Treatments of Back Pain

All the causes of backache can be treated successfully with different treatment methods. Nowadays, many doctors advice back exercises for back pain relief. If a person experiences sharp pain in the back that persists for more than a couple of hours, he or she should consult a doctor immediately. Before commencing the treatment, the doctor sees an X-ray test, MRI, or a CT scan to diagnose the underlying condition. Injury and herniated disc can be healed with the help of medications, physical therapy, or surgery. To diagnose peptic ulcers, endoscopy and H. pylori test are required. The size of the stone decides the treatment of the kidney stone; if it is small, it can be treated with the help of medications, while a surgery is required for larger kidney stones.

In this way, you can identify back pain symptoms, factors causing it and of course, its treatment.