Tag Archives: pain

Low Back Pain

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The spine shown here with spinal cord.
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Low back pain does not discriminate. It affects everyone, at any age, for a variety of reasons. Low back pain affects people’s work, daily routine, and recreation. Americans spend about $50 billion or more each year on low back pain. It is the most common reason for job related disability and is the leading contributor for missed work. Low back pain is also the second most common neurological illness in the United States, with headache being the most common. Thankfully, the majority of occurrences of low back pain disappear within a few days. Others lead to more serious conditions or even take much longer to clear up.

Short-term or acute low back pain lasts from a few days to a few weeks. Acute low back pain is automatic in nature, which is a result from any disorder like arthritis, or from trauma to the lower back. Trauma pain can be caused by sports injury, work in the garden or around the house, or sudden jolts from car accidents or other incidents, or other stress on the spinal tissues and bones. Symptoms of low back pain can range from muscle ache to stabbing or shooting pain, limited range of motion and flexibility, and even the inability to stand up straight. Sometimes, the pain felt in one part of the body can be from a disorder or injury elsewhere in the body. Acute pain syndromes can become much more serious if it goes untreated.

Bone strength and muscle elasticity and tone tend to decrease as people age. The discs in the back begin to lose flexibility and fluid, and that decreases the ability to cushion the vertebrae.

Low back pain can occur when someone overstretches or lifts something that is too heavy, causing strain, sprain, or spasm in one of the muscles or ligaments in the lower back. If the spine becomes overly strained or compressed, the disc that is affected can rupture or bulge outward. This rupture may put pressure on one of more than fifty nerves that are rooted to the spinal cord that control body movements and send signals from the body to the brain. When these nerve roots are compressed or irritated in any way, back pain, including low back pain, can occur.

Low back pain can reflect muscle or nerve irritation or bone lesions. While often times, low back pain follows injury or trauma to the back, it can also be caused by viral infections, irritation to joints and discs, degenerative conditions such as disc disease or arthritis, osteoporosis or other bone diseases, or congenital abnormalities of the spine. Smoking, obesity, weight gain during pregnancy, poor physical condition, stress, bad posture for the activity being performed, and even poor sleeping positions can contribute to low back pain. In addition, scar tissue from a previously injured back does not have the flexibility or strength of normal, healthy tissue. Build up of this scar tissue from previous injuries will weaken the back and lead to more serious injury.

Sometimes low back pain may mean a more serious medical problem. Pain that is accompanied by fever or loss of bladder or bowel control, pain when coughing, and weakness in the legs may indicate a pinched nerve or other serious problem. Diabetics can have severe low back pain or leg pains related to neuropathy. Those with these symptoms should contact their doctor to help prevent more permanent damage.

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Back Pain Relief

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Going on a hunt for back pain relief becomes a critical mission for someone looking for a break from the pain.  A lot of back pain issues can actually be handled at home with easy treatments you can learn to do yourself.  For example, simple muscle sprains normally don’t need a doctor and can be handled with some bed rest.  Even if you have bouts of pain that come and go, or chronic pain, you want to know all the techniques that might at least give you some temporary relief.

Back pain should never be minimized.  Any pain that affects your sleep and your daily activities needs to be addressed.  There are some symptoms or causes that indicate you should see a doctor right away for back pain relief.  These include injuries, weak legs, and unbearable pain that never subsides.  But most pain lasts less than a month and doesn’t keep you from living a normal life.  For that kind of pain, you just need forms of relief while the muscle or sprain heals.

Back pain relief can often be found by following some very simple guidelines.  For example, when you are having a “back attack”, getting any sleep or rest may be difficult.  Lack of sleep increases the stress of the situation and adds to the pain.   The best way to sleep when you’re having back pain is on your side with your knees bent at a 90 degree angle.  This is the position that puts the least amount of stress on the spinal discs.  You can also sleep on your back with a pillow under your knees.

Anti-inflammatory medicines can often provide back pain relief also.  There are several over-the-counter medications that can reduce muscle swelling and thus reduce pain. Many people use ice packs or heating pads in conjunction with the anti-inflammatory drugs to find relief.

Exercise can also provide back pain relief.  Unfortunately, when people have back pain they tend to think they shouldn’t do any exercise.  Yet strengthening the back muscles is often the cure when the pain is due to injuries resulting from weak muscles.  It can also reduce pain in backs with vertebrae problems by creating a strong muscular support system.

Of course, if you can’t find back pain relief using these simple ideas, and the pain continues or gets worse, a doctor should be consulted. There are many options the doctor can offer to provide a break from the pain.  They include physical therapy exercise programs and massage, electrical stimulation, prescription medications, nerve blocks and surgery.  There is a wide range of choices for back pain relief therapy, and the doctor will review the ones that will work best in your situation.

You too discover all this and more when you grab your FREE copy of the Healthy Back Institute’s “Back Pain Relief Guide”. If you suffer from any type of back pain, neck pain or sciatica, I urge you to Request Your FREE Back Pain Relief Guide Now

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Mystery of the Herniated Disc without Pain

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Lumbar vertebra.
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A bulging disc is when the spongy material between vertebrae extends out.  It’s usually caused by too much pressure that’s been put on the spine causing excessive compression.  There are lots of nerves that run out from the disc, so when the disc bulges near one of the nerves, pain develops.  The pain isn’t necessarily in the back though.  The pain can run down the nerves and end up making your legs or even your arms hurt.

The fact is though, you can have a herniated disc and not have any pain. You can actually have a bulging disc that doesn’t affect a nerve and so there’s no pain.  The indications you have a back problem include other things like tingling and numbness in the legs.  So don’t think you have to have pain when you have a bulging or herniated disc.

The best treatment options

When it comes to treating a herniated disc, there are traditional
treatments such as ice/heat, ultrasound, electrical stimulation,
cortisone injections, anti-inflammatory medications and even surgery.
While these may deliver some relief, it will usually be temporary
if at all.

But the major problem with these traditional treatments is that they
can’t fix or heal a herniated disc as they do not address the actual
cause of the problem. For example, even if you were to have a surgery
and get some pain relief, the fact is the dysfunctions that caused
the disc to herniated in the first place are still there and if not
addressed, they will continue to place uneven pressure and strain on
the discs and sooner or later you will likely have another problem
with that disc, or others.

Without identifying and addressing the underlying cause of the problem,
which is the physical dysfunctions caused by imbalances in muscles,
you will likely continue to suffer with this condition and the
continuous flare ups for years.
Unfortunately, most doctors, chiropractors and physical therapists
don’t spend time or focus on identifying the physical dysfunctions that
are responsible for the condition so most people end up jumping from
one useless traditional treatment to the next and suffer for months or
years unnecessarily.

If you have been diagnosed with a herniated disc, or are wondering if
your back pain may be caused by a herniated disc, either way you must
identify and address the physical dysfunctions that are causing your
pain as part of your recovery.

To see other informative  articles  please visit https://gethealthy.infusionsoft.com/go/7DayCure
There, you will find many more articles and resources to help educate
and get rid of your back pain forever.

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Erector Spinae Anyone?

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The erector spinae are back muscles that run along each side of the spinal column.  When you injure this muscle, it can really hurt.  The best way to control the pain is through exercises that target these muscles.  Too many people forget all about toning up their back muscles when they exercise.  They work their arms, legs and abdomens but leave the poor back out of the picture.

The best exercises I’ve found for the back include the barbell bent row, the deadlift, the pelvic lift, the leg lift buttock tightener and the double leg lifts.   Though some of these exercises sound like they’re meant for bodybuilders or weightlifters, they are perfect for everyone.  You don’t have to use a heavy weight.  In fact, you can use a phone book if you want.  The main point is you need to make sure you include your back in a regular exercise routine if you want to avoid unnecessary sprains, pulls and tears.

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Back Pain Muscle Spasms

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Collage of several of w:Gray's muscle pictures...
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You have long muscles that run along the spine called the erector spinae muscles.  These are often the guilty muscles when you have back pain and muscle spasms.  A spasm is an involuntary contraction of the muscle for a sustained period of time.  Usually a spasm occurs when the muscle has been suddenly stressed somehow which can include injury, sprains, tears or bruising.  The spasm can actually start in the nerves that lead into the muscle though the feeling is the same no matter where the spasm starts.

Most of the time muscle spasms are painful, but not serious.  It should be mentioned though that in some cases, the spasm may be a symptom of a more serious problem.  The back is composed of bones, muscles and ligaments, and injury or disease to any component can result in back pain muscle spasms.

Back pain and muscle spasms can occur anywhere along the spine from the neck to the lower back.  A spasm can occur once or it can happen repeatedly.  Often the spasm makes the muscle feel sore and tight even after the spasm subsides.  So when you deal with muscle spasms you have two goals.  The first goal is to attempt to prevent the reoccurrence of the spasm.  The second goal is to relive the pain and tension after the spasm.

There are many ways you can approach management of back pain and muscle spasms at home.  First, you should keep moving.  You don’t want to go to bed and lie still, because that will cause the muscle to hurt more.  Light exercises will relieve the muscle stress while strengthening and toning.  Also, you can use an ice pack applied to the area and decrease the muscle spasm pain.  In addition, you should avoid any heavy lifting or moves similar to the moves you were doing before the spasm.

If your back pain and muscle spasms don’t get better with home remedies, you may have to visit the doctor.  Frequently, muscle relaxants are prescribed to relieve muscle tightness.  Muscle relaxants are a short term solution meant to give relief from pain while the muscle heals.   Some people find enough relief by using over-the-counter anti-inflammatory pain relievers.  Many medications you can now buy yourself are what were once considered full prescription strength.  All of the drugs can reduce swelling and increase muscle flexibility.

Other forms of therapy for back pain and muscle spasms include massage or physical therapy.  But one of the most important therapies you can do yourself.  That’s to maintain good posture.  Good posture lets your spine work the way it was designed to work.  Maintaining good posture is important during any activity too and not just while standing.   You should stand, sit, walk and lift while maintaining proper spine position.  This will help you avoid muscle injury and sprains that can lead to muscle spasms.

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