Causes of Back Pain Problems

Back pain is one of the most common physical complaints among adults and a main cause of misery for many. Back pain competes with the common cold as the leading reason for visiting a physician and sick days.

At some point in their lives, most people will experience some sort of back discomfort.

Back pain describes pain or discomfort felt in the upper, middle, or lower back. The pain may extend to the hips and legs. The back consists of a complex arrangement of bone, ligaments, joints, muscles, and nerves, and pain can result from a problem with any of these components.

The most common type of back pain is low back pain. That's because the lower portion of the back is under the most pressure when a person is sitting or lifting, and it can be easily damaged.

There are many causes of back pain.

• The most common cause is a strain of the back, which is a small tear of the back muscles or ligaments. This usually results from a sudden or awkward movement, or from lifting a heavy object. But often, a person can't remember a particular incident that brought on the pain.
• Other common causes include poor muscle tone in the back, tension or spasm of the back muscles and problems with the joints that make up the back.
• A herniated disc can pinch a nerve as it leaves the spine.
• Whiplash injury - is neck pain, which commonly occurs following an auto accident. This is typically caused by hyperextension and/or hyperflexion because the head is forced to move backward and/or forward rapidly beyond the neck’s normal range of motion.

Back pain can be classified as either:

• Acute - Sudden pain that lasts for just a short while, usually a few days to a few weeks.
• Chronic - Pain that lasts for more than three months or pain that recurs.

Statistics show that with non-invasive treatment, up to 90% of people with acute back pain improve within one month and up to 60% improve within a week. Even severe back pain due to a herniated disc often resolves within six weeks of treatment, as the protruding discs begin to shrink.

Fortunately, most cases of acute low back pain improve quickly - within a few days, or sometimes within a few weeks. In less than 5% of people the pain persists and becomes chronic.

Facts About Back Pain

• In the U.S., back pain competes with the common cold as the leading reason why people see a physician.
• Back pain is the number-one cause of disability in workers under age 45.
• Aside from the physical distress, back pain carries steep economic costs - an estimated $20 to $50 billion annually in medical treatments and disability payments.
• Most episodes of acute back pain may go away within few months but traction or other conservative treatment methods can accelerate the process.
• Despite today's medical technology, many forms of invasive treatment do not affect the course of most acute low back pain episodes.
• Only 10% of those suffering from acute back pain require special diagnostic testing.