Living with back pain for an extended period can be detrimental to your mental health and quality of life. The human back is responsible for so much, and you would be hard pressed to go through an average day without putting strain on it somehow. As a result, your back is susceptible to all manner of injury. Fortunately, there are ways to avoid this discomfort.
All you need to do is learn what causes these symptoms in the first place. Therefore, this article will list the most common causes of back pain and how you can avoid them.
Stress
Stress is your body’s natural response to any unwanted stimuli in your life, and it can change your regular behavior until you become relaxed again. One of these behaviors is irregular breathing. Your body reacts this way because it is trying to intake as much oxygen as possible to give your muscles some extra stamina.
Unfortunately, your body isn’t equipped to deal with continuous, rapid breathing. This means that this action can cause tension to form in your shoulders or middle back, which results in pain. If your back pain is in this region and you cannot think of a practical reason for it, then you may need to work on some stress management techniques.
Pulled Muscles
Your lower back has a total of forty muscles. Any one of these muscles can fall victim to fatigue or tension, which are the two most common reasons for suffering from a pulled muscle. Using a muscle too much or improperly can cause you to experience spasms of pain that will only recover once you let it rest.
If the area where your back pain is located is swollen or bruised, then it is likely that you have pulled a muscle. You can apply ice to speed up its recovery, and painkillers can help you manage the pain until it has healed.
Posture
The forty muscles in your back are the ones that offer you the most support; however, there are muscles running all the way up your spine. Slouching forward too much or sitting in a hunched position can cause enough pressure to flatten the muscles, putting them under tension and making it more likely that they are pulled out of place.
The simple trick to reducing this pain is to exercise good posture, especially if you have to sit for long periods at work. You can learn how to sit with back pain; however, you will also benefit from using the right ergonomic furniture.
Arthritis
Arthritis can occur anywhere in the body, and it is caused by the inflammation of tissue around the joints. The most common parts of the body to be affected by arthritis are the hands and back. This is because the swelling gets worse the more you use the stricken body part.
A key sign of arthritis in the back is stiffness or limited movement. Your doctor can provide you with anti-inflammatory medicine to reduce the swelling in your back, and a physiotherapist can teach you some exercises to help you manage the pain.
Slipped Disc
While the muscles in your back can attribute to your pain, a slipped disc is also a likely factor. Your spine is comprised of multiple vertebrae, and your intervertebral discs are used to separate them. However, if one of these discs is knocked out of place it can cause the bones to pinch on the nerves in your spine. As you can imagine, a slipped disc can cause extreme back pain that can radiate up to the neck and down to your hips. This additional discomfort is a clear indicator that you are suffering from a slipped disc; however, you will also experience numbness and limited movement.
A slipped disc will not revert itself, which means that you will require surgery or physiotherapy to correct the problem. Again, you can use standard pain medication to manage the pain until you can receive treatment.
If you live in Panama City, chiropractic manipulation is also available as a treatment option. Using the proper techniques to ensure alignment and support, your chiropractor can help to reduce the pain associated with a slipped disc. Just make sure to find the best chiropractor in Panama City to guarantee that you get the highest quality care. By doing so, you can be confident that your slipped disc will be corrected in due time.
Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is an illness that is mainly contracted by women. It is the result of the body’s inability to intake calcium, which leads to a weakening of the bones. Osteoporosis can be diagnosed at birth if the illness has a history in your family, but you can also develop the illness later in life if you lack calcium in your diet.
This illness is normally treated by medication that can help your body intake calcium. Once you receive a diagnosis, your doctor should provide you with the best cause of action to deal with your osteoporosis, most likely with bisphosphonates.
Conclusion
Living with back pain can be detrimental to your life experience, which is why it is so important to get the issue diagnosed and treated as soon as you can. Fortunately, you should now have a strong idea about what may be the root cause of your back pain, so that you can continue to deal with it in the best way possible.
