Back Pain Center

Back pain is common among people. Everyone is affected by back pain at least once in their lives. Many back pains are not serious and the pain usually wears off after a few days or weeks. However, there are serious back pains that require surgery. There are instances where back pain signals serious health problems. Immediate medical intervention is needed when the back pain:

  • Causes bladder problems
  • Affects bowel movements
  • Is accompanied by fever
  • Comes as a result of physical injury

Read: What is Back Pain?

Symptoms

Back pains symptoms include:

  • Aching muscles
  • Excruciating back pain
  • Loss of flexibility of the back
  • Pain that extends to the legs

Read: Back Pain Symptoms

Causes

Acute back pains are not serious and may last up to six weeks. They are caused by excess work and mild accidents. Chronic back pains last a longer time and are less common. Conditions that cause back pains include:

  • Muscle and ligament strain. Strenuous activities such as heavy lifting may strain back muscles.
  • Bulging/ruptured disks. Bones in the spine are cushioned by disks. The disks contain soft material inside them that may rupture or bulge affecting nearby nerves.
  • Arthritis affects the bones which in turn lead to back pains.
  • Irregularities in the skeletal structure. The spine may curve or bend to one side. This may result to the body developing back pains.

Read: Back Pain Causes

Risk Factors

They include:

  • Although back pains increase with age, studies have shown that they affect all age groups including children.
  • Being overweight. Excess weight stresses the back.
  • Lack of exercises makes muscles at the back rigid and weak, increasing the risk of back pains.
  • Diseases, such as cancer and arthritis contribute to back pains.
  • People with psychological disorders, such as anxiety and depression have a higher risk of getting back pains.

Prevention

Lifestyle changes are necessary for prevention of back pains. They include:

  • Regular exercises
  • Training muscles to be strong and flexible
  • Maintaining healthy weight

Maintaining proper body posture- walking right, sitting right and lifting right.

 

Diagnosis:

Read: Back Pain Diagnosis

 

Treatment:

Read: Back Pain Treatment

 

Evidence Based

This article is based on scientific evidence, and written, fact-checked & medically reviewed by health experts.

Throughout this article, you’ll find scientific references (highly trusted peer-reviewed scientific papers, links denoted by the numbers in the parentheses (1, 2, 3)).