Back Care Guide

Back Pain

Back pain is one problem that a doctor finds difficult to diagnose. The reasons for it are far from obvious and the patients themselves are not able to pin point the exact nature of the pain and its location.  It is a problem that afflicts people of all ages and the problem persists to date. Some get it only in old age but there are those who have had this problem down the years and continue to suffer. Generally one would connect life style with back pain. There are people who do hard physical work that requires bending and standing frequently which often results in back pain. Then there is the weight factor to be considered. A very fat person may have this problem as the body is unable to handle the weight. These are some of the very obvious reasons for back pain. If it is work related then most people find relief just from resting and some specific exercises but for chronic pain it is difficult to find a cause - not impossible just difficult. It is generally assumed that back pain is associated with the spine but that is not so. Back problems arise if the spinal chord has been damaged directly and this often results in paralysis. But it is possible that the back pain is connected to the nerve roots of the spinal chord. If one looks at the geography of the spinal chord, it is seen that the spine ends at the lumbar 1 or L1 section. At this point the weight of the person is generally concentrated and the nerve roots may be located at the lumbar and so this may lead to lower back pain. But paralysis is never the outcome of just back pain. Back pain has no thumb rule for making itself felt. Just because one does exercise and is healthy does not mean that they will not get back pain. People get back pain irrespective of the work or activity they do. Of course back pain does not indicate that there is some degenerative disease or some damage that is continuous is nature and chronic back pain does not necessarily relate to the level of damage. In the United States alone it has been found that back pain is the second reason why most people over the age of 45 visit health care clinics and holds the third position for the reason why surgical procedures are undertaken. It also has the honor of holding the fifth place for reasons for hospitalization. There are other myths and odd beliefs that are connected to back pain and it is only through education that one can ensure that people are able to cope with the condition and get the required treatment.

 

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