Back pain is so common in America that 75% of the population will experience it in their lifetimes. Since back pain affects middle age people it has a huge affect on the economy. Studies have shown that low pack pain is a leading cause of work absentees.

Back pain being the substantial problem that it is, it is important to know the causes of back pain as well as how to prevent it.

Causes of Back Pain

Muscle Strain
The leading cause of back pain is due to a simple muscle strain. At some point an individual may have an event that causes their muscle to spasm. These strains will relax in a matter of weeks.

Ruptured Disc
A ruptured disc, or herniated disc, is another cause of back pain. Treatment may vary depending on many factors. Consult your physician for proper treatment.

Discogenic Back Pain
This type of back pain may be a leading cause of low back pain. This type of pain is the result of damage to the intervertabral disc.

Arthritis
Arthritis is a disease that affects joints in the fingers, wrists, and knees. Lumbar spine arthritis can affect the joints within the spine itself. Arthritis would cause you to have pain when you were moving.

There are many other factors that determine a person’s probability of having back pain. Age, weight, and past injuries are all factors that can cause lower back pain. Let’s take a look into ways to prevent future back pain.

Ways to Prevent Back Pain

Live a Healthy Lifestyle
One of the best things you can do to prevent lower back pain is to maintain a healthy weight. Being overweight puts enormous pressure on your lower back. Maintaining a healthy core, or abdominal muscles, will help you support your back by providing proper posture.

Exercise
You hear exercise as being the answer to preventing just about every medical condition on record. So much so, we tend to ignore it. Living an active lifestyle will increase muscle tone, decrease fat, and reduce levels of stress. Each of the factors plays a role in back pain. Muscle tone keeps your body strong and able function at optimal levels. Fat has a tendency to gather around the waist and hips. This puts undo strain on your lower back. Overall stress decreases the ability for the body to heal itself when it is injured.

Lift Properly
When you lift, lift with your knees. Try to keep your back straight and force the weight through your legs and knees. Generally, your legs are the most muscular part of your body. These muscles are much more capable of handling stress and weight than your back muscles.

Understanding the Causes of Back Pain

An aching back is a problem suffered by more than 50% of American adults. According to the American Chiropractic Association, it is estimated that over 80% of Americans will suffer from back pain at some time in their life. Becoming familiar with the causes of back pain and their subsequent treatment protocols can be of great help should you ever find yourself suffering from back pain. While both men and women can develop back problems, there are some causes that primarily affect women. Other groups susceptible to chronic back pain include the elderly, athletes, the overweight and people with a genetic disposition to back problems.

Typical Causes of Back Pain

The primary causes of back pain are related to muscular sprains and strains, spinal disc injuries and diseases which affect the joints, such as arthritis. Acute back pain stems from a short term injury or strain and can be treated with rest and readjustment. Chronic causes of back pain are generally more difficult to identify and treat. While many of the symptoms are similar, identifying the underlying causes is the key to finding effective treatment.

Coccydynia – Considered fairly rare among the causes of back pain, Coccydynia is a localized pain that stems from the coccyx or tailbone. This condition can manifest as the result of a fall, or from giving birth. Lower back pain caused by Coccydynia is almost always aggravated by sitting. Treatment for severe cases of this condition can include a surgical removal of the coccyx.

Pregnancy-Related Back Pain – It is commonly known that pregnancy is one of the main causes of back pain in women. The additional weight combined with birth related hormones can result in moderate to severe back pain in pregnant women. The best treatment for pregnancy-related back pain is exercise.

Osteoarthritis – One of the most well documented, but least understood causes of back pain is degenerative arthritis of the spine. While most frequently seen in elderly patients, Osteoarthritis can affect younger patients as well. Arthritis causes the disintegration of cartilage, the cushioning material that supports spinal vertebrae. While there is no cure for Osteoarthritis, patients can receive treatments for pain management.

Muscle Strain – Arguably one of the most common causes, muscle strain can be the result of stress, bad posture, repetitive activities or applying too much force to the back muscles. Muscle strain injuries are typically treated with a combination of exercise and rest.

Herniated Disc – One of the most painful causes of back pain is a herniated disc. When spinal cartilage is pushed up against the sensitive nerves in your back, the result is a herniated or bulging disc. If the affected never is the Sciatic nerve that runs down your spinal column, pain can extend down into your legs and feet. Treatment for back pain stemming from spinal vertebrae issues can include medication, physical therapy, and occasionally, surgery.

While there are many factors that can contribute to back pain, one of the most common problems is poor posture. Some people get into the habit of sitting or standing improperly, and over time this contributes to pain in their backs. Understanding the causes of back pain will allow you to avoid it, and will lead to a healthier and more active lifestyle.

When someone first begins feeling pain in their back, they can easily correct it by improving their posture. However, if you don’t correct your posture your joints will eventually begin to wear out over time. Studies have shown that in the long term, the ageing of joints in your back can be just as extreme as the effects of suffering a back injury.

People who continue to have poor posture will eventually feel the effects of ageing. Their poor joints will force them to stoop over, and their mobility will be greatly decreased. With the rising costs of healthcare, it will be expensive to correct such problems, if it is even possible to correct them at all. Is it not better to correct your posture while you still have the chance?

The vast majority of the deformities seen in the elderly are a result of poor posture. Often, other parts of the body are affected such as the lungs, which will not be able to get a proper amount of oxygen due to the upper body being bent over. This may also eventually cause problems with your stomach and other organs.

While many people consider weak back joints to be just a normal part of ageing, by taking a few simple steps everyday people can avoid back problems in the long term. By standing up at least once a day and bending backward, people can avoid back pain.

Doing this simple routine on a daily basis can keep your from being impaired when you get older. Walking or running can help people to relieve pain in their lower backs. Because most people drive or work in an office, they have less time for running or walking. Exercising is an important part of keeping both your back and the rest of your body healthy.

Back pain is something that millions of people suffer from, and there is not reason for them to continue. By exercising and sitting correctly, many of these problems can be avoided. Getting treatment for the problem once it has become out of control will be costly. It is much less expensive to just practice good posture and exercise on a regular basis.

Sitting improperly is one of the leading causes for back pain. Once you begin having problems in your lower back, sitting improperly will exacerbate the problem. It is also important to stand up and lay down properly also. You may find that you suffer pain in your lower back only at certain times, such as when you sleep or stand for extended periods of time. If this is the case, it can be easily corrected by practicing good posture.