Six Facts about Back Pain

1.Overview

Back pain is an extremely common complaint, experienced by most people at some point in their lives. It can be a result of strain from lifting, prolonged awkward postures, or stress on the back from sitting for long periods of time. It is also one of the most common reasons people go to the doctor or miss work. To make matters worse, back pain can lead to disability.

If you are not in a very severity condition, some measures can be taken to relieve most back pain episodes, such as home treatment or proper body mechanics. If not, you may need to do a surgery to treat back pain.

2.Differences between acute and chronic back pain

Read and learn more about back pain and then you can manage it when it strikes. Back pain is one of the most common types of chronic pain. If you experience back pain that interferes with your daily activities, such as lifting objects or sitting for extended periods of time, you may have chronic back pain.

While acute back pain resolves itself within six weeks in almost all cases, if your back pain persists consistently for longer than three months, it is considered chronic. Understanding the difference between acute and chronic back pain will help you manage persistent aches and pains.

3.Symptoms

Usually, the symptoms of back pain can be showed as a muscle aching to a shooting, burning or stabbing sensation. This kind of pain may radiate down your leg or worsen with bending, twisting, lifting, standing or walking.

Very rarely, back pain can be a sign of a serious problem such as a broken bone, cancer or an infection. So once you get back pain for some time, please be sure to see a doctor to avoid some bad things.

4.Causes

Back pain is a common problem for anyone who works all day. In fact, the average person will experience lower back pain at some point in their life. It is also one of the most frustrating and difficult to manage, especially if you suffer from it on a regular basis. We have listed some causes here. Muscle or ligament strain. For some manual workers, they are working on repeated heavy lifting which are more likely to cause back pain. Especially if they are in in poor physical condition, constant strain on your back can cause painful muscle spasms. Actually back pain can affect anyone at any time, but it’s more likely to develop if you have a job that involves heavy lifting, awkward postures or other physical strains.

**Bulging or ruptured disks. ** Disk disease is one of the most common reasons for visiting the doctor and the second most common reason for taking time off work. In addition, it is also another main reason to cause back pain.

**Arthritis. ** Rheumatoid arthritis of the spine is not caused by wear and tear, so it's considered an inflammatory arthritis. It can affect the lower back due to leading to a narrowing of the space around the spinal cord.

It may cause back pain even when these joints are not in use. It tends to affect women more than men.

**Osteoporosis. ** If you are with back pain, you may lose height and become a hunched posture. And at this time, the bones that make up your spine would weaken to the point that they crumple and collapse. Once bone fractures in the spine or hip, it will cause the most serious complications of osteoporosis.

5.Risk factors

Back pain can happen on anyone, even children and teens. Some factors might put you at greater risk of developing back pain: Age: it is highly likely to happen between age 30 or 40. **Lack of exercise: **lack of body movement and performing fewer strengthening exercises can increase the chance to develop lower back pain.  **Excess weight: **heavyweight puts extra stress on your back. Diseases: some types of diseases can contribute to back pain. **Improper lifting: **it’s more likely to develop back pain if you have a job that involves heavy lifting. **Psychological conditions: **depression and anxiety will make you have a greater risk of back pain. **Smoking: **Smoking prompts you more coughing, leads to herniated disks, decreases blood flow to the spine and increases the risk of osteoporosis. Finally, all of these factors will put you at a higher risk of developing back pain.

6.Prevention

Thankfully, there are ways to mitigate its impact on your life. Here are some tips to reduce your risk factors and manage back pain when it strikes:

How to keep your back healthy and strong: Exercise. Taking some regular activities which don't strain or jolt your back can increase strength and endurance in your back and allow your muscles to function better. Walking and swimming are good choices.

**Build muscle strength and flexibility. ** If someone own a natural corset for their back, they may escape from back pain more easier. Doing some exercises on abdominal and back muscle can strengthen core are perfect suggestion.

**Maintain a healthy weight. ** Do not make overweight strain back muscles and keeping a healthy weight can prevent back pain.

Quit smoking. Smoking increasing your risk of low back pain is exactly confirmed by scientists. It is really not a good habit for people’s health.

**Good posture on standing, sitting, lifting. ** If you’re among those people who stand up, sit down , or lift something in right posture for eight hours a day at work, back pain may be still away from you! Good posture can reduce the stress on back muscles.

For example: Maintaining a neutral pelvic position while standing. Placing a pillow or rolled towel in the small of your back while sitting. Finding a lifting partner if the object is heavy or awkward. If possible, you should avoid heavy lifting.