Dr. Prashant Mahlotra

You might be an elite athlete or just a commoner. There is always a possibility for you to develop back pain while carrying out your daily activities. You might not be aware, but regular activities such as sitting at the computer, running on the treadmill or simply crawling into your bed for a good night sleep can affect the health of your spine. You are always at the risk of damaging your spine, these damages lead to back pain. It has been found that faulty postures can cause back pain by causing straining of the back muscles, injuring the tendons and damaging the vertebrae or ligaments. Back pain can be caused due to the overuse of a particular activity or for undertaking a new activity.

However, it is often very difficult to pin point the exact reason behind the occurrence of back pain. Here are the common causes for back pain:

1. The screen trouble: You are likely to develop back pain, if you spend long hours sitting in front of the commuter. Researchers believe that spending nine hours or more a day by texting on smart phones or tablets or typing on the computer is dangerous. You must take break at regular intervals while working on the gadgets to avoid back pain. Your monitor of the computer should be placed at the level of your eye.
2. You skip the core exercises: The health of your spine depends on the core regions of your body as well. The core region includes your back, side, pelvic, and buttock muscles. It is important that you practise the core exercises like lunges, squats, and planks. They help in strengthening the muscles around your core region and keep your spine healthy.
3. Improper sleep pattern: Your sleeping pattern is as much important as your walking or sitting pattern, when it comes to the health of your spine. If you sleep on your stomach, pressure is placed on joints and muscles. This may cause straining of the muscles or ligaments in the spine region.
4. Smoking: Cigarettes are not just unhealthy for your lungs or heart, they are equally bad for the spine. Cigarettes contain nicotine. Researchers have found that nicotine hampers the flow of blood to vertebrae and disks in between the spine. Insufficient supply of blood to the spine region results in low absorption of calcium by the bones in this region. Therefore, you end up developing back pain.
5. Blame it on your emotions: Back pain adds to your emotional stress. But believe it or not, the reverse is equally true. Depression and emotional stress increases or sometimes even initiates back pain. When an individual is depressed, his or her glands releases stress hormones known as cortisol. This hormone causes the muscles in the back region to tense up.