Back pain is something which thousands of people experience and live with, sometimes for years at a time. Back pain is something which can affect anyone: fitness fanatics, office workers, drivers, professional athletes or any number of individuals. It can make life extremely difficult, something as simple as picking up your child can become an excruciatingly painful exercise. However, there are some common causes and many different ways to treat the pain and stop it being an impediment to your daily life. Here is a brief guide to the common causes and different ways of treating them.

Common Causes of Back Pain

Highlighting the exact location of your back pain can be difficult, due to the complexity and size of the spine itself. Despite this, there are things which are prevalent in those who experience it. One cause can come from the nature of your work. If you’re in an office all day sat at a desk, this could cause back pain, as the spine is not designed to be sat upright all day in a certain position; this explains how back pain can be caused in those who spend lots of time driving too. Another cause can be poor posture; if you walk with your shoulders rolled forwards and your neck drooping it will put unnecessary strain on the lumbar of the spine and over time this will cause muscular discomfort around the lower back.

Heavy labor either at work or around the house can cause back pain if you lift with a wrong technique which puts additional strain on the spine rather than the legs. Sleeping can also cause or make back pain worse; sleeping with too many pillows means the neck is at an unnatural angle which places strain on the vertebrae in the neck, and sleeping flat will mean the spinal muscles never truly relax.

In addition to these causes, which happen over time, there is also the possibility of problems caused by accidents; a crash or strain from a collision, hyper-extending and sometimes the onset is seemingly triggered overnight with no real explanation.

Medical Treatments

If pain in the spine becomes an issue, it is important to speak to a medical professional. This may mean a visit to your doctor, nurse or a physiotherapist who will be able to advise you if there is anything medically which can be done. This may include pain relief medication, steroid injections, physiotherapy sessions, visiting a chiropractor and, in some cases, surgery. These are all different approaches which will help deal with the pain and should help alleviate the problem. By visiting a medical professional you will be visiting an expert who should be able to provide some insight as to what the cause of the problem is.

Things You Can Do

There are things you can do before seeing a medical professional and discussing more invasive procedures, such as surgery or injections. There are specialist services in dealing with back pain all across the country such as Michigan Pain Specialists, who will be able to advise whether medical intervention is the only way of dealing with the pain, and in some cases they may suggest other alternatives. There are various other things they may suggest such as stretching exercises to loosen the muscles, a different sleeping position, altering your posture to remove strain, different clothing or footwear which provides extra support, or any number of other things.

Another approach, which has worked for some, are processes such as psychological approaches or acupuncture, which provide different paths to typical pain medication or surgery. With acupuncture in particular, there has been a trend in some medical clinics to offer it as a safer, less invasive alternative to surgery and it has proven to be successful, without the risks of an anesthetic. Simple things can also help; changing the way you lift heavy goods by using your legs more, walking around the office more often or walking rather than driving are all things that will remove the strain from your back without the need for a painful and expensive medical intervention.

When you are dealing with back pain it is important to remember if it is left untreated or left the same it will get progressively worse over time, so doing something now may alleviate the need for something more drastic in the future. Seeing a medical professional or an expert in pain reduction is important, as it can stop the pain now rather than you having to live with it for a lifetime.

  

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