5 Causes of Back Pain & its Treatment

Back pain or stiff back is one of the most common problems now, which can sometimes be very frustrating. One has to know the reasons for back pain before going for the remedy.

Causes

There can be many causes for back pain, but the following are the 5 most common back pain causes.

Muscular or spinal ligament strain: Muscular or spinal ligament strain can cause by sudden jerky movements. Sports injury or trying to lift heavyweight with the wrong posture can also cause a muscular sprain or spinal ligament tear, which results in debilitating and painful or stiff back. The back or abdomen’s weak muscles can also be the reason for frequent muscular strain resulting in back pain.

Poor Posture: Wrong or incorrect posture is one of the most common causes of back pain. The reasons behind cultivating lousy posture may be some old injury or chronic pain, hereditary, low nutritional state, sedentary lifestyle, lack of exercise, excessive body weight, long sitting hours in the un-ergonomic workplace.

Osteoarthritis: It is a condition in which the cartilages which work as a cushion between bone joints, wear down affecting the lower back. Spinal arthritis can result in spinal stenosis, which causes narrowing of the spinal canal, causing painful pressure on it and the nerve roots. Some of the causes of osteoarthritis are long-term injury, genetics, or obesity.

A ruptured or bulging disc: It is the most often gradual age-related wear and tear of the disk which is also called disk degeneration. With the aging process, the disk’s flexibility decreases, making it more prone to tearing or rupturing.

Osteoporosis: It is a disease in which bone density and quality are reduced. The reasons behind developing osteoporosis may be genetic, insufficient calcium intake, eating disorder,s and being underweight. The osteoporosis may cause the spine to create painful compression fractures and thus, back pain.

Prevention

One can take the following preventing measures to avoid back pain:

Healthy lifestyle: Following a normal and healthy lifestyle means timely meals, proper sleep, avoiding excessive stress or strains, and living nearer to nature. Depression and anxiety are also known for triggering back pain in some people.

Daily exercise: By doing a daily routine, all joints and muscles remain in good shape. Doing exercises which help in building strength in the back as well as abdomen and hip muscles. The strong core acts like a natural corset for your back.

Good nutrition: A balanced diet with the required quantity of calcium.

Maintaining correct posture: Back pain due to the wrong posture is one of the most common reasons. One should take proper care of his stance while standing, sitting, lifting. While standing, don’t slouch. While sitting, avoid continuous prolonged sitting — moreover, ergonomic types of furniture help keep the right posture at the workplace.

Maintaining correct bodyweight: Over bodyweight put tremendous stress on the spine. So one should take proper care to keep one’s weight under check.

Quitting smoking & alcohol: Smokers have found to tend to develop back pain. This happens because smokers are more likely to have coughing, which may lead to herniated disks. Moreover, smoking decreases blood flow to the spine, increasing the risk of osteoporosis. Similarly, alcohol consumption may also lead to osteoporosis, thus back pain.

Symptoms

Treatment

The difference between pain due to muscle sprain and back pain is that usual muscular pain heels in a few days or week, but back pain due to the spinal problem is chronic and tends to persist for months. If one has such symptoms, early medical advice is crucial.

After diagnosing the exact cause of the pain, a medical expert may advise medicines, traction, physiotherapy, or rest.

In the case of herniated/slipped/bulged disk, where nerve compression is happening, surgical intervention may be needed as per the advice of the neurosurgeon.

Since the patient’s movement in the state of back pain is not advisable, the best way is to search online for the best physician, orthopedic surgeon, or neurologist available in the vicinity. There are many websites like Practo or DoctoriDuniya, which may be of great help in this regard. The android app like DoctoriDuniya will help to book an appointment online. The initial online consultation will very convenient for such patients and save them from unnecessary physical exertion. Patients have the facility to create their Online Personal Medical Account called NAINI. They can track the history of e-prescriptions, get free follow-ups; get an online consultation with General physicians or orthopedic surgeons and store their lab reports & Health records for further actions at NAINI.