Eighty
percent of people suffer from back pain at some point in their lives.
Back pain is the second most common reason for visits to the doctor's
office, outnumbered only by upper-respiratory infections. Most cases of
back pain are mechanical or non-organic, i.e., not caused by serious
conditions, such as inflammatory arthritis, infection, fracture, or
cancer.
What Causes Back Pain?
The back is a complicated structure of bones, joints, ligaments, and
muscles. You can sprain ligaments, strain muscles, rupture disks, and
irritate joints, all of which can lead to back pain. While sports
injuries or accidents can cause back pain, sometimes the simplest of
movements-for example, picking up a pencil from the floor-can have
painful results. In addition, arthritis, poor posture, obesity, and
psychological stress can cause or complicate back pain. Back pain can
also directly result from disease of the internal organs, such as kidney
stones, kidney infections, blood clots, or bone loss.
Back injuries are a part of everyday life, and the spine is quite good
at dealing with these often "pulled" muscles. These very minor injuries
usually heal within 1 or 2 days. Some pain, however, continues. What
makes some pain last longer is not entirely understood, but researchers
suspect that the reasons may include stress, mood changes, and the fear
of further injury that may prevent patients from being active. In
addition, sometimes a painful injury or disease changes the way the pain
signals are sent through the body, and, even after the problem has gone
away or is inactive, the pain signals still reach the brain. It is as
if the pain develops a memory that keeps being replayed.
Will Back Pain Go Away on Its Own?
Until recently, researchers believed that back pain will "heal" on its
own. We have learned, however, that this is not true. A recent study
showed that when back pain is not treated, it may go away temporarily
but will most likely return. The study demonstrated that in more than
33% of the people who experience low-back pain, the pain lasts for more
than 30 days. Only 9% of the people who had low-back pain for more than
30 days were pain free 5 years later.1
Another study looked at all of the available research on the natural
history of low-back pain. The results showed that when it is ignored,
back pain does not go away on its own.2 Those studies demonstrate that
low-back pain continues to affect people for long periods after it first
begins.
What Can I Do to Prevent Long-Term Back Pain?
If your back pain is not resolving quickly, visit your doctor of
chiropractic. Your pain will often result from mechanical problems that
your doctor of chiropractic can address. Many chiropractic patients with
relatively long-lasting or recurring back pain feel improvement shortly
after starting chiropractic treatment.3 The relief they feel after a
month of treatment is often greater than after seeing a family
physician.4
Chiropractic spinal manipulation is a safe and effective spine pain
treatment. It reduces pain, decreases medication, rapidly advances
physical therapy, and requires very few passive forms of treatment, such
as bed rest.5
How Can I Prevent Back Pain?
- Don't lift by
bending over. Instead, bend your hips and knees and then squat to pick
up the object. Keep your back straight, and hold the object close to
your body.
- Don't twist your body while lifting.
- Push, rather than pull, when you must move heavy objects.
- If you must sit for long periods, take frequent breaks and stretch.
- Wear flat shoes or shoes with low heels.
- Exercise regularly. An inactive lifestyle contributes to lower-back pain.
- Pain goes down your leg below your knee.
- Your leg, foot, groin, or rectal area feels numb.
- You have fever, nausea, vomiting, stomach ache, weakness, or sweating.
- You lose bowel control.
- Your pain is caused by an injury.
- Your pain is so intense you can't move around.
- Your pain doesn't seem to be getting better quickly.
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