|
Back pain is a common condition, occurring in four out
of five adults. While back pain is most likely to occur at one time in
your life, there are steps you can take to prevent it from happening to
you or keep the pain from becoming worse.
Causes
Most back pain occurs in the lower back, where most of your body
weight is supported. It is often a result of strained back muscles and
ligaments due to any of the following activities:
1) Improper posture
2) Heavy
lifting
3) Sudden awkward movement
4) Muscle spasm
Stress
In
some cases, however, back pain can be traced back to specific
conditions, such as:
Herniated Disk – When the disk material
presses on a nerve.
Sciatica – When a herniated disk presses on
the sciatic nerve. The condition causes sharp, shooting pain through the
buttocks and 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, 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
heed of the following symptoms of back pain:
1) Constant or intense
back pain, especially when lying down at night
2) Back pain spreads down
one or both legs
3) Weakness, numbness, or tingling in one or both legs
New
bowel or bladder problems
Abdominal pain or pulsation, fever
4) Follows
a fall, blow to your back or other injury
5) 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.
|
