A Guide for Understanding Back Pain

For people under the age of 40, back pain is the most common reason why they can’t perform simple daily tasks. Additionally, up to 2% of the entire workforce of the United States is disabled by back pain on any given day. As you can see, back pain is an extremely common problem. Thankfully, there are quite a few ways you can treat it or at least help relieve the pain a bit. However, in order to successfully deal with back pain, you will need to learn more about this health problem.

Difference Between Acute and Chronic Back Pain

The first thing that you should understand is that there is a difference between acute and chronic back pain. Acute back pain is basically a brief episode of pain that occurs suddenly and can be healed with little to no treatment. In most cases, the pain will be gone within two weeks.

On the other hand, chronic back pain refers to a health problem that involves back pain persisting beyond 3 to 6 months. If you’ve notice that your back pain is not going away for nearly a month and you haven’t been to a doctor to have it checked out, then you should go as soon as possible. A doctor will try to identify the exact cause of the pain and will prescribe treatment accordingly.

The Causes of Back Pain

Unlike most other health problems, back pain can be caused by a huge number of factors. This is the main reason why so most people experience this health problem sooner or later. Strained muscles and ligaments represent the main cause of back pain. Another common cause is related to structural problems like osteoporosis, arthritis, and spinal disc herniation.

There are also quite a few risk factors that are known to increase your odds of developing back pain including smoking, anxiety, obesity, depression, doing physically challenging work, poor posture, a sedentary lifestyle, and stress. This means that you will have to make some lifestyle changes if you want to avoid back pain.

How to Prevent Back Pain

Although there are quite a few different treatments for back pain, you should still try to do everything that you can in order to avoid joining the ranks of people who have this health problem. There are a lot of ways that you can prevent back pain. One of the best ways to ensure that you keep back pain problems at bay is to maintain a healthy weight. You can achieve this by following a proper diet plan and exercising regularly. In case you never really tried eating healthy or exercising before, then you should get in touch with a personal trainer and a dietician in order to make the process easier.

Another great way to prevent back pain is to improve your posture. By learning how to sit and stand properly, so that your spine remains healthy, will help you avoid back pain.

Different Treatments for Back Pain

If you didn’t manage to prevent back pain, then you should consider getting treatment as soon as possible. Although there are ways to experience back pain relief at home, you should definitely try out some treatment options in order to speed up the healing process.

Some of the most popular treatment options include massage therapy and acupuncture. Massage therapy is an excellent way to relieve the muscle spasms that are known for contributing to back pain. It also improves your blood flow, which will speed up the healing process by delivering oxygen and nutrients to damaged muscles. Other notable treatment options include manual manipulation and meditation.

There are also quite a few medical treatments that can help you get rid of this problem. The most notable medical treatments include pain medications, muscle relaxants, epidural steroid injections, and back braces.