Back pain is a common condition facing many people in the United States, and between 60 and 80 percent of individuals will have back and neck discomfort at some point in their life. Back pain can disrupt your normal activities and affect your quality of life. Fortunately, Yancey Pain & Spine offers a variety of techniques to help alleviate your back pain.
Back pain can have a variety of causes and is frequently a sign of another illness. Here are some common causes of back pain;
1. Overuse Injuries
After a strenuous day of working in the garden or your first workout in a while, your back may hurt. You could have torn or strained a back muscle or ligament in these circumstances.
Bending, lifting, and twisting motions are among those most prone to cause back discomfort. But excessive sitting itself might cause pain. Overuse-related back discomfort typically goes away on its own in a few days. You can heal from back muscle injuries using warm compresses and light stretching.
2. Disc Injuries or Degeneration
The flat, rounded discs that sit in between each vertebra degenerate with age. As they stop serving as cushions and one backbone scrapes against the other, you could experience discomfort. Degenerative disc disease is the term used by doctors.
A herniated disc is a condition in which the jelly-like interior of the disc occasionally pushes through the tough outer layer of the disc. Lower back pain can result from fluid pressure on the outer ring, and discomfort that travels down one or both legs can result from fluid leaks that irritate surrounding nerves.
3. Fractures
You might fracture a vertebra during a fall or other mishap. However, fractures are most frequently brought on by the bone-thinning condition osteoporosis. Your vertebrae may deteriorate with time, resulting in moderate to severe back discomfort when you move or when bones press on your nerves.
4. Health problems in other body parts
Pain in or around your lower back can result from conditions affecting other organs and the muscles and joints in your back. These include kidney infections or stones, pancreatitis, STDs, and endometriosis, a condition in which the tissue lining the uterus spreads to other parts of the body. Both pregnant women and those with fibromyalgia, a condition that causes exhaustion and muscle pains all over the body, regularly experience back discomfort.
5. Spinal stenosis
If you have degenerative disc disease, your vertebrae’s mechanical loading changes. When too much stress is exerted on your spine, a new bone may grow in response. These bone growths, known as osteophytes, can squeeze the spinal cord’s nerves, causing back discomfort, leg pain, and numbness. This ailment frequently makes it difficult for you to walk and usually calls for surgery.
6. Alignment Problems
The degeneration of the ligaments keeping your spine in place leads to a disorder known as degenerative spondylolisthesis. Your backbones can move from their natural alignment and advance until they cross one another. Once the spinal nerves start to feel compressed by the bones, the condition becomes painful.
For people with chronic back pain, this can bring discomfort and is crippling. However, do not let chronic back pain hinder you from enjoying your life; there are treatments to alleviate your condition. Call William L Yancey, MD, to book an appointment for back pain treatment.
