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Back Pain: Cause and Effect

By: Kim Archer Each day, countless people throughout the world contend with back pain of different types and severity. The reasons for back pain are not always straightforward. Your backbone is the hub for all your movements, in addition to being the core of your nervous system. A pinched nerve in your lower back can impact every part of your lower body.

It is very important to correctly determine the back pain cause; if your doctor can find the needle in the spinal haystack, then treatments can be discussed and implemented to cure your back pain.

The causes of back pain can be numerous: overexertion and activities that lead to a pulled muscle, herniated and other disc troubles, arthritis, and even some degenerative medical problems. Sometimes these issues are easily managed, but sometimes the problem is more serious and may require surgery and long term therapy.

Typical Causes

The garden variety case of back pain is usually due to a lumbar muscle strain - this can be caused by simply overdoing it with sports or exercise, lifting heavy weights improperly and the like. This will generally sideline you for a few days, but your back will quickly heal itself. Just use an analgesic, get some rest and use a heating pad or ice pack.

A herniated disc is another frequent cause of back pain. The spinal discs act as buffers for your vertebrae. Situated between each disc, they protect against jarring impact. Although they're quite flexible and yielding in your youth, they turn out to be less so as you mature. Although you might be young at heart, your spinal column knows otherwise. After the age of forty, your discs are a great deal more vulnerable to damage.

Osteoporosis is a frequent source of back pain in the elderly, particularly women who lose more calcium from their bones as the years go by. The bones of individuals with osteoporosis get brittle and are more prone to breakage. This ailment is distinguishable from arthritis, a condition in which the cartilage that buffers your joints gets worn down, since it's the bones themselves which become weak and fragile.

A number of physicians equate back pain with an iceberg - you can see the tip, but don't know the extent of what lies underneath. To head off more damage after you feel some back pain, visit your physician to get some x-rays and tests. Once you figure out the source of your back pain, a course of treatment can be started promptly.

Article Source: http://www.lifeweightloss.com

Kim Archer knows what it's like to suffer from chronic back pain. She is a regular contributor to Cure Your Back Pain, a great information source on causes and treatments of back pain.

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