What Causes Back Pain?
Unfortunately, we don’t pamper our precious backs as we do our skin or hair or nails. We should. Back pain is said to affect at one time or another up to 80% of the population. It is estimated that four out of five adults under the age of 45 will experience some sort of back pain in their lives. Back pain is said to be the second most common cause of people taking time off from work (the first being the common cold).
What are some characteristics of this surprisingly common condition?
Sufferers describe backache, as many people refer to back pains, in different ways: “a mild, dull ache”, “a sharp, stabbing pain”, “numbness” or “a feeling of stiffness”.
Back pain can cause mild discomfort to intolerable agony. On the extreme end, back pain can leave people bed-ridden and suffering nausea, vomiting, and fever. Back pain can be acute (due to a temporary condition like pregnancy), chronic (as with scoliosis), and sporadic (a lifetime of bad posture).
Whatever the cause, sufferers all agree that back pain results in physical and emotional difficulty. Unfortunately, back pain is a vicious cycle. Back pain, in and of itself, creates more back pain. Sufferers have poor posture, stooping over to alleviate some of the pain. This poor walking creates more back pain, making the problem worse.
There are a number of causes of back pain.
– Back pain experienced by the aged is, unfortunately, part and parcel of the aging process. This type of back pain may be caused by any of a number of back disorders, e.g., spinal stenosis.
– Temporary back pain is caused by temporary conditions, such as the flu or a pregnancy. It can also be brought on by a psychological condition, such as stress.
– Degeneration of joint tissue, or cartilage, caused by arthritis.
– Accidental injury, which may be treatable for short or long term.
– Poor posture is perhaps the leading culprit of back pain. Those who work manual labor for a longtime can suffer, as well as can those that perform occupations that require sitting or standing for long periods of time, such as secretaries and office jobs.
– Infections, both viral and bacterial, can cause back pain. Meningitis and urinary tract infections are just a few that result in back pain.
– Congenital back pain may be caused by certain inherent diseases (those a person may be born with, e.g., curvature of the spine).
– Back pain can be the result of diseases as well as infections. Gall bladder infections, kidney disease, pancreatitis, as well as many others will cause discomfort.
The good news is that back pain can usually be completely cured by diagnosing the root cause of the back problem, especially in the case of disease or injury. In the case of degenerative back problems or back pain from bad posture, pain can be eased by conventional or homeopathic methods.
