
Aside from the common cold, back pain is probably the most common ailment around the world today. It doesn’t discriminate between genders, social classes or ethnic groups. You’re at risk for suffering back pain at some point in your life, regardless of who you are.
There are many causes for back pain. Many of them are the result of an injury from overuse or overextension of the muscles in our back. Some other common causes for back pain are poor posture, standing or sitting for long periods of time, wearing shoes that don’t support your feet correctly or conditions of the foot which cause pain like heel spurs. Age and loss of muscle tone in the supporting muscles can cause back pain. Causes of back pain can range from something as simple as a sore muscle in your abdomen, to something more obvious like a broken leg in a cast. Your back will try and compensate for the fact that you are favoring a particular area of your body because it’s in pain, which we all inevitably do whether consciously or unconsciously.
Most back pain is caused by circumstances which are easily traceable. However, what do you do when your back pain is not so easily diagnosed? You and your physician must start looking at less common differentials. There are diseases and conditions which cause back pain which need to be diagnosed as soon as possible so treatment can be started for them. Recuperation after surgery varies depending on your general health of the person. The health of the person should be good for the treatment through the surgery. The surgery should be done through the experts of the region.
One such condition is called osteoporosis. This is common the older a person gets. Approximately 1 out of 5 women over the age of 50 in the U.S. suffer from the condition and Caucasian women are at higher risk. Osteoporosis can also affect men, although it’s more common in women. In the later stages of the disease lower back pain can be caused because of fractures in the spinal bones because of low bone density. This condition can be tested for before symptoms occur with a non-invasive bone density scan. It’s advisable to get one if you’re over 50 years of age.
Another less common cause of back pain is a disease called ankylosing spondylitis (AS for short). This is a type of arthritis that primarily affects the spine and sacroiliac joints that connect the lower spine to the pelvic bone at the hip. This disease is primarily seen in men, developing between the ages of 18-35. It is considered an autoimmune rheumatic condition and has been shown to be related to certain genes. This disease causes inflammation between the vertebrae of the spine and the sacroiliac joints. As it progresses it can cause the vertebrae to become fused together. As with other autoimmune diseases, there is no cure. Treatments are available, though, to reduce the inflammation, pain and other symptoms.
These are only a couple of examples of more serious conditions that can cause back pain. It is far more likely that you have a simple strain or you have been sitting in front of a computer for a prolonged period of time and that is what’s causing your back pain. However, if bed rest, hot and cold compresses and over-the-counter anti-inflammatories are not improving your pain or it is becoming worse, you should actively seek out a physician’s care. Although the possibility is remote, it’s possible that you may have a more serious, undiagnosed condition that needs long term care.