subject: Pain: Its Variations And What To Do With It [print this page] Did you know that the chances of you experiencing back pain are very high? Studies have shown that 80% of people in America will experience back pain at least once.
To help you understand back pain, let's break it down into a couple of categories: Chronic (or long standing back pain) lasts more than 3-4 weeks in nature. Acute low back pain usually stems from some type of injury or trauma. We will address that in Back Pain Part II.
Let's talk about chronic low back pain. If you suffer from this, you have my sincere sympathy. It is extremely difficult to suffer from daily, often hourly, pain with intense bouts where you cannot function at all. It affects every part of your life. Let's discuss what may be causing this pain:
1. Herniated Discs - A disc herniation, (bulge or protrusion) causes a lot of back pain because the bulge can press on nerves. Discs can herniate in acute conditions, such as accidents, but can also arise from chronic sources. In my experience working in the trucking industry, I saw herniated discs caused by holding stationary postures for long periods of time, repetitive lifting, prolonged sitting, and muscular imbalances. In these cases, the disc material had micro-fractures of the outer layers until eventually a full herniation developed.
2. Disc Degeneration - This is a condition that develops over time. Usually the disc begins to lose its cushioning properties. The fluid on the inner side of the disc is decreased. This can happen when the vertebra above and the one below are fixated (stuck together) for a long period of time. It is important to note that the discs keep hydrated by movement of the vertebrae. This is a phenomenon chiropractors call "subluxation degeneration."
3. Spondylosis - Often aggravated by recent or remote trauma, this is caused by a loss of fluid in conjunction with loss of disc height. This is one of the most significant chronic symptoms developed by lack of treatment following an injury, like auto accidents.
4. Myofacial or other muscular pain syndromes - Most of these conditions arise from postural abnormalities (sitting hunched over a computer keyboard), trigger points, specific muscular damage, scar tissue or other muscular tissue pathology. This is an area of treatment that we have paid considerable amount of time treating in our office.
These are a few of the pain types found in those who consider themselves to have low back pain. The good news is that these conditions are treatable and with time and correct application of exercise you can be returned in, most cases, to your normal health.
*It should be noted that low back pain can also be symptomatic of serious conditions that require medical intervention, like aneurysms, appendicitis, & kidney stones. If your back begins hurting for no reason or cause that you can think of, you should consult your family doctor or emergency immediately.
