Health Upp The spine or the backbone is a vital part of your body as it helps you stand on your feet and maintain posture. Besides adding flexibility to your body to help you move or bend easily, it protects the internal organs, including your spinal cord and connects them.
Spine pain or back pain is so common today. According to research, about 24.4% of adults in the United States suffered from back problems. Pain in the spine not only limits your physical movements, but it can lead you to several other problems or it might be a sign of an underlying problem. So never ignore this pain and seek proper lower back pain treatment from downtown.
What Is Spinal Pain?
Our spine is made of 33 bones called vertebrae, stacked on top of one another and is divided into three sections; cervical spine(neck region), thoracic spine(mid-back), and lumbar spine(lower back). So if you have pain or stiffness anywhere in these areas, it is categorized as spinal pain or back pain.
This pain can be temporary or constant and sometimes recurring. Although it is common today due to our lifestyle, it should not be neglected. In case if you are having mild pain, you can use products like back support belt that are specifically designed to give you relief from back pain. If you are suffering from severe pain or chronic pain, do not hesitate to contact a spine doctor.
Some Major Symptoms of Spinal Pain
Here are some major symptoms you face if you are suffering from spinal pain.
- Pain anywhere in your back
- A feeling of numbness and sensations in the area
- Shooting or sharp pain flashing towards the lower body
- Stiffness in muscles
- Feeling difficulty in standing without pain
- Unable to bend lift anything
- Inability to maintain normal posture
What Causes the Pain in the Spine
Several factors are contributing to pain in the spinal region. Anyone could suffer from spinal pain, and only a spinal doctor can properly diagnose the cause, but here are some common issues that can cause your back to hurt.
Muscle Strain or Sprain
There are many muscles connected to your spine, and these muscles help you in bending or doing flexible movements. When you lift heavy objects improperly or do some sudden abrupt movements, this can cause a muscle strain. This muscle strain would then cause you spinal pain.
Intense workouts or games or any other tough physical work that you are not habitual of might cause strains or sprains in your back, leading to back pain.
Injury
A recent injury to your back, like a fracture, can be a cause of a backache. Other than that, a previous injury can also be responsible for pain or that may increase the risk and make you more prone to spinal pain.
Poor posture
Your posture plays a key role in the problems of your spine. Sleeping in incorrect posture, using an unbalanced mattress, overstretching, pushing, or lifting heavy objects with inappropriate posture can cause spinal pain.
Moreover, sitting for a prolonged period, driving continuously without taking a rest, working for a long time in front of the computer, or bending awkwardly could be the reason why your back is hurting.
Maintaining a good posture while sitting, bending, lifting, driving, or working and using pressure relieving mattress while sleeping can save you from a painful experience of backache.
Ruptured or dislocated disc
Discs are located between the vertebrae of the spine to prevent them and avoid friction. When there is something wrong with these discs, you feel pain in your backbone. Spinal nerves get pressed if these discs get dislocated, ruptured, or herniated which is a very excruciating situation.
When the spinal nerves are pressed, you feel sharp pain towards traveling your feet. The pain may settle down with changing posture or sitting but remains there. This can affect your daily life routine and are unable to do plenty of your work although it is not that big a medical condition but can be extremely painful for you so you should see your doctor timely rather than staying in pain.
Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is the condition in which your bones become fragile and easily fractured. Bones lose their density and turn out to be porous. Bones are meant to be strong and hard, but in this case, they are brittle which can cause small fractures in vertebrae leading to intense spinal pain.
Arthritis
Another medical condition responsible for pain in the spine is arthritis in which joints are inflamed and stiff. This condition gets worse with increasing age and mostly affects older people. Joints of your spine also inflame and stiff becoming the cause of back pain.
Whiplash: a Major Cause of Spinal Pain
If you are suddenly feeling pain in your back area, especially around your neck, without any prominent cause, whiplash might be the cause. Whiplash is an injury in the neck muscles often caused by a sudden strain such as a car accident.
Whiplash Causes
The causes of whiplash include a car accident, tough sport like karate, a blow on the head, or physical abuse. Other than these, whiplash can be caused by other reasons too.
Symptoms
Common symptoms of whiplash are pain in the neck, stiffness in the area, dizziness, headache, and difficulty in moving your neck.
Whiplash Treatment
The whiplash treatment is not much difficult if diagnosed on time and you will heal quickly. Your doctor will prescribe you painkillers or muscle relaxants. Other than medication, physiotherapy, and neck collars are also used to treat whiplash. If the pain is unbearable, injections can be given to ease the pain.
Diagnosis of Spinal Pain
Your doctor will diagnose the spinal pain in a few steps.
- A thorough physical examination of your back and a few questions
- An X-ray
- Computed tomography (CT) scan
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
- Electromyography (EMG)
- A blood test or a urine test
Some Self-care Tips for Spinal Pain
Here are some remedies that might help you in treating your spinal pain.
- Rest as much as you can
- Use an ice pack or heat pack to reduce the pain
- Use an over the counter pain killer
- Maintain proper posture
- Sleep on a firm mattress
- Avoid bending too much or lifting heavy objects
- Gentle exercises are helpful
- Apply a pain relief cream on the affected area
- Mild stretches help a lot in relieving pain
- Take enough sleep for at least 8 hours
- And last but not the least, learn to manage the stress
But remember all these are just home remedies. If you are doing these and the pain is still persistent, you should consult a spine specialist for the proper treatment plan. Check out therapeutic devices from https://www.americacryo.com that are fast and effective in relieving pain without the use of medication or invasive procedures.
Treatment
There are different treatments for spinal pain but your doctor will choose the best suitable for you by looking at your symptoms and the intensity of pain. Every treatment might not work for everyone or your doctor may have to use a combination of two or more treatments.
Some basic treatments for back pain are listed below.
- Medication
- Massage
- Physiotherapy
- Acupuncture
- Steroids
- Traction
- Specific exercises
- Psychotherapy such as CBT
In severe cases, surgical treatment is done
When to See a Doctor
If your back pain remains persistent, is affecting your daily routine or you are facing some other symptoms along with back pain – for instance, weakness in legs, temperature, loss of bowel control, numbness below your back, or swelling, you should immediately consult your doctor without wasting time. If you are suffering from severe pain or chronic pain, do not hesitate to contact Atlanta Spine Doctor.
