Back pain is one of the most common reasons people go to the doctor
or miss work, and it is a leading cause of disability worldwide.
Fortunately, here are some measures you can take to prevent or relieve most back pain episodes. If prevention fails, a few simple home treatments and proper body mechanics often will heal your back within a few weeks and keep it functional. It is extremely rare for you to go through surgery to treat back pain.
Symptoms
Back pain can range from muscle aches to shooting, burning, or stabbing sensation. Sometime the pain may radiate down your leg or worsen when bending, twisting, lifting, standing, or walking.
When to seek medical help:
Most of the time, back pain improves gradually with home treatment and self-care, usually within a few weeks. Contact your doctor if your back pain:
- Persists for a few weeks
- Gets severe and doesn’t improve despite resting
- Spreads down one or both legs
- Causes weakness, numbness, or tingling in one or both legs
- accompanies unexplained weight loss
In rare cases, back pain can signal a serious medical problem. Seek immediate care if your back pain:
- Causes bowel or bladder problems
- accompanies a fever
- Follows a fall, blow to your back, or another injury
Causes
Often it is difficult for the doctor to pinpoint the cause of back pain through test or imagining study. Here are some conditions commonly linked to back pain:
- Muscle or ligament strain. Repeatedly lifting heavy items or making sudden awkward movements can strain back muscles and spinal ligaments. If you’re in poor physical condition, constant strain on your back can cause painful muscle spasms.
- Bulging or ruptured disks. Disks act as cushions between the bones (vertebrae) in your spine. The soft material inside a disk can bulge or rupture and press on a nerve. However, you can have a bulging or ruptured disk without back pain. Disk disease is often found incidentally when you have spine X-rays for some other reason.
- Arthritis. Osteoarthritis can affect the lower back. In some cases, arthritis in the spine can lead to a narrowing of the space around the spinal cord, a condition called spinal stenosis.
- Osteoporosis. Your spine’s vertebrae can develop painful fractures if your bones become porous and brittle.
Prevention
Learning and practicing proper body mechanics might help you avoid back pain or prevent its recurrence.
Do this to keep your back healthy :
- Exercise. Regularly practicing low-impact aerobic activities that don’t strain your back too much can increase strength and endurance in your back and allow muscles to function better. Walking and swimming are some choices you can try.
- Maintain a healthy weight. Being overweight strains back muscles. If you’re overweight, trimming down can prevent back pain.
- Quit smoking. Smoking increases your risk of lower back pain as it deprives spinal cells of essential nutrients and causes cell damage. The risk increases with the number of cigarettes smoked per day, so quitting should help reduce this risk.
- Maintain a good posture. keeping your spine straight while standing or sitting will avoid the risk of straining your back do not slouch while standing and use a pillow or rolled towel to maintain the natural curve of your back.
- Lift smart. Avoid heavy lifting, but if you must, then let your legs do the work. Keep your back straight — no twisting — and bend only at the knees. Hold the load close to your body. Find a lifting partner if the object is heavy or awkward.
