As you probably already know, backache is a fairly common problem. Approximately four out of five adults experience backache during their lifetime, and this number tends to grow, given the “aging” population and recent obesity trends. Backache can be classified into dull (muted), constant and sudden, sharp pain that leads you to an incapacitated state. It may come suddenly – as a result of an accident, a fall, or when lifting something too heavy – or it may grow slowly, possibly as a result of age-related changes in the spine.
Who is most prone to developing backache?
Up to 80 percent of the adult population experiences backache once or several times in their lives. Men and women suffer equally. This most often occurs at the age of 30 to 50 years, partly due to the aging process, as well as as a result of a sedentary lifestyle and insufficient physical activity. The risk of lower backache from spinal disc disease or spinal dystrophy increases with age.
What causes spinal pain?
With age, people tend to decrease muscle tone and elasticity and bone strength. The discs lose fluid and flexibility, which reduces their ability to cushion the spine.
Backache, pain can occur when, for example, a person lifts something too heavy or stretches, causing stretching, deformation or spasm in one of the muscles or ligament in the back. If the spine becomes excessively tense or compressed, a rupture may occur in the disc or it may deform outward. This rupture can put pressure on one of the more than 50 nerves in the spinal cord that are responsible for body movement and transmit signals from the body to the brain. When these nerve roots are compressed or irritated, backache appears.
Lower backache can be caused by nerve or muscle irritation, as well as bone damage. Basically, pain in the lumbosacral region causes damage or injury to the back, but pain can also be caused by degenerated diseases such as arthritis or disc disease, osteoporosis or other bone diseases, viral infections, irritations of joints and discs, as well as congenital anomalies in the spine. Obesity, smoking, weight gain during pregnancy, stress, poor physical condition, incorrect posture, and poor sleeping position can also contribute to lower backache. In addition, the scar tissue created, while the back is healing itself, does not have sufficient strength or flexibility. The build-up of scar tissue from repeated injuries ultimately weakens the back and can lead to more serious injuries.
Sometimes lower backache can be the cause of more serious medical problems. Backache may be accompanied by fever or loss of bowel or bladder, during coughing, as well as progressive weakness in the legs may be an indicator of nerve pinching or other severe conditions. People with diabetes may have severe backache or pain radiating down the leg associated with neuropathy. People with such symptoms should see a doctor immediately to help prevent irreversible consequences.
Getting rid of backache
In 7% of people, acute backache turns into chronic, which it is impossible to get rid of. But the manifestations of pain can be significantly reduced with the help of various drugs and therapy.
Patients who suffer from acute backache experience significant discomfort and spend about 80% of their health expenses on getting rid of backache.
The effect of backache on human activity
Backache can greatly affect a person’s life, in particular, limit his physical activity, affect the choice of profession, etc.
How does backache affect performance?
Due to backache, workers miss about 5 million working days annually. That is, every day 1% of the able-bodied population is on sick leave because of this factor.
In the UK, backache ranks 2nd among the causes of long-term sick leave. For workers performing heavy physical work, backache takes 1st place.
Therefore, take care of your back, and you will forget about the unpleasant pain!