Back Pain: Causes and Treatments
Back related pain can be one of the most debilitating injuries out there. Many sufferers of back injuries and the related pain find themselves unable to handle even the most basic tasks until their pain subsides. The causes of back related pain can be mysterious, as can the solutions to this pain, but the following are some of the common issues that lead to back injuries and pain and some of the ways that it is treated.
Causes of Back Injuries and Pain
There are a variety of different causes for back related pain. Some instances of these pains are caused by genetic diseases, while others are caused by sudden accidents or sports injuries. Women who go through child birth also will experience pains in their back in the post-partum period. In these situations, there is little that a person can do to eliminate the cause of the back injury, though there are many options for treating this pain.
A number of people experience pain due to misalignment in their spines, sometimes caused by poor posture and habits. Poor posture can lead to slipped or herniated disks, regular pain, atrophy of muscles, and pain that is reverberated throughout your body. Poor posture has long been a contributing factor for back related pain, but has grown in recent years. An increase in the sedentary lifestyle has led to many people experiencing forward head posture, in which their head is pushed forward in a way that leads to a further misalignment of the spine. The advent of personal computers and mobile devices is furthering the prevalence of poor posture. People sit with their heads forward when using these electrical devices in a way that is potentially harmful for their backs. Many of these instances of back related pain are therefore preventable.
Another common cause of back related pain is being overweight. Overweight individuals often place a significant amount of pressure on their back, particularly their lower back, which causes both short and long-term back related pain. Losing weight will greatly reduce the pain they have in their back and other procedures, such a breast reduction surgery, have been recommended to lower the pressure caused on a person’s back.
Thoughts on Ways Back Pains Are Treated
There are a number of different philosophies for treating back injuries. Some treatment options will work towards correcting the behavior that is causing this pain, while others work towards relieving the pain that the patient is experiencing. Relief of pain can be done through intrusive or more holistic treatments or a combination of both and the appropriate treatment is very dependent on the source of the pain as well as the severity of the injury or pain that the patient is experiencing. Ultimately, many doctors will recommend that a variety of different treatments are used to treat back injuries.
Preventative Ways to Address Back Injuries
As noted above, poor posture and being overweight are two of the major contributing factors to pain in your back Both are preventative and addressed with the help of the various medical professionals who work on these areas. It is often useful to contact a orthopedic to understand if your posture is a contributing factor to your back related pain. Sometimes changing how you sit at a desk, using supports to help you when you type, or eve changing your shoes can go a long way to preventing pain. Reducing your weight can be an actionable way to reduce your pain.
Intrusive Ways in Which Back Problems Are Treated
Surgery is often recommended to realign an individual’s back, particularly in severe instances of poorly aligned spines. Some of the simpler procedures may involve putting a slipped disk back into place, while other procedures are more intrusive and risky and involve a complete realignment of your spine. Intrusive back procedures are often thought of as a last resort measure for more complex or genetic problems, but may also be used to help to prevent further degeneration of your back and can be a real long-term solution to your pain. Consult a qualified doctor to determine the best solution and consider the costs and benefits that they recommend for intrusive back surgery. There are also medications available which can reduce the inflammation associated with back injuries and relieve the pressure the nerves in your spine.
Non-Intrusive Treatments for Back Problems
Non-intrusive, or holistic, methods for treating pain can also provide much needed relief from back related pains and can also be preventative treatment that reduce future back pains. Stretching and exercising muscles can help in both regards. When you stretch your muscles you reduce the muscle knots that form in your back as a reaction that your body has to the pain. These muscle knots can lead to inflammation of your body that can press on your nerves and contributing to pain. Stretching and relief of muscle knots through massages and cupping techniques can be ways to relieve pain. When you exercise your back and other supportive muscle groups you can create a more stable body core that can strengthen your back and reduce pain in the future.
Pain in your back is something that inflicts many people around the world and can be debilitating to the lifestyle that they want to live. There are a number of different options for people to combat back related pains, regardless of the genesis of their pain. Contacting your physician to explore the various options available is a good way to address the back related pain that you experiencing.