Symptoms, Causes and Treatment for Back Pain
Pain in the lower back or low back pain is a common concern, affecting up to 90% of Americans at some point in their lifetime. Up to 50% will have more than one episode. Low back pain is not a specific disease. Rather, it is a symptom that may occur from a variety of different processes. In up to 85% of people with low back pain, despite a thorough medical examination, no specific cause of the pain can be identified. Back pain can have many underlying reasons, but often no specific cause will be found and the pain will stop. This chapter tries to touch on many of the causes of back pain and proper evaluation and diagnosis.
Back Pain Symptoms
Pain in the lumbosacral area (lower part of the back) is the primary symptom of low back pain.
The pain may radiate down the front, side, or back of your leg, or it may be confined to the low back.
The pain may become worse with activity.
Occasionally, the pain may be worse at night or with prolonged sitting such as on a long car trip.
You may have numbness or weakness in the part of the leg that receives its nerve supply from a compressed nerve.
Causes of Back Pain
Kidney problems
Kidney infections, stones, and traumatic bleeding of the kidney (hematoma) are frequently associated with low back pain. Diagnosis can involve urine analysis, sound-wave tests (ultrasound), or other imaging studies of the abdomen.
Pregnancy
Pregnancy commonly leads to low back pain by mechanically stressing the lumbar spine (changing the normal lumbar curvature) and by the positioning of the baby inside of the abdomen. Additionally, the effects of the female hormone estrogen and the ligament-loosening hormone relaxin may contribute to loosening of the ligaments and structures of the back. Pelvic-tilt exercises and stretches are often recommended for relieving this pain. Women are also recommended to maintain physical conditioning during pregnancy according to their doctors' advice.
Find powerful herbal remedies Herbal Ointment for Quick Topical Pain Relief
Back Pain Treatment
General recommendations are to resume normal, or near normal, activity as soon as possible. However, stretching or activities that place additional strain on the back are discouraged.
Sleeping with a pillow between the knees while lying on one side may increase comfort. Some doctors recommend lying on your back with a pillow under your knees.
No specific back exercises were found that improved pain or increased functional ability in people with acute back pain. Exercise, however, may be useful for people with chronic back pain to help them return to normal activities and work.
Nonprescription medications may provide relief from pain.
Questions and Answers
The pain you feel in your lower back may be sciatica if it continues down your legs and even into your feet. It's caused by compression or "impingement" on the large sciatic nerves in your lower spine area and can be very painful. Read on to learn more…
Although upper back pain is not a very common spinal disorder, it can cause significant discomfort and pain when it does occur. The most common causes of upper back pain are muscular irritation (myofascial pain) and joint dysfunction.
Low back pain is a pain caused due to musculoskeletal disorder and can cause acute, sub-acute or chronic pain. It affects nearly 80% of people once or many times in their lives.
Back pain seems to be a very common problem nowadays. It is highly common among youngsters. Some suffer from this pain for a short period, while some learn to live with the problem. It can increasingly affect your daily routine and have an impact on your work. It is thus important to look for back pain remedies to help alleviate this problem.
Shin splint is a running related injury and can be cured by doing exercises and stretches. In the case of tibialis posterior, pain starts on the inside of the lower leg above ankle and becomes worse when standing on the toes or rolling the ankle inward. The severity of pain may increase as the shin progresses, leading to inflammation. Even if you have this symptom, don't worry as this can be cured in 3 days by doing exercises and stretches.
Neck and back pain are among the most common reasons why people go to spas and massage therapy centers. Regardless of the industry you work in or the job you do, you are prone to experience back and neck pain which can be caused by a lot of things, which include poor posture, unhealthy working conditions, and physical and mental stress.
In Neuro-scientific medicine, applied studies more popularly generally known as translational research. It aims to supply plausible diagnostic, preventive or treatment strategies. This research practice is anticipated to create technologies, drugs and methods aimed at prevention and treatments for diseases
Sports tape, elastic therapeutic tape or athletic tape is a strip of cotton with acrylic adhesive used for treating injuries related to sports, athletics as well as other physical disorders. It is porous, non-elastic and lightweight but it also has a high tensile strength which makes it ideal for giving compression and firm support for the body.
Every time I stroll through a herbal or scented garden, I'm entranced by the way it calms my stress and relaxes my anxious mind. It's almost as if Nature laid the plants out especially for me. Parks and gardens are as old as civilization itself. In fact, even Adam and Eve are said to have had their own garden to explore.
Ma Huang is also known as ephedra. The acrid, slightly bitter and warm herb has been used in TCM to promote urination and sweating, and rid of cold, sooth wheezing asthma, etc. as it calms dyspnea, asthma, cough, etc., by enhancing the functions of lung and bladder channels.
Melatonin with valerian is considered to be a top notch pill which can surely assist a lot in getting rid of various sleep disorders and it is primarily utilized for better sleep when you are going through insomnia. Sleep is very important and one should get a proper sleep every night in order to stay perfectly alright in all perspectives. Life can surely excel in a better way if a good and healthy sleep is attained every day though people who are unable to get it on regular basis have to go thr
Skin tone is not all about being fair – you can be as white as milk, but if you have dry, dull skin, you will not look particularly good
Pregnancy is cherished by all women even with all the problems it comes with. Motherhood is said to be a boon to the entire woman
Acne treatment (naturally at home or otherwise) is the most sought after treatment among the younger generation
Leg cramps are an involuntary contraction of a single muscle or a group of muscles in the leg. These are usually painful and extremely
Call it what you will, there is a one in three chance that women reading this will suffer problems of this sort
Discuss this Article
