Symptoms
Back pain can range from a muscle aching to a severe shooting, burning or stabbing pain. Also, the pain can radiate down a leg. Bending, twisting, lifting, standing or walking can make it worse.
Most back pain gradually improves with home treatment and self-care, usually within a few weeks.
In rare cases, back pain can signal a serious medical condition. Seek Emergency Care for back pain that:
- Causes new bowel or bladder problems (urine or bowel incontinence or loss of control).
- Is accompanied by a fever.
- Follows a fall, blow to the back or other injury.
Causes
Back pain often develops without a cause and is not explained in a test or imaging study. Conditions commonly linked to this type of back pain include:
- Muscle or ligament strain. Sudden awkward movement can strain back muscles and spinal ligaments or heavy lifting. This is particularly true for people not good physical condition. Strain on the back can also cause painful muscle spasms.
- Bulging or ruptured disks. The soft material inside a disk can bulge or rupture and cause pressure on a nerve.
- Osteoarthritis can also affect the lower back. Arthritis in the spine can lead to a narrowing of the space around the spinal cord, a condition called spinal stenosis.
- Ankylosing spondylitis.This inflammatory disease causes bones in the spine to fuse. This makes the spine less flexible and can cause deformity and pain.
- The spines vertebrae can develop painful breaks called compression fractures if the bones become porous and brittle, due to age and demineralization of bone.
Risk factors
Everyone can develop back pain. These factors increase the risk of you developing back pain:
- Back pain is more common with age.
- Lack of exercise.Weak, unused muscles in the back and abdomen can lead to back pain.
- Excess weight.Excess body weight puts extra stress on the back.
- Some types of arthritis and cancer can cause back pain.
- Improper lifting.Using the back (instead of the legs) can cause back pain.
- Psychological conditions.People prone to depression and anxiety appear to have a greater risk of back pain. Stress can cause muscle tension, that contributes to back pain.
- Smokers have increased risk of back pain. This may occur because of coughing, (which can lead to herniated disks). Smoking also can decrease blood flow to the spine and increase the risk of osteoporosis and compression fractures.
Prevention
Improving ones physical condition and learning and practicing how to use the body properly might help prevent back pain.
To keep the back healthy and strong:
- Motion is Lotion! Regular low-impact aerobic activities can increase strength and endurance in the back and allow the muscles to work better. Exercises like swimming, walking, and bicycling that don’t compress the spine are excellent choices.
- Build muscle strength and flexibility. Strengthen the core using abdominal and back muscle exercises to condition these muscles so that they work together to support the back.
- Maintain a healthy weight.Being overweight places tremendous strain on back muscles.
- Quit smoking.Smoking increases the risk of low back pain. The risk increases with the number of cigarettes smoked per day, so quitting is an excellent approach to avoiding back pain, COPD and Cancer!
Treatment:
Back pain is common and many products promise prevention or relief. But there’s no good evidence that prosthetics, special shoes or braces help. Also there is no one type of mattress that has been found superior.
What does help is Shockwave Therapy. This non-invasive focused ultrasound treatment is an excellent first line therapy when anti-inflammatories and rest have not provided relief and should be tried prior to painful injections and surgery. We use the latest methodology proven to help with not only the pain but in some cases complete resolution of the condition.
Come try our Shock Wave Therapy. We are getting amazing results for our patients. We are so confident in this therapy that the first treatment is free. Call us and schedule your appointment today.