Unfortunately, we don’t pamper our precious backs as we do our skin or hair or nails. We should. Back pain is said to affect at one time or another up to 80% of the population. It is estimated that four out of five adults under the age of 45 will experience some sort of back pain in their lives. Back pain is said to be the second most common cause of people taking time off from work (the first being the common cold).

The truth is that back pain can be avoided simply by visiting your professional and maintaining good health and posture habits.

Sufferers describe backache, as many people refer to back pains, in different ways: “a mild, dull ache”, “a sharp, stabbing pain”, “numbness” or “a feeling of stiffness”.

At its worse, back pain may be debilitating, an unbearable agony that can leave a sufferer bed-ridden, experiencing nausea, vomiting and even fever. Back pains may be temporary (e.g., caused by pregnancy or as a symptom of another disorder), permanent (e.g., caused by a spinal disorder) or sporadic (e.g., caused by bad posture).

Sufferers agree, however, that this is a condition that lays a patient low both physically and emotionally. Furthermore, it is often, in itself, the cause of further back problems. The condition can create a vicious circle: bad back pains result in bad posture as the sufferer stoops, bends and shuffles at home or at work in an effort to ease the pain. The result: increasing chronic back pain.

Although back pain is most commonly caused by injury or degenerative illness, there are a wide variety of reasons people experience back pain. Among those reasons are:

– Age, an unavoidable fact of life, brings with it back pain. It can be made worse with back disorders such as spinal stenosis.

– Back pain is also associated with medical conditions like pregnancy, and the pain usually dissipates as the condition ceases.

– Everyone knows someone who suffers with arthritis, a very common cause of back pain, particularly in the elderly and sports people.

– Sports and car injuries are another common cause. Lumbar strains, vertebrae fractures can cause specifically located back strain.

– Poor posture is perhaps the leading culprit of back pain. Those who work manual labor for a longtime can suffer, as well as can those that perform occupations that require sitting or standing for long periods of time, such as secretaries and office jobs.

– Certain viral and bacterial infections, e.g., meningitis or a urinary tract infection, may cause back pain.

– Inherited diseases, or diseases you are born with, can cause a life time of pain. One example would be scoliosis.

– Back pain may be a symptom of a number of diseases, including kidney disease, gall bladder infection, etc.

If you experience back pain that lasts for more than a few days, you should contact your doctor or other professional for treatment advice. There are many treatment options, including alternative treatments that are non-invasive.

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This entry was posted on Monday, August 4th, 2008 at 3:40 am and is filed under Exercise. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.