What is Back Pain?

Back pain is one of the most common medical conditions found in the whole world. Back pain is simply a pain engulfing the human back which may come from the muscles, bones, nerves, joints or other structures in the spine. This pain may be a short one or a prolonged one depending upon the severity of the pain. This back pain may be a sharp, piercing or a burning sensation. The pain in the back may extend and radiate in the neck, arm, head, leg or foot resulting in extreme weakness or numbness. A human being mainly suffers from two types of back pains, either an acute or a chronic one. Acute pain refers to a pain occurring immediately after an injury or illness which may sometimes be severe but goes away after healing. Whereas, chronic pain continues to remain even after the healing process and lasts for several months to years. The type of pain depends upon the cause of the pain. More serious the cause, more severe is the pain in the back and other related parts of the body.

When the pain in the back radiates down the leg or in to the foot, causing serious disability, pain or numbness, the condition is known to be as Sciatica. The back pain is accompanied with various other problems affecting other parts of the body like shoulder, neck, arm, head, abdomen, chest, pelvic and legs. This type of pain affecting other parts of the body is known as referred pain. Various preventive measures as well as treatments can be undertaken to reduce the back pain. However, it is important to identify the type of back pain you are suffering from to get the right type of treatment.

Back pain is a very prevalent problem which may be short term as well as long lasting, depending on the severity. It is always advisable to pay attention to it in the initial phase itself to avoid any kind of complications later on.

Causes of Back Pain

In many cases of back pain, the cause is really difficult to determine. As your lower back bears most of the weight and stress of your body, the pain generally comes from the strained muscles and ligaments caused due to heavy lifting or an awkward body movement. The obvious cause behind the back pain remains hidden in most of the cases. However several factors are responsible for generating new back problems or exacerbating the existing ones. These are clustered in to five categories:

1. Arthritis- This refers to the inflammation of the joints or pain that occurs in the joints. The various forms of arthritis that can cause back pain are:

• Osteoarthritis- It is the most common type of arthritis caused by the breakdown of the joint cartilage over time. Cartilage cushions the joints but when it deteriorates bones rub against each other resulting in pain, stiffness and loss of movement.

• Rheumatoid arthritis- This is also marked by inflammation and stiffness of the joints and undergoes three phases which are inflammation, thickening and joint damage. This disease results in loss of mobility, weakness and deformity. Anti-inflammatory medications and active physical and water therapy are some of the useful treatments for this disease.

• Ankylosing Spondylitis- This disease generally attacks the spine area leading to stiffness of the back. In it the joints and ligaments behind the movement of back become inflamed resulting in their fusion. It starts with the initial pain in the sacroiliac joints. Various NSAID’S and therapies are available for the treatment of this disease.

• Hip Osteoarthritis- It refers to the breakdown of cartilage in the hip joint causing back, hip and leg pain. People with hip arthritis have limitations in their hip motion. Hip replacement surgery is the successful treatment for hip osteoarthritis.

• Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm- In case of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm, abdominal disorders extend and radiate to the back and are felt as acute low back pain. It is represented by a large aorta (or a large artery) in the abdomen. In case if the large blood vessels start leaking then it can cause severe abdomen and back pain. Large quantity of blood loss will result in hypo tension, unconsciousness or death.

• Fibromyalgia- is characterized by musculoskeletal pain, fatigue and tenderness in the local areas of the spine, neck, shoulders and hips known as ”tender points”. These points hurt when the pressure is applied on them. Middle aged women are most affected by this disease. The symptoms of this disease include difficulty in sleeping, feeling tired after sleep, headaches, numbness in hands and feet and depression. Some of the treatments available for this disease are injections of lidocaine and massage, non-narcotic pain medications, low-impact aerobic conditioning and antidepressants. This kind of pain is also seen in young individuals, mainly software engineers. Can be caused due to awkward sitting positions, prolonged sitting and repetitive movements

• Osteoporosis- It refers to the skeletal disorder in which the bones become thin, brittle and more prone to fractures. It commonly affects women after menopause due to estrogen deficiency leading to compression fracture of vertebrae which in turn leads to back pain. Adequate calcium intake and weight bearing exercise prevents osteoporosis. Back pain is caused if the vertebral body becomes so weak that it can no longer withstand stress applied to it or if the patient has minor trauma. Treatments for osteoporosis includes rigid braces to support the spine, resting. Very rarely surgery is required for the treatment of this disease.

Some of the other causes of back pain include:

2.Tumors- Spinal column tumors come from tumors in the breast, kidney,lungs and thyroid. These tumors produce pain which is worst at night time. Some metastatic tumors have symptoms like unplanned weight loss, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting.

3. Automobile accidents- Automobile accidents also cause back pain as they make the body accept large amount of energy in a short period of time resulting in damaging muscles, ligaments and tendons. Active physical therapy, over-the-counter and prescription medications are available for the treatment depending upon the severity of the pain.

4.Back pain during pregnancy- Most pregnant women experience low back pain in their third trimester of pregnancy having pain in the sacroiliac joints. This pain is due to extra weight and hormonal factors that widen the sacroiliac joints and increase the size of birth canal.

5.Sacroiliac joint dysfunction- Sacroiliac joint is one which connects sacrum with the pelvis. Sometimes pain is felt in these sacroiliac joints due to limitations in its normal motion patterns. It is more common in young or middle aged women. Treatments available are physical therapy and exercise, osteopathic manipulations and injections.

6.Other factors are poor posture and body mechanics, emotional stress, excessive weight and obesity, herniated discs, sickle cell anemia, whiplash, cancer pain, diabetes, spinal stenosis, piriformis syndrome and age factor. Most women experience back pain during their menopause stages also, which is considered to be common among women.

So, these are some of the most common causes of back pain. If you are suffering from back pain, you must get your cause known and go for the suitable treatment in order to get rid of this irritating and painful disease.

Lets get into the details of these

Fibromyalgia is characterized by musculoskeletal pain, fatigue and tenderness in the local areas of the spine, neck, shoulders and hips known as ”tender points”. These points hurt when the pressure is applied on them. Mostly middle aged women are affected by fibromyalgia. It is basically a myofascial pain syndrome resulting in generalized back pain and muscle pain. A person suffering from fibromyalgia often visualizes the following symptoms:

Difficulty in sleeping
Feeling tired after waking from sleep, instead of feeling refreshed.
Stiff joints in the morning that feel better as the day progresses.
Numbness or tingling in hands and feet
Depression
Headache

Fibromyalgia is the third most common diagnosis made in rheumatology clinics, after rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, this disease is especially enigmatic and difficult to identify. Surely, it is not degenerative or life threatening but it can be life altering. Treatment for fibromyalgia involves a coordinated management program to alleviate the symptoms.

Now this pain is relatively high in young professionals, especially software engineers. This is another kind of an RSI (Repetitive Strain Injuries). Mainly its caused due to the prolonged sitting in front of computers, wrong posture etc. For that matter, any one who is having a repetitive movement with wrong posture is prone to have such disease.

I would recommend a thorough diagnostics for this and then correcting your working strategy and postures based on doctors recommendation, rather than getting into any surgery or so.

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