Back Pain

Symptoms:

Its symptoms depend upon the root cause of pain. The main symptoms include itching ache or pain anywhere in the back. A person can perceive a burning or stabbing sensation often combined with muscle ignition. Activities such as stretching or lifting can make the situation worse.

Causes:

Back pain can be caused by spinal injury or degeneration. It often develops without an identifiable cause, and cannot be recognized through tests or such techniques. Certain age-related changes can also cause back pain, particularly lower back pain. But, back injury physicians should be able to treat it despite its causes and complexities. Some frequent causes of back pain include:

• Sciatica
• Spinal stenosis
• Arthritis
• Scoliosis

Depending upon the causes, the back pain can fluctuate concerning time-span and occurrence. It may occur abruptly or gradually and may worsen over time.

Diagnosis

The diagnosis process begins with investigating the medical history and inspecting the symptoms. Patients can be asked to describe his/her situation, and whether the pain reduces or aggravates with time and changes in activities.

Then, back injury physicians or physiotherapists carefully examine the patient’s back and can ask them to show certain movements to locate the area of pain. They can then evaluate your motions and based upon their best knowledge prescribe your tests, or digital X-rays, and check for further abnormalities.

Treatment:

Once you are done with the X-ray process, back injury doctor will determine the best-fit treatment method for you. The treatment process starts with conservative methods such as physical therapy, acupuncture, and chiropractic treatment.  As recommended treatment may vary, depending upon different symptoms and age groups- any of the following methods can be prescribed:

• Physical therapy
• Wearing a back brace
• Painkiller medicines.

After having done with the conservative treatment and still you feel pain and the symptoms persist, then you would need interventional pain management such as epidural steroid injection and facet joint injection. Back surgery is also an option but only in case of severe back injuries.

What Are Some Different Types of Back Pain?

In the early stages of back pain, you should probably know that it can last for a few days or it can last for years, and that timeline influences how your pain is treated and diagnosed.

As the term suggests, acute back pain is severe and usually lasts between 7 and 10 days. Two to six weeks can pass between acute and chronic pain. It is common for chronic back pain to last longer than six or eight weeks, every day. They can be mild, deep, burning, or achy, and may last for months or even years.

Where is just as important as when. Physical pain may be caused by herniated discs, facet joints, soft tissues, or vertebral discs. Usually, back pain that travels from one part of the body to another is considered radicular pain (because it radiates; get it? ), particularly if it radiates below the knee. Typically, lumbar radiculopathy is caused by sciatica (e.g., painful sciatica). Back pain is not always associated with leg pain.

Self-help guide:

If you awake from sleep and suddenly feel back pain, then certain adaptations in your lifestyle can help you get rid of the pain at home, and you would not need to see a doctor. But keep in mind that severe cases would not be cured by such methods. Try to involve in small activities and change your sleeping pattern because a poor sleeping pattern can aggravate the pain and worsens the situation. Do not take rest for long, too much bed rest lengthens recovery time and prolongs the pain. In addition, try massage, gentle exercise, hot or cold packs. Take regular pain-relieving medications to keep yourself on track of recovery. Stay active by doing light exercises such as stretching and walking, regularly.

If the back pain is due to injury, then the above methods would not work and you would need to seek medical intervention. In this case, you must be feeling pain to lower extremes and numbness in the legs or foot.

What lifestyle could cause back pain:

In most cases, the exacerbating factor may include the following lifestyle habits:

• Lack of exercise
• Poor posture
• Stress
• Staying still for a longer period.

Risk factors

Back pain can affect anyone, even children and teens. You might be more prone to back pain if you have these factors:

• As you get older, back pain becomes more prevalent. It usually begins around the age of 30 or 40.
• The lack of exercise. You may suffer from back pain if your abdominal and back muscles are weak and unused.
• Weight gain. You can experience back pain if you are overweight.
• Various diseases. Cancer and arthritis are two of the factors that may contribute to back pain.
• Lifting improperly. Back pain can be caused by using your back instead of your legs.
• Psychological conditions. An individual who suffers from depression or anxiety is more likely to suffer from back pain.
• Smokers are more likely to suffer from back pain. Herniated disks are often caused by excessive coughing, which in turn leads to herniated disks. A smoker’s spine can also suffer from reduced blood flow and osteoporosis may occur.

Final words

The back of the body is a complicated structure, so that’s a lot of information to take in. This is why we have written a detailed article about back pain! The information in this article can assist you when seeking a diagnosis for your back pain or if you wish to learn more about an existing condition that you are aware of. Consult with our back injury specialist in NJ if you need any assistance regarding back problems.

Frequently Asked Questions