Why Does Your Back Hurt?

Most of us, experience back pain due to incorrect posture or longer duration of sitting.

Sometimes you may experience back pain because of exertion - you spent the entire day doing the same kind of job or maybe you bent in a wrong manner while picking up your child. However, the actual cause of your spinal agony may not be very clear, but it pays to be aware of the possible reasons that can cause backache. It is good to consult a doctor if your back pain is consistent and recurrent.

Here are few of the causes:

1. The position of your pelvis

The pelvis consists of three bones that can shift depending on which muscles become weak or stiff. This brings about a pull in the muscle of the lower back, resulting in severe strain to this area. You should consult a physiotherapist for suggestions regarding the best exercises for strengthening your pelvic area.

2. Weak abdominal muscles

A cause of your back pain can be weak stomach muscles. Abdominal muscles play an important role in balancing out the constant bending that your back muscles perform. When you've weak abdominal muscles, your spine is not able to maintain proper balance, resulting in severe stress on the spinal column.

3. Disc injuries

Located between the bones of your spine, discs perform the function of a shock absorber. Physical injury to these padded cushions can cause them to break open, leading to a condition known as herniated disc. This can then bring about pain in the back area.

Few precautions that can be taken for a hurting back. Despite the causes, there are certain precautions that you can take, which are:

- Avoid sitting in a bad posture, that is, keep your back straight as much as you can. Pull and stretch your body in continual intervals to keep it relaxed.

- Consult the right physician instead of doing exercise that can aggravate your pain.

- Take a break from work and go for short walks, every couple of hours.

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Why Does Your Back Hurt? + What To Do About It

Lower back pain can be one of the most physically debilitating things that can affect you and limit your mobility. Even if the pain isn t that acute, it could still signal something deteriorating in your lower back. While oral medications, topical creams or sprays can help in reducing pain, there are other effective remedies you can try on your own. These will be handy when you have no medications at hand. One of these is the hot and cold therapy.

Heat therapy for lower back pain

Heat works well with lower back pain as it can dilate blood vessels and improve circulation within the tissue. This will help in circulation and also result in lowering the pain. Heat therapy will also loosen up other muscles in the area and help soothe sore areas which have been taking the burden along with the lower back muscles. Some of the techniques that can be applied are:

1. All day heat wraps: These are specially manufactured belts or wraps which wrap around your abdomen and keep tightness and pressure on your lower back as well as supplying heat.

2. Electric heating pads: These are mechanized heating pads which generate heat with electricity. You can place them under you back and then either sit or sleep with it positioned behind you. However, ensure that you don t keep these for too long as they could burn your skin.

3. Hot Compress with towels or hot water bags: Use a clean towel and heat it over a conductive surface and apply it on your lower back. You can also use hot water bags for the same purpose.

Cold therapy for lower back pain

Cold therapy uses the principle of constriction of blood vessels as well as slowing circulation. This will help numb the area and thus help relieve the pain. Some of the ways these can be administered are mentioned below.

1. Ice towel: In this method, soak a towel in ice cold water, wring it to dry it and then apply on your lower back. This will numb the pain without transferring the sting of the cold or damaging your skin.

2. Ice packs: Put about half a kg of ice in a plastic Ziploc bag and pour water over the ice to just about cover it. Push out the air out of the bag and then lock it. Use this ice pack with a towel to ensure that you back doesn't get wet.

3. Ice gel packs: These are ready made packs, which can be bought from medical stores and kept frozen to be used whenever you need it in order to relieve lower back pain.

Treating Lower Back Pain Using Hot and Cold Therapy

Lower back pain is a very common discomfort causing condition that occurs anywhere on the back below the ribs and above the legs. The pain is very common and it is faced by most individuals at least once during their lifetime.

The most basic measures to cure your lower back pain are exercising well, eating healthy and maintaining a good body posture at all times. Here are some of the common treatment options for reducing back pain.

Spinal Manipulation

It refers to an ancient form of therapy in which your back pain is treated externally. This form of treatment is quite similar to a massage treatment and helps to relax the muscles in the lower back area, thereby reducing the pain. It is usually done by osteopathic physicians, chiropractors, occupational therapists and physical therapists.

Neurostructural integration technique (NST)

The main role of this type of treatment is to naturally reset the affected area of the body in order to allow it to regain its normal form. The results usually begin to appear after at least 2 sessions of the therapy and the effects are long lasting in nature.

Acupuncture

This is an old technique which uses small needles at strategic locations on your skin. The main aim of the acupuncturists is to re-balance the flow of energy in your body and to ensure that you have an optimal level of energy in all parts of your body. This in turn helps to regain the normal state of your lower back if the right points on the body are targeted.

Other measures

Some preventive measures which ensure that the lower back pain does not recur are as follows:

1.Keep your spine straight and posture correct
2.Avoid excessive bending, stretching or weight lifting
3. Avoid heavy physical activities like sprinting
4.Regular and light exercising

Common Treatment Options For Back Pain

Most of us suffer from lower back pain at some point in our lives; be it from a sedentary lifestyle, spending hours at the office desk or from strenuous physical exercises. In most cases, a little bit of rest does the trick. However, if the lower back pain persists for 3-6 weeks, physiotherapy is recommended.

How does physiotherapy help?

The main purpose behind physiotherapy is reducing lower back pain and increasing muscle and bone function, so that such instances are avoided in the future. Physiotherapy is the first line of defence against lower back pain. More drastic measures such as surgery are undertaken once physiotherapy fails to do is job.

Physiotherapy is often recommended when the back pain is caused due to lifestyle factors, a minor injury like a fall or other moderate factors. For more severe back injuries, doctors recommend surgery straight away when there is no scope of performing physiotherapy.

Low-intensity back pain can be cured using a combination of heat packs, ultrasound wave therapy and Iontophoresis (using a localized current source to introduce medical ionic compounds to the body).

A physical therapy program for back pain usually has two components:

Passive physical therapy to help reduce the patient's pain to a more manageable level

Active exercises

Passive Physical Therapy - Modalities

The physical therapist may focus on decreasing pain with passive physical therapy (modalities). These therapies are considered passive because they are done to the patient. Examples include:

Heat/ice packs

TENS units

Iontophoresis

Ultrasound

Active Physical Therapy - Back Pain Exercises

In addition to passive therapies, active physical therapy (exercise) is also necessary to rehabilitate the spine. Here are some of the common exercises for back pain:

Back Stretch: Put your hands underneath your head while lying back. Bend your knees but put your feet on the ground. Roll your legs to one side and hold them there for 10 seconds. Repeat three times for each side.

Deep Lunge: For this, you need to kneel on one knee with the other foot pointed towards the front. Lift the back knee up and hold it there for five seconds and then bring it down. Repeat this exercise three times for each side.

One Leg Stand: This is the simplest of exercises. Hold on to a wall for support while standing and face towards it. Then slowly hold one leg and bend it behind you. Hold in the same position for five seconds before bringing it down. Repeat the process three times for each leg in five second gaps.

Physiotherapy for Back Pain

Why does PAIN occur? Understand the Mechanism of Pain

Pain is an unpleasant and distressing physical sensation caused by disease or injury, which induces hurt and anxiety in those suffering from it.
There are many different manifestations of pain, ranging from short term (acute pain) to long term (chronic pain). Other classifications include pain in the internal organs (visceral pain), injured tissue (inflammatory pain), nerves (neuropathic pain), etc.

The reason for the occurrence of pain depends on the cause and kind of pain being experienced. In most cases, pain acts as a warning sign that the body has been afflicted by a disorder of some sort, which may have arisen due to internal sickness or external wounding. Acute pains are generally cured on their own through rest or simple medication. Chronic pains, on the other hand, are more complicated in nature and the treatment requires more elaborate diagnosis.

The mechanism of pain

Pain is an extremely personal and subjective experience and affects each individual to varying degrees. The pain signals, which can arise in any part of the body, travel through the spinal cord to the brain along thousands of specialized nerves and nerve fibres. In the brain, it is processed in the centres associated with anxiety, emotions, memory, appetite, etc. Signals and pain inputs are then returned from the brain to the spinal cord, which may heighten or diminish pain.

In some cases, pain may also be induced by damage to the brain and spinal cord, which happens after a stroke.
A constant barrage of pain signals may cause the cells at the end of nerve fibres to become over-sensitized. This is known as 'wind-up' and is one of the most common causes of chronic pain that occurs even though the root of the problem has been identified and treated.

The causes and effects of pain differ from case to case depending on the signals received by the brain and its interpretation. It affects the individual's day to day activities and if persistent, can also have a harmful impact on mental health and psychosis. Pain is always handled, diagnosed and treated differently in all patients by drawing out the best possible solution to the problem.





Why does PAIN occur? Understand the Mechanism of Pain

Back pain is something that affects many people all over the world. Persistent and chronic pain seems to be one of the most common complaints. Middle back pain is back pain that is felt in the thoracic vertebrae region, which is located between the base of the neck and top of the lumbar spine. The ribs attach to a long, flat bone in the middle of the chest called the sternum and wrap around the back. In case, there is a nerve around there is squeezed, disturbed, or injured, you are likely to feel pain in different spots where the nerve goes through, for example, your arms, legs, chest and the stomach.

Some of the most common causes of middle back pain are as follows:

Middle back pain can happen as a consequence of injury or sudden damage or it can happen through strain or poor stance after some time.
The most widely recognized reason for middle back pain seems to begin from soft tissue problems or muscular irritation. These can emerge from poor stance, lack of strength, prolonged sitting in front of a computer, utilizing a heavy backpack, overuse injuries, (for example, repetitive movement), or injury, (like a whiplash damage brought about by an auto crash or as a consequence of a sports injuries).
The middle back is a moderately normal site for inflammatory, degenerative, metabolic, infective and neoplastic conditions.
Middle back pain and its dysfunctions are connected with various conditions, for example, essential and optional osteoporosis (particularly vertebral cracks and hyperkyphosis emerging from vertebral bone loss), ankylosing spondylitis, osteoarthritis and Scheuermann's infection.
Muscle strain, overuse or damage to the muscles, tendons, and discs that are backing your spine can also cause middle back pain.
Weight on the spinal nerves from specific issues, for example, a herniated disc.
A fracture in one of the vertebrae can also cause pain in this region.
Osteoarthritis created by the breakdown of ligament or cartilage that cushions the little joints in the spine.
Myofascial pain that influences the connective tissue of a muscle or gathering of muscles.
In uncommon cases, pain might be brought about by different issues, for example, gall bladder disease, cancer or an infection.
Getting hit hard in the back can also cause chronic pain.
Lift something too heavy may cause pain and a sudden pressure in this area.
A compression fracture of the vertebra can also bring about intense or chronic pain in the middle back. The injury may bring about a fracture, however in ladies over age 50 without critical injury or somebody known to have osteoporosis, an unconstrained vertebral fracture is possible.
Other contributing factors to injury include lack of strength which can be treated by a Pain Management Specialist using non-surgical methods.

Common Causes of Middle Back Pain

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